166 Fun Facts About Lion King

Which child actor provided the speaking voice of young Simba in the 1994 film The Lion King?

Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Randy on TV's Home Improvement, spoke young Simba, the cub Scar tricks into blaming himself for his father's death.

What kind of animal is Timon in The Lion King?

Meerkat: Timon is the fast-talking outcast who finds the collapsed cub Simba and raises him far from the Pride Lands.

Most of the 1998 sequel Simba's Pride was animated at a Disney studio in which country?

Australia: Disney's television animation studio in Sydney drew most of Simba's Pride, and none of the original film's animators worked on the sequel.

Rafiki's teasing chant 'Asante sana, squash banana' opens with Swahili words meaning what?

'Thank you very much' is what asante sana means; when Simba asks about the rest of the chant, Rafiki says it means 'you are a baboon, and I am not'.

Most of Disney's top animators skipped The Lion King for which film, expected to be the bigger hit?

Pocahontas drew most of the studio's top animators as the prestige project; The Lion King, led by many first-time supervising animators, went on to earn more than twice as much.

Who provided the voice for the adult Simba in the original 1994 animated film?

Matthew Broderick recorded adult Simba over three years, mostly alone in the booth, and only found out who was playing Nala at the premiere.

The villain Scar is loosely modelled on which Shakespearean character?

Claudius, the villain of Hamlet, murders his brother the king and takes the throne, just as Scar does to Mufasa.

What African animal is Pumbaa?

Warthog: Pumbaa is one, and when a hyena calls him a pig he charges the whole pack, bellowing 'They call me Mister Pig!'

What is the name of Mufasa's loyal hornbill majordomo?

Zazu, Mufasa's hornbill majordomo, becomes Scar's caged prisoner after the king's death, until Timon and Pumbaa set him free.

Which actor voiced Mufasa in the original 1994 film The Lion King?

James Earl Jones voiced Mufasa, who returns after his death as a vision urging the grown Simba to go home and take his place as king.

In the song 'Hakuna Matata', what made the young Pumbaa an outcast among the other animals?

His smell: Pumbaa 'could clear the savanna after every meal', and Timon claps a hand over his mouth before he can sing the word for it.

Who is Simba's mother in The Lion King?

Sarabi is Mufasa's queen and Simba's mother; she leads the lionesses' hunting party and confronts Scar over the famine under his rule.

What is the lions' home in The Lion King, where newborn Simba is lifted up before the gathered animals?

Pride Rock is the lions' home; the film ends there as it began, with a newborn cub held aloft, this time Simba and Nala's.

Under what original title did Solomon Linda compose 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' in 1939?

Mbube was recorded by Solomon Linda and the Evening Birds in 1939; he died in poverty, and his family's lawsuit over the film's use of the song won them royalties in a 2006 settlement.

Who directed the original 1994 animated film The Lion King?

Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff were still finishing the film when Disney released its opening scene as a trailer in late 1993, with only about a third of the picture complete.

In what year did The Lion King Broadway musical officially open?

The Lion King musical premiered on Broadway on November 13, 1997, and has become one of the longest-running and highest-grossing shows in history.

Who composed the score for the original 1994 animated film The Lion King?

Hans Zimmer didn't want to score a cartoon, but took the job so he could show off to his six-year-old daughter; it won him the Oscar for Best Original Score.

Who voiced the adult Kovu in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride?

Jason Marsden, also the voice of Goofy's son Max, played the grown Kovu, who is raised to kill Simba but falls in love with the king's daughter instead.

Which British comedian voiced Mufasa's hornbill majordomo in the 1994 film The Lion King?

Rowan Atkinson at first thought voice work pointless for a visual comedian; his Mr. Bean co-writer Robin Driscoll talked him into the part.

Which Scream star voiced the adult Kiara in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride?

Neve Campbell voiced the grown Kiara, who walks between her father's pride and the exiled Outsiders and talks both sides out of the final battle.

Young Simba boasts at the Elephant Graveyard that he laughs in the face of what?

Danger: his 'ha ha ha' is answered by cackling from inside an elephant skull as three hyenas step out, and years later Nala repeats the boast to him.

Elton John composed The Lion King's songs, but which lyricist wrote the words?

Tim Rice had stepped in on Disney's previous film after its lyricist Howard Ashman died, and the studio kept him on, pairing his words with Elton John's music.

What food do Timon and Pumbaa introduce Simba to in The Lion King?

Grubs and other bugs are Timon and Pumbaa's whole diet; Simba grimaces, swallows one and repeats Pumbaa's verdict: 'slimy, yet satisfying'.

What was Scar's name before he was called Scar, as shown in the 2024 prequel Mufasa: The Lion King?

Taka was his birth name, first given in a 1994 tie-in book; in the 2024 prequel he betrays his adopted brother Mufasa and is called Scar from then on.

Who voiced Scar in the original 1994 film The Lion King?

Jeremy Irons voiced Scar, who survives his fall in the final fight only to be killed by the hyenas he has just tried to blame.

Which song was newly animated and added to The Lion King for its 2003 DVD Special Edition?

The Morning Report was sung in the 1997 stage musical before it was animated for the 2003 Special Edition; the Broadway production then cut the number in 2010.

What is the name of the song that plays over The Lion King's opening scene, presenting Simba?

'Circle of Life' opens the film, and Disney thought the scene so strong that it ran all four minutes of it as the first trailer instead of the usual montage of clips.

Which Disney tune does Scar's caged hornbill start singing before Scar snaps 'anything but that'?

It's a Small World, the Disney theme-park earworm, is too much even for Scar; the hornbill switches to 'I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts' and Scar joins in.

