Twenty years ago this week (June 24, 1994), The Lion King was unleashed in US cinemas. And wow, did it roar.
No matter how well you may know the iconic animation, how many can honestly say that they know all 20 of the below facts?
Simba (Photo: Disney)
1. Scar was not originally written as a brother of Mufasa's, but as an unrelated rogue lion. That would certainly have explained the completely different accent...
2. Anteaters appear in the big pyramid of animals in 'I Just Can't Wait To Be King', but they're native to South America - not South Africa.
3. Disney were actually sued for defamation of character once the film was released... by animal activists acting on behalf of hyenas.
4. Behind the scenes, production workers were calling the film Bamlet, because of its similarities to both Bambi and Hamlet.
Timon and Pumbaa (Photo: Disney)
5. In a draft of the script, Nala was banished from Pride Rock for rejecting Scar's sexual advances. And you thought Mufasa's demise was dark...
6. The stampede that killed off the monarch took three years to put together, but it only takes up two and a half minutes of screentime.
7. When Zazu sings "It's a small world" and Scar barks "Anything but that!", it's an in-joke referencing the insufferable attraction at Disneyland.
8. 'I Just Can't Wait To Be King' was originally intended to be sung by Mufasa, until filmmakers realised it didn't suit James Earl Jones' deep singing voice.
Rafiki (Photo: Disney)
9. 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight', meanwhile, was meant to be a comedy song for Timon and Pumbaa, but Elton John insisted it had to be played romantically.
10. Sean Connery was Disney's first choice to play Scar...
11. ... but Jeremy Irons was so good in the role that animators worked to build in some of his real facial expressions; something they didn't do for any other character.
12. Speaking of the animators, it was Disney's 'B-team' working on this movie, because the 'A-team' were working on Pocahontas; which was in production at the same time and perceived to be the more likely hit.
Simba and Zazu (Photo: Disney)
13. The opening chant of 'Circle of Life' does actually mean something. It translates to: "Here comes a lion, Father / Oh yes, it's a lion / Here comes a lion, Father / Oh yes, it's a lion / A lion We're going to conquer / A lion A lion and a leopard come to this open place."
14. Scar's real name is known to precisely nobody.
15. Rowan Atkinson faced a lot of competition to win the role of Zazu: Patrick Stewart, John Cleese, Michael Palin and Eric Idle were all in the running.
16. The Lion King gave Disney their second Golden Globe victory in the prestigious 'Best Picture: Musical Or Comedy' category. Their first was with Beauty and the Beast.
Nala and Simba (Photo: Disney)
17. The original title of the film was King Of The Jungle, until execs realised that lions don't actually live in the jungle.
18. It also wasn't even supposed to be a musical, until lyricist Tim Rice made the suggestion. Elton John came aboard and the rest is history.
19. Nathan Lane and Ernie Salselle, who play Timon and Pumbaa, originally wanted to play hyenas. But when they ran into eachother at their audition, they asked to be tried-out as a partnership, and the production team realised how good their comic chemistry was.
20. Perhaps the most important fact of all: Pumbaa was the first Disney character to fart on-screen.
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