The lion King of savannah, Mufasa, and his wife, Sarabi, have an heir-a lion cub, Simba. Under the supervision of his father, he grows up to become a ruler in the future.
Meanwhile, Scar, Mufasa's brother, dreams of getting rid of both him and his hated nephew in order to become king himself. Scar deliberately tells Simba about the Elephant Graveyard — a dangerous place outside the kingdom. Simba goes there with his friend, the little lioness Nala, and is attacked by hyenas sent by Scar. However, Mufasa appears in time to save the lion cubs.
Then Scar comes up with another plan — he lures Simba into the canyon and sends hyenas to scare a herd of wildebeest, so that in a panic the rushing herd tramples the lion cub. This time, he calls Mufasa himself, believing that the father will die trying to save his son. But Mufasa manages to pull his son out and cling to the edge of the ledge himself. The king asks Scar, who is nearby, for help, but he throws Mufasa down and he dies, falling from a great height under the rushing herd. As the herd flees, Simba finds his father's body and mourns him. The Scar that appears convinces Simba that he is to blame for the death of his father, and therefore he should escape from the pride lands. And to get rid of Simba for sure, Scar sends hyenas after him and Simba only miraculously escapes.
The lion cub finds a new home in the jungle, where he meets new friends — Timon the meerkat and Pumbu the warthog. They teach him to live without worries under their motto "Akuna Matata "("carefree life"). So the years pass and the cub becomes a lion.
Meanwhile, Scar declares himself the new king, and the pride lands are populated by hordes of hyenas supporting him. Because of such an abundance of predators, herbivores leave the kingdom and there is a famine. Years later, the grown-up Nala goes in search of prey in the jungle and accidentally meets Simba, before chasing Pumbaa. Nala tries to persuade Simba to return, but despite the feelings that have flared up between them, Simba does not want to return, still considering himself guilty of his father's death.
