Roger Allers, who helped create ‘The Lion King,’ dies at 76

NEW YORK: Filmmaker Roger Allers, who helped bring some of Disney’s most loved animated films to life, has died at the age of 76.

Allers was best known as the co-director of ‘The Lion King’, one of the most successful animated movies in history. He also worked on classics like ‘Aladdin’, ‘The Little Mermaid’, ‘The Rescuers Down Under’ and ‘The Emperor’s New Groove’.

The news of his death was announced by his longtime friend Dave Bossert through an Instagram post, according to Deadline. “I am deeply saddened by the news that our friend Roger Allers has passed on to his next journey”, he started in the Facebook post.

Roger Allers, the co-director of ‘The Lion King’ and ‘Open Season’, has sadly passed away at the age of 76.

He also directed The Prophet, the Oscar-nominated The Little Matchgirl, was a storyboard artist on The Little Mermaid, Head of Story on Beauty and the Beast and more. pic.twitter.com/cEGH4uCVpS

— ToonHive (@ToonHive) January 18, 2026

“We were just trading emails this past week while he was traveling in Egypt, which makes this loss feel all the more unreal”, added Bossert. “Roger was an extraordinarily gifted artist and filmmaker, a true pillar of the Disney Animation renaissance”.

According to Deadline, Roger Allers was born on June 29, 1949, in Rye, New York. He grew up in Arizona and studied fine arts at Arizona State University. He first worked on projects like Sesame Street before moving into animated films.

In the 1980s, he worked on Tron and Animalympics and later joined Disney. At Disney, he started as a storyboard artist and slowly became a director. His biggest success came with The Lion King in 1994, which he co-directed with Rob Minkoff. The film won many awards and is still loved by fans around the world.

Allers also wrote the Broadway stage version of The Lion King, which won a Tony Award. After leaving Disney, he worked on films like Open Season and The Prophet. Roger Allers is survived by his former wife Leslee Hackenson and their two children, Leah and Aidan. (ANI)