The Lion King is an animated film. In Doctor Who, it has been referenced three times, all in season 27 and after, unsurprisingly, because the film was released after the end of season 26, in 1989.
The references are as follows:
- In Rose, a bus passes by Rose Tyler advertising a stage production of The Lion King.
- In The Christmas Invasion, the Doctor stops himself while in the middle of making a speech, realising that its in fact a quote from The Lion King.
- The song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (described as "Track 9") is played to mask the screams of the homeless being converted into Cybermen in Rise of the Cybermen.