The Broadway musical The Lion King (1997), directed by Julie Taymor, is a stage adaptation of Disney's 1994 animated film. It retains the film's central story, characters, and much of Elton John and Tim Rice's music while expanding and rearranging the score with additional material, including music and choral elements associated with Lebo M. Taymor substantially reimagined the film for live theatre through masks, puppetry, choreography, and visible performers, creating an original theatrical visual language rather than reproducing the film's animation.