The classic “The Lion King” marked the childhood of many children who grew up in the 90s, but one of its main songs was almost discarded
Celebrating its 30th anniversary last July, Disney’s classic “The Lion King” marked the childhood of many children who grew up in the 90s. The journey of the lion Simba, inspired by “Hamlet”, a play of the same name by Shakespearehas several memorable scenes and characters, as well as timeless songs that are still popular today.
From the opening “The Circle of Life” to the hit “Hakuna Matata”, it’s hard to find someone who doesn’t know the tracks composed by Elton John, Hans Zimmer and Tim Rice. However, the most shocking thing is that the song “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”, performed by Rocket Man himself, and winner of the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1994, was almost discarded in the final version of the film.
The reason behind this decision was related to when the song would play and which characters would be responsible for performing it. Originally, the track was going to be sung entirely by Timon and Pumbaa in a more comical style, which left Elton John and Tim Rice perplexed, as they expected the song to appear in the film as a love duet between Nala and Simba.
In an interview for the Entertainment Weekly, Nathan LaneTimon’s voice actor in the animations, confirms the fact, saying that Elton John I would also like to have a Disney love song in my career:
The reason I wrote the song was because I wanted to have a Disney love song. I didn’t want it to be sung by the ‘mouse and the pig,'” he said.
Initially, the producers took the singer’s ideas into consideration, but decided to cut the song because they couldn’t find a specific scene to fit it in. In the end, after much insistence and determination, the decision was made by the singer himself. Elton Johnwhich found a place in the end credits, and also in a romantic scene between Nala and Simba, performed by Kristle Edwards, Joseph Williams and Sally Dworsky, with Timon and Pumbaa singing only at the beginning and end; watch and remember!
Currently “The Lion King” and the other films in the franchise are available through Disney+.
Source: Recreio
