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‘The Lion King’ co-director Allers dies at age 76, Disney announces

Roger Allers, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker who co-directed Disney’s 1994 blockbuster animated hit 'The Lion King,' has died, the company’s CEO announced. He was 76.

Allers died Jan.17 after 'a short illness,' a Walt Disney Animation Studios spokesperson told the Hollywood Reporter and Animation Magazine. Disney CEO Bob Iger, in a social media post, called the director a 'creative visionary whose many contributions to Disney will live on for generations to come.'

Allers worked on visual development and conceptual designs for the first 'Tron' film, released in 1982. He become a mainstay in the story departments for Disney’s major animated films, with credits for movies such as 'Oliver & Company' (1988), 'Beauty and the Beast' (1991), 'Aladdin' (1992), 'The Emperor’s New Groove' (2000) and 'Lilo & Stitch (2002).' In 1995, his directorial debut 'The Lion King' – created alongside Rob Minkoff – won a Golden Globe for best motion picture: musical or comedy, and at one point was the highest-grossing animated film of all time in the United States.

USA TODAY Network