14 Unknown Facts About The Lion King That Will Change Everything You Ever Knew As A Kid
by N/A, 10 years ago |
4 min read
|
1970
It's 2014, which means it's been a whopping TWENTY YEARS since The Lion King was released.
To celebrate this outrageous milestone, we've gathered some facts about one of the greatest movies ever made, just to remind you just how awesome it is.
Hakuna matata!
1. There are multiple characters whose names were based on Swahili words.
Pumbaa=lazy/careless, Sarabi=mirage, Rafiki=comrade/friend, Simba=lion/courageous warrior, Mufasa was supposedly the last kind of the Bagada people, and Nala=gift.
2. The Lion King earned more than any other movie in the world in 1994, and in the U.S. it was second only to Forrest Gump.
3. The song "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" was almost cut from the film, but Elton John begged for it to stay in.
Elton John ended up winning on Oscar for "Best Song" thanks to this song.
4. Only three Disney movies have ever won a Golden Globe for Best Picture, and The Lion King was one of them.
The other two were Toy Story 2 and Beauty and the Beast.
5. Lion Neeson was one of the actors seriously considered for the role of Mufasa.
6. It's been suggested that Bon Jovi was the inspiration for Simba's mane when he grew up.
7. The movie almost was given the title "King of the Jungle." Thankfully for the creators, they realized before finishing it that lions live in the savanna, not the jungle,and saved themselves some grievous embarrassment.
8. Hell's Gate National park in Kenya was actually the inspiration for many of the locations in the movie, including, specifically, Pride Rock.
9. James Earl Jones and Madge Sinclair, AKA Mufasa an Surabi, have been married (as well as King and Queen) before--in the timeless classic Coming to America.
10. Jeremy Irons did such an incredible job as Scar that the animators actually based his facial features off of the actor, as a sort of homage.
11. The Lion King was the first ever Disney Film to be dubbed in Zulu.
This was for the film's African release.
12. Pumbaa, the great pioneer, was the first Disney character to ever let one rip.
For that, and so many other things, Pumbaa, we thank you.
13. When Timone asks, "What do you want me to do, dress in drag and do the hula?" That line all Nathan Lane, who improvised it while voicing the character.
To anyone who is familiar with Nathan Lane's body of work, this should hardly come as a shock.
14. Allegedly the crew that worked on The Lion King were sort of the "B Team" of Disney, the Junior Varsity team that was used when the "A Team" was too busy working on Pocahontas.
Disney figured Pocahontas would be a much more successful film.
✕
Do not show me this again