The Lion King & The Iron Giant

The Lion King & The Iron Giant is a 2009 American animated musical science fiction film based on Disney's 1994 film The Lion King and Warner Bros' 1999 film The Iron Giant. The film was written and directed by Cody Dickson in his directorial debut, and produced by Allison Abbate. It's original songs were written by John Mayer, Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice, with a score by Brian Tyler. The film features an ensemble voice cast that includes Tobey Maguire, Dwayne Johnson, James Earl Jones, Eli Marienthal, Alexander Gould, Jeremy Irons, Jennifer Aniston, Shemar Moore, Niketa Calame, Harry Connick Jr., Candace Kroslak, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Billy Crystal,  Eric Close, Kelsey Grammer, Robert Guillaume, Rowan Atkinson, Diana Ross, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, Flea, and Jim Cummings. The story takes place in the 1990s.

The Lion King & The Iron Giant tells the story of Simba (Swahili for lion), a young lion who is to succeed his father, Mufasa, as King of the Pride Lands. He and his human friend, a young boy named Hogarth Hughes, discover and befriend a gigantic metallic robot who fell from outer space. With help from beatnik Hendrix Connors, Simba and Hogarth attempt to prevent the U.S. military and Kent Mansley, a paranoid federal agent, from finding and destroying the Giant. However, after Simba's paternal uncle Scar murders Mufasa, Simba is manipulated into thinking he was responsible and flees into exile. Upon maturation living with two wastrels, Simba is given some valuable perspective from his childhood friend, Nala, and his shaman, Rafiki, before returning to challenge Scar to end his tyranny and take his place in the Circle of Life as the rightful King.

Cody started developing the film at age 11 in 2006 during his time in Elementary School. He attempted to stay close to both original films' materials. Several cast members from both original films reprised their roles respectively. The film was animated using traditional animation, with computer-generated imagery used to animate the titular character and other effects.

The Lion King & The Iron Giant premiered at El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles on February 14, 2009 and was released worldwide on February 20. Despite poor expectations, upon release, the film received widespread critical acclaim from both critics and audiences. Praise was directed at the animation, music, the combinations of both stories, and visuals. The film was a box office success, grossing over $396 million worldwide against its $100 million production budget.