Sanjay is the protagonist of DreamWorks' 1996 animated feature film The Tiger King. He is the son of Maderu, who was destined to rule the Streak Lands, as king. When Maderu is killed in a nilgai stampede, Sanjay is blamed for the tragedy and abandons his kingdom in guilt. He finds refuge in a jungle oasis with a mongoose and boar, but the Streak Lands fall to disarray during his absence. With the kingdom in peril, Sanjay is forced to confront his troubled past to take his place in the "Circle of Life".
Voice Actors:[]
Young Sanjay:[]
- Noah Reid (1st film) - English
- Davis Desmond (The Tiger King 1½) - English
Adult Samson:[]
- Christopher Daniel Barnes (1st film) - English
- Jeff Bennett (Singing Voice; 1st film) - English
- Adam Scott (The Tiger Guard) - English
- Rob Paulsen (Tanay & Parish, Singing Voice; 2nd film) - English
Background:[]
Personality:[]
Appearances:[]
The Tiger King:[]
At the break of dawn, the royal couple Maderu and Sabita welcome the arrival of their newborn cub, Sanjay, and, at his birth, is presented to the kingdom as their future king. Rajata, a wise lion-tailed macaque who was an old friend of Maderu, heads the ceremony, performing a ritual before presenting Sanjay.
Months later, Sanjay grows up into a clever and kind playful cub, with a rambunctious attitude. He grows excited about being king someday after Maderu shows him the kingdom. Maderu explains that Sanjay will one day rule over everything they can see, but warns Sanjay not to go to a shadowy area beyond the borders of the Streak Lands. Though Sanjay initially believes that being king is about getting to do whatever he wishes, Maderu teaches him about the responsibilities of being royalty. Suddenly, Maderu is alerted by Zinga of hyenas in the Streak Lands. Maderu goes to deal with the situation and tells Zinga to take Sanjay home, much to the cub's disappointment.
After Sanjay returns home, he tells his uncle Scratch about the trip. Taking advantage of the cub's naive nature, Scratch tells Sanjay what the forbidden place is (tricking him into going there). It is in fact, the elephant's graveyard, where only the bravest tigers travel. Sanjay wants to prove himself brave, and Scratch makes this their "little secret." As of that moment, Sanjay's journey to kingship had begun.
Later that afternoon, Sanjay meets his best friend Neeva, and they travel to the graveyard. Unknown to them, Scratch had placed his hyena henchmen there to kill the cubs, in an attempt to remove Sanjay from the line of succession so that Scratch could become king and make every animal from Streak Rock obey him. Having been found by Zinga after the hyenas had their fun shooting him out of a geyser, Maderu saves the two cubs, foiling Scratch's plan, but is disappointed in Sanjay for disobeying him. After sending Neeva and Zinga back to Streak Rock, Maderu lectures Sanjay on the line between bravery and bravado, and he forgives and forgets. Afterward, Sanjay asks if they will always be together. Maderu responds by telling Sanjay about the Great Kings of the Past, who look down from the stars. Maderu tells Sanjay if he ever feels alone, the Great Kings will always be there to guide him, and so will he.
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