Lion King animator's wonderful illustrated tribute to Cecil the Lion

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Disney's Aaron Blaise has drawn on the spirit of Mufasa to create a stunningly emotive scene.

Blaise's illustration echoes the epic return of Mufasa in The Lion King

Blaise's illustration echoes the epic return of Mufasa in The Lion King

One of this week's big global news stories has been the illegal killing of a lion called Cecil in Zimbabwe, by a dentist from Minnesota. Now one of the animators on the Lion King, Aaron Blaise, has created this stunning illustrated tribute to Cecil.

Since posting the image, Blaise has been inundated with requests for prints, which he's now selling on this website. There are two versions, one with and one without text, and all profits will go to animal research organisation WildCRU.

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Blaise, who has worked on numerous Disney animations over the years, including Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas and Brother Bear, has also shared this time-lapse video, providing a fascinating insight into his technique:

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Tom May
Tom May
Freelance journalist and editor

Tom May is an award-winning journalist and author specialising in design, photography and technology. His latest book, The 50th Greatest Designers, was released in June 2025. He's also author of the Amazon #1 bestseller Great TED Talks: Creativity, published by Pavilion Books, Tom was previously editor of Professional Photography magazine, associate editor at Creative Bloq, and deputy editor at net magazine.