Roger Allers, Disney director and co-director of The Lion King, dies at 76 The Walt Disney Company

Roger Allers, the Disney film director who co-directed The Lion King and worked on films such as Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid, has died at the age of 76.

Allers’ colleague at the Walt Disney Company, Dave Bossert, announced his death on social media Sunday morning, remembering him as “an incredibly talented artist and filmmaker, and a true pillar of the renaissance of Disney animation.”

“I had the honor of being part of the crew with Roger on many films in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s,” Bossert wrote. “He was without a doubt one of the kindest people you could ever hope to know and work with. He co-directed The Lion King, a huge success, but it had never occurred to him… He carried a sense of wonder, generosity and enthusiasm that lifted everyone around him.”

Disney CEO Bob Iger remembers Allers as “an iconic visionary whose many contributions to Disney will live on for generations to come.”

“His work helped define an era of animation that continues to inspire audiences around the world, and we are incredibly grateful for all he has given to Disney. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and collaborators,” Iger wrote in a statement.

Born in New York in 1949 but raised in Arizona, Allers became an animation fan at the age of five after watching the Disney film Peter Pan. He began his work at Disney on Tron (1982) as part of the storyboard team, then worked as a storyboard artist on Oliver & Company (1988), The Little Mermaid (1989), and The Rescuers Down Under (1990) before becoming storyboard director for Beauty and the Beast (1991) and working on Aladdin (1992).

In 1994, Allers and Rob Minkoff co-directed The Lion King, which became the highest-grossing film of 1994. It was provisionally the second highest-grossing film of all time, behind Jurassic Park. The Lion King remains the highest-grossing hand-drawn animated film of all time, as well as the best-selling film on home video, with over 55 million copies sold worldwide.

Allers and Minkoff won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for The Lion King, with Allers going on to write the Tony Award-winning 1998 Broadway adaptation of The Lion King with Irene Mecchi, which continues to run in theaters around the world.

Allers also worked on Lilo & Stitch and the story of what later became The Emperor’s New Groove while at Disney. He also co-directed Open Season, Sony Pictures Animation’s first feature film, with Jill Colton.