You might think that Disney poured all their top-tier talent into this project. The best directors, the best animators, the best musicians, the works! You'd be wrong.
The A-Team Went to Campy Colonialism
The dirty little secret of The Lion King is that it was initially considered the "B-picture" at the studio. The real "A-Team" of animators and creative geniuses were all working on a little film called Pocahontas, which was considered the serious, prestigious project. For some reason, people thought working on The Lion King was a punishment! Those left behind to on The Lion King had to get creative.
Funnily enough, the original director wanted to make the film a nature documentary-style film. Just imagine: ninety minutes of lions yawning, wildebeests chewing grass, and a majestic sun rising over and over again, set to the soothing sounds of a narrator. Luckily, the studio said, "NAAAAAH! We’re making this a musical with pop songs by Elton John." This creative difference led to the original director's departure and a new team coming in to save the day, proving once and for all that sometimes a bit of creative chaos is exactly what's needed.
Simba: The Shakespearean Lion Who Was Almost aWarthog
The story isn't just about a lion becoming king. It’s also about one of the greatest plays in the English language! The film is heavily influenced by Shakespeare’s Hamlet, featuring a royal family, a murdered king, and a prince who has to avenge his father. So yeah, the Disney team decided to give us a talking-lion movie with some good old-fashioned regicide.
But even the most iconic parts of the film had their own dramatic backstory. Timon and Pumbaa’s famous anthem, "Hakuna Matata," wasn't always the plan. It was a last-minute addition that replaced a song called "Warthog Rhapsody." We'll let you decide which title sounds more... appetizing.
The Stampede That Needed an "Avoidance Program"
The wildebeest stampede is one of the most terrifying moments in animated history, and for good reason. To create the scene, Disney's animators had to invent an "avoidance program" to keep all the computer-generated wildebeests from merging into one giant, terrifying blob. It took three years to produce, a testament to the fact that animating a single run cycle and then replicating it hundreds of times is harder than you think it is. It also proved that traditional animation and the fancy new CGI could work together beautifully, paving the way for a whole new generation of animated films.
Holy Copyright Infringement, Batman (allegedly)!
Finally, we can’t talk about the film’s production without mentioning...that. Critics and fans have long pointed out the wild similarities between The Lion King and the Japanese anime series Kimba the White Lion. There’s the exiled lion cub hero, a wicked lion with a scar, and even a wise baboon shaman. Disney, of course, has consistently denied any knowledge of the show, but the similarities are there and can't exactly be ignored.
But in a wonderfully awkward moment that still lives in infamy, Matthew Broderick, the voice of adult Simba, said in an interview that he thought he was being cast for a remake of the Kimba show because he was a fan of it as a kid. Oops! Disney's response? Send a cease-and-desist letter to a Japanese film festival screening a Kimba movie, an action that would directly contradict their claim of blissful ignorance.
So there you have it. A humble "B-picture" that became a cultural phenomenon, a Shakespearean tragedy starring a bunch of animals, and a legacy with a very interesting footnote. It just goes to show you that sometimes the best films are born from the most delightfully chaotic beginnings.
No comments:
Post a Comment