Roger Allers, 'The Lion King' Director, Dies at 76

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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Seasoned Hollywood director, Roger Allers, passed away on Saturday, January 17, 2026, at the age of 76 in Santa Monica, California, due to illness. Allers is known for his contribution as one of the directors of the Disney classic, The Lion King, which was released in 1994. The unfortunate news was confirmed by his colleague at The Walt Disney Company, Dave Bossert, on Sunday, January 18, 2026.

Through his Facebook account, Bossert remembered Allers as a "giftied" artist and filmmaker who was a true pillar in the revitalization of Disney animation. He also felt honored to have worked with Allers on many film projects in the '80s and '90s.

Bossert wrote that Roger Allers was "one of the kindest people you could hope to know and work alongside."

Disney CEO Bob Iger also paid tribute to Allers as a creative visionary who made many contributions to Disney. Iger also said that Allers' works had helped define an era of animation that continues to inspire audiences worldwide.

"We are deeply grateful for everything he gave to Disney. Our hearts are with his family, friends, and collaborators," wrote Iger on his personal Instagram account.

**Directing The Lion King Film**

As quoted from The Hollywood Reporter, Allers made his directorial debut with the animated film The Lion King (1994) alongside Rob Minkoff for Walt Disney Animation Studios. The film then became a huge success at the box office with nearly US$979 million revenue worldwide during its initial theatrical release.

A report from Variety even mentioned that the film The Lion King (1994) is widely regarded as one of the best animated films in Disney's catalog. The film, starring Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, and James Earl Jones, was also remade in 2019 with Jon Favreau as the director. It then raked in US$1.6 billion in revenue worldwide and became one of the highest-grossing films of all time.

The Life of Roger Allers

According to The Guardian, Roger Allers was born on June 29, 1949, in New York, albeit he grew up in Arizona and gained a fine arts degree from Arizona State University. Disney's animated film Peter Pan, which he watched at the age of 5, sparked Allers' interest in the world of animation. Before becoming a director, he began his animation film career at Disney as part of the storyboard team for Tron (1982).

Allers also worked as a storyboard artist on several other films, such as Oliver & Company (1988), The Little Mermaid (1989), and The Rescuers Down Under (1990). He was then promoted to Head of Story for the film Beauty and the Beast (1991) and was involved in working on Aladdin (1992) as well.