National Geographic’s four-part series Lion, produced by Jon Favreau (The Lion King, Jungle Book), is essentially a real-life Simba story, giving the adventures of a cub named Kio a character-driven narrative structure.
The documentary follows Kio on his four-year journey from newborn cub to becoming a king.
From executive producer Mike Gunton — best known for his remarkable nature documentaries, including the Planet Earth series and Prehistoric Planet — the filmmaking team followed roughly 50 lions over four years. Jon Favreau revealed at the premiere that Kio’s storyline began to emerge after the young lion survived the rainy season.
VIdeo: Why Jon Favreau Decided To Produce Lion
Lion is unlike most nature documentaries. The four-part series is crafted more like a cinematic coming-of-age film than a traditional wildlife documentary. Rather than simply presenting facts about lions, the series makes Kio the protagonist. The filmmakers shape his journey into a dramatic narrative, using editing, music, and pacing to create suspense and emotional stakes — techniques more commonly associated with scripted filmmaking.
For example, Episode 1, “A Prince Is Born,” introduces an adolescent Kio about to take on a full-sized adult lion for his pride’s land. Before the action begins, the story flashes back to Kio as a newborn cub, a storytelling device often used in scripted movies and television dramas.
Human emotions are heavily attributed to Kio and his mother, giving the series a more subjective point of view of the animal kingdom rather than a purely observational one. The result is much more of a cinematic experience than a traditional nature documentary.
The photography is spectacular, offering an immersive view of the pride and Kio’s world. Gunton revealed that drones were used for the first time, giving the filmmakers unprecedented and breathtaking close-ups. In one stunning shot, the camera moves in for an extreme close-up and captures the gorgeous sunset reflected in Kio’s eye.
Luckily, I experienced Episode 1 on the IMAX screen at the California Science Center, where the extraordinary detail in the photography really stood out. Most audiences will watch from home, but hopefully they’ll still be able to appreciate just how much visual detail the filmmakers captured.
The four-episode event series is now streaming on the National Geographic channel, Disney+ and Hulu.
