Page One: ‘The Lion King’ (1994)

Screenplay by Irene Mecchi and Jonathan Roberts and Linda Woolverton

The movie version of the opening:

There’s actually more writing credits. A LOT MORE!

Story by Burny Mattinson & Barry Johnson & Lorna Cook & Thom Enriquez & Andy Gaskill & Gary Trousdale & Jim Capobianco & Kevin Harkey & Jorgen Klubien & Chris Sanders & Tom Sito & Larry Leker & Joe Ranft & Rick Maki & Ed Gombert & Francis Glebas & Mark Kausler

And more!

Additional story material from J.T. Allen & George Scribner & Miguel Tejada-Flores & Jenny Tripp & Bob Tzudiker & Christopher Vogler & Kirk Wise & Noni White

And one more!

Story Supervisor: Brenda Chapman

A few names jump out at me. Joe Ranft who went on to becoming one of the earliest members of the Brain Trust at Pixar, Chris Vogler who wrote The Writer’s Journey, and Brenda Chapman who has story by credits for Beauty and the Beast and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and was involved in the Pixar movie Brave.

Page One is a daily Go Into The Story series featuring the first page of notable movie scripts from the classic era to contemporary times. Comparing them is an excellent way to study a variety of writing styles and see how professional writers start a story.

For more Page One posts, go here.

You may follow the daily conversation on Twitter as I cross-post there: @GoIntoTheStory.