That cloud of dust DOESN’T spell sex… and 8 other things you never knew about the original Lion King film
Following the news Disney intend to produce a live action remake of the animated flick, here are some little-known facts about the 1994 classic
NEWS that a live action remake of The Lion King is in the works has been met with both excitement and trepidation by fans of the original film.
Sources reckon the project was fast-tracked after the incredible success of The Jungle Book, which has already made millions despite only being released in April.
Like The Jungle Book, filmmaker Jon Favreau will steer the ship for the new Disney live-action version of The Lion King.
A release date is yet to be unveiled, but in the meantime, here are a few things you may not have known about the original 1994 family classic.
Disney preferred Pocahontas
At the same time as The Lion King, Disney were also working on Pocahontas, which was released almost exactly a year later.
Reportedly they expected Pocahontas to be the bigger hit, and were so convinced that they assigned their ‘A’ team of animators to work on it, while their ‘B’ team toiled on The Lion King.
In the end, The Lion King grossed more than three times the global box office of Pocahontas and was the biggest animated film of the last 50 years in terms of estimated attendance.
The hidden ‘sex’ reference
The moment adult Simba collapses on the edge of a rock face, sending a cloud of dust flying into the night air was paused on many an occasion by eagle-eyed viewers.
It appeared that for a moment, the particles formed into letters, spelling out S-E-X.
One of the film’s animators, Tom Sito, has since confirmed that yes, there was a word intentionally spelled out in the dust — but it’s not as filthy as people thought.
Sito insisted the letters actually spell ‘SFX’ - an in-joke from the film’s art and special effects (or ‘SFX’) department.
Voiced from afar
Adult Simba was voiced by actor Matthew Broderick, and he recorded his performance over THREE YEARS.
Interestingly, during that time Broderick only ever recorded his lines with another actor once.
He only discovered who voiced his love interest in the film – Nala – when he rocked up at the premiere (it was actress Moira Kelly).
Hyenas not a laughing matter
Despite it being a family classic, The Lion King was met with some controversy when it first opened.
Incredibly, a hyena researcher (yes, apparently that job does exist) SUED Disney for defamation of character, claiming the film’s representation of the animals left “a lot to be desired”.
Another hyena expert who facilitated the animators’ research trip to study animal behaviour also took the hump and encouraged viewers to boycott the film.
Some also felt the ‘evil’ hyenas, voiced by three of the only voice actors of colour in an otherwise largely white voice cast, were a racist representation.
Zazu nearly sounded like Timon
The film’s hilarious duo Timon (Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella) could’ve been VERY different.
Lane originally auditioned for the role of Zazu, while Sabella tried out as one of the hyenas.
The pair, who were co-starring in the musical Guys and Dolls at the time, read for their parts together and the directors discovered they had a winning comedy duo on their hands.
On the subject of comedy duos, the film was set to reunite comics Cheech & Chong to play two of the hyenas.
However, only Cheech signed up – so Whoopi Goldberg ended up filling the other role.
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Copy cats?
While The Lion King’s filmmakers admitted they took some inspiration from Hamlet for the story, other than that it was an original story.
At least, that’s what Disney said — but not everyone agreed.
Several people pointed out the animated story shared several similarities with 1950s Japanese cartoon Kimba The White Lion.
Japanese cartoonists even signed a petition demanding Disney acknowledge their alleged inspiration.
Even Matthew Broderick admitted he assumed he was lending his voice to a US adaptation of Kimba when he started work on the film (awkward).
But Lion King director Roger Allers insisted he’d never even heard of Kimba, arguing: “The whole time I worked on The Lion King the name of that show never came up.
“At least I never heard it. I had never seen the show and really only became aware of it as Lion King was being completed, and someone showed me images of it.”
Simba and Eddie Murphy have the same parents
Turns out Simba has one very big thing in common with Eddie Murphy’s character in 1988 comedy classic Coming to America: they both have the same parents.
Simba’s mum and dad Mufasa and Nala are voiced by James Earl Jones and Madge Sinclair respectively, who also played King Jaffe and Queen Aeoleon in Murphy’s fish-out-of-water tale.
Work from home
As if the production of the film wasn’t fragmented enough, an earthquake towards the end of the production forced all the staff in California to finish their animation at home.
We nearly didn’t feel the love tonight
While Elton John ended up co-writing the soundtrack to the film with Tim Rice, he wasn’t first choice for the job.
Rice originally wanted ABBA’s Benny and Bjorn to work on it, but they had other musical commitments.
Turned out for the best really, as songs like Can You Feel The Love Tonight and Hakuna Matata were earworms during the mid-90s – and it showed in sales.
The Lion King soundtrack has sold more than 10 million copies in the US alone, making it the biggest-selling soundtrack to an animated film EVER.