Roger Allers

Roger Allers (June 29, 1949 – January 17, 2026) was an American filmmaker, animator, storyboard artist and playwright. He was best known for co-directing Disney Animation's The Lion King (1994), the highest-grossing traditionally animated film of all time, and for writing the Broadway adaptation of the same name. He also directed Sony Pictures Animation's first feature-length animated film, Open Season (2006) and the animated adaptation of The Prophet.

Allers was born in Rye, New York and was raised in Scottsdale, Arizona. He developed an interest in animation after he had watched Peter Pan (1953). Allers graduated from Arizona State University (ASU) with a fine arts degree. He lived in Greece for the next two years, and relocated to Boston where he attended animation courses at Harvard University. He next worked as an animator for Lisberger Studios on several projects, including Animalympics (1980) and Tron (1982). Allers also worked for Nelvana Studios in Canada and Toho in Japan.

In 1985, Allers was hired by Disney as a storyboard artist for Oliver & Company (1988). He later worked as a story artist for The Little Mermaid (1989), The Rescuers Down Under (1990), and Aladdin (1992). He also served as story supervisor on Beauty and the Beast (1991). Afterwards, Allers and Rob Minkoff directed The Lion King (1994), which became a critical and commercial success. For his second directorial project, Allers intended to direct Kingdom of the Sun, in which he was teamed with Mark Dindal. However, in 1998, Allers left the project due to creative differences. The project was reworked into The Emperor's New Groove (2000).

Meanwhile, Allers collaborated with Julie Taymor and Irene Mecchi on the Broadway musical adaptation of The Lion King (1997). Both he and Mecchi were nominated for a Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical. Later, Allers directed Open Season and The Little Matchgirl, both released in 2006. In 2014, he wrote and directed The Prophet. Allers died on January 17, 2026 at the age of 76.