Roger Allers, the Disney film-maker who co-directed the 1994 classic The Lion King, has died at the age of 76. His death was announced on social media by Dave Bossert, a colleague at the Walt Disney Company, who remembered him as "an extraordinarily gifted artist and film-maker, a true pillar of the Disney Animation renaissance."
Allers, with Rob Minkoff, directed The Lion King, which remains the highest-grossing traditionally animated film of all time. The film was the highest-grossing of 1994 and temporarily the second-highest-grossing film ever, behind Jurassic Park. It also holds the record as the bestselling film on home video, with over 55 million copies sold worldwide.
Born in New York in 1949 and raised in Arizona, Allers became a fan of animation at age five after seeing Disney's Peter Pan. He began his Disney career on Tron (1982) as part of the storyboard team, later working as a storyboard artist on Oliver & Company (1988), The Little Mermaid (1989), and The Rescuers Down Under (1990). He served as head of story on Beauty and the Beast (1991) and worked on Aladdin (1992).
Allers and Minkoff won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for The Lion King. Allers also co-wrote the 1998 Tony-winning Broadway adaptation with Irene Mecchi, which continues to be performed worldwide. He contributed to Lilo & Stitch and the story for The Emperor's New Groove, and co-directed Sony Pictures Animation's first feature film, Open Season, with Jill Culton.
Disney CEO Bob Iger paid tribute, calling Allers "a creative visionary whose many contributions to Disney will live on for generations to come." Bossert noted that despite The Lion King's phenomenal success, Allers remained humble, carrying "a sense of wonder, generosity, and enthusiasm that lifted everyone around him."
