This series marked the first time that
Buena Vista Home Entertainment collaborated with
Disney Feature Animation and
DisneyToon Studios to create a game of this type. Andy Siditsky, Disney's Senior VP of Worldwide DVD production and Creative Services, explained that he wanted set a higher benchmark with what could be done within a DVD set top experience: "We started thinking about various theme park rides land Timon and Pumbaa were our natural hosts. That led to different ways of doing it and different pieces and wondering where would you go?" Siditsky brainstormed ideas with a small team including re-recording mixer Terry Porter, discussing different types of tours. They worked closely with the Feature Animation team to develop the animation and assets for the game. As part of the research, the team traveled to Walt Disney World, hung around The Jungle Cruise and read some of scripts of the rides, using them as a guide. There was some trepidation over whether the team could successfully complete the project as it had never been done before. Describing it as an "experiment", Siditsky noted that it opened up the door to create virtual safari type of experiences down the line. Part of the challenge was in making it an engaging theme park ride while being relevant to The Lion King franchise and including some adult humour. An additional challenge was in making the animation quality up to the level of the film, considering time and budget constraints. Around 20% of
The Lion King was repurposed for
Virtual Safari. The first Virtual Safari game was released on The
Lion King special edition after six months of work, which combined traditional and CG elements.
Ernie Sabella reprised the voice of Pumbaa and
Kevin Schon voiced Timon in both
1.0 and
2.0.
Nathan Lane returned to voice Timon for the
1.5 installment.
1.5 also featured the returning voices of
Julie Kavner and
Jerry Stiller as Ma and Uncle Max respectively. == Critical reception ==