He is referred to as King Leonidas at the Disney Parks and Consumer Products, but in the movie Bedknobs & Broomsticks he is simply King Lion. (Not to be confused with the animated film I worked on).
These are a couple of model sheets Milt Kahl created for the character. In those days he did his design work with a felt pen, then added either grey tones or some color using Magic Markers.
These are beautiful drawings, though I would have liked to see a new design for a Disney lion, instead the reuse of Shere Khan's facial features.
But I love the way he moves, so much weight in his walk, like the scene when he comes on screen for the first time.
This scene can be seen toward the end of the Soccer Game. The Soccer ball is loosing air and flies out of control. It "gooses" the King, and this is his reaction.
The first two images are copies of actual animation keys, followed by original rough drawings which Milt discarded. He changed the landing slightly for the final version. But this is great raw stuff, from Milt's brain right on to paper, his first pass.