Which actress voiced the hyena Shenzi in the original 1994 film The Lion King?

Whoopi Goldberg voiced Shenzi, who jeers 'Do it again' at cub Simba's squeaky roar, only for the next roar to come from Mufasa.

Which actress voiced the adult Nala in The Lion King's original animated trilogy?

Moira Kelly replaced another actress as Nala during production; the film's adult Simba, who had recorded with her predecessor, only learned of the switch at the premiere.

Which South African musician arranged the African choir elements in The Lion King's score, later co-writing the stage musical's new songs?

Lebo M left apartheid South Africa as a teenager and scraped by on odd jobs in Los Angeles; his is the voice that chants over the film's opening sunrise.

Which lioness is Nala's mother in The Lion King?

Sarafina is bathing Nala when Simba comes to fetch her, and she leaves it to the queen to decide whether the two cubs may go off together.

In The Lion King, which animal pops up to give Mufasa's majordomo 'news from the underground'?

A gopher surfaces with word of hyenas in the Pride Lands, so Mufasa breaks off Simba's pouncing lesson and sends the cub home.

In 'Be Prepared', Scar promises the hyenas that with him as king they will never again go what?

Hungry is the promise, and it fails: under Scar the herds leave the Pride Lands, and the starving hyenas end up turning on him.

Who voiced Timon in the original 1994 film The Lion King?

Nathan Lane came in to read for a different part alongside a stage castmate, and the directors liked the pair so much that they cast the two as Timon and Pumbaa instead.

Who voiced Pumbaa in the original 1994 film The Lion King?

Ernie Sabella read alongside a Broadway castmate at the audition, and the pair's chemistry got both of them cast as the duo Timon and Pumbaa.

Who leads the Outsiders, Scar's loyal followers, in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride?

Zira trains her son Kovu as an assassin to kill Simba; when he turns against her, she attacks the king herself and falls from a cliff into the river.

In Simba's Pride, what is the barren territory where Scar's exiled followers live called?

The Outlands are the dry wastes beyond the Pride Lands; young Kiara wanders in against her father's orders and meets the cub Kovu there.

Which Simpsons star voices Timon's mother, Ma, in The Lion King 1½?

Julie Kavner, the voice of Marge Simpson, plays Ma, who leaves the colony to search for Timon after his daydreaming on lookout duty lets hyenas attack.

Who directed The Lion King on Broadway, becoming the first woman to win the Tony for Best Direction of a Musical?

Julie Taymor felt the film's story was short of women, so on stage she turned Rafiki, its male mandrill shaman, into a female role.

Which animals stampede through the gorge in the scene where Mufasa dies in The Lion King?

Wildebeest pour into the gorge when the hyenas, on Scar's signal, panic the herd towards Simba; Mufasa gets his son clear but cannot climb out himself.

Which Disney Renaissance film immediately preceded The Lion King in release?

Aladdin's directors had been offered an early version of the lion story and picked Aladdin instead; it held the animated box-office record until The Lion King took it.

The Lion King musical premiered at the Orpheum Theatre in which US city before moving to Broadway?

Minneapolis audiences had to sit through a pause before the stampede while the set was put up; the scene written to cover that change, for Mufasa and his majordomo, is still in the show.

In The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, what is the name of Kovu's older brother?

Nuka, voiced by comedian Andy Dick, starts the wildfire with his sister Vitani that lets Kovu 'rescue' Kiara on her first solo hunt.

Where do young Simba and Nala tell their mothers they are going, to hide a trip to the Elephant Graveyard?

The water hole is Simba's cover story; the queen agrees, but sends the royal majordomo along as chaperone, and the cubs have to give him the slip.

In his first scene in The Lion King, what small animal is Scar about to eat when he is interrupted?

A mouse dangles from Scar's claws while he muses that life's not fair; the king's hornbill barges in, the mouse escapes, and Scar complains he has lost his lunch.

Which voice actor played the giggling hyena Ed in the original 1994 film The Lion King?

Jim Cummings voiced the laughing Ed, and has said he also sang the last third of 'Be Prepared' in Scar's voice after the actor strained his own.

The Pride Lands' mandrill shaman makes his home in what type of tree?

Rafiki lives in an ancient baobab, where he paints young Simba's likeness after the presentation and later smears a mane onto it when he senses Simba is alive.

Who provided young Simba's singing voice on 'I Just Can't Wait to Be King'?

Jason Weaver sang young Simba's songs; he recorded 'I Just Can't Wait to Be King' on the day he came in for what he thought was only an audition.

Which working title did The Lion King carry just before it took its final name?

King of the Jungle was dropped because the story is set on the savannah, not in a jungle; earlier versions had been called King of the Kalahari and King of the Beasts.

Which original director of The Lion King wanted a nature-documentary style and quit when it became a musical?

George Scribner left the project over that decision, and the music he walked away from went on to win both of the film's Oscars, for its score and for best song.

Which country did The Lion King's creative team visit for research before animating the Pride Lands?

Kenya: the lead artists toured one of its national parks in October 1991, and the landscapes they studied there became the model for the Pride Lands.

The Lion King's 1994 run made it the second-highest-grossing film ever, behind which film?

Jurassic Park kept its record even though Disney pulled The Lion King from cinemas when school started in September 1994 and brought it back for Thanksgiving to add to its total.

Which film ended The Lion King's reign as the highest-grossing animated film?

Finding Nemo, Pixar's fish story, took the record from the hand-drawn Lion King in 2003 and lost it a year later to Shrek 2.

What does Scar say to Mufasa just before letting him fall into the stampede?

Long live the king is Scar's mocking farewell as he sends his brother to his death; his hyenas had chanted the same words to him during 'Be Prepared'.

The Lion King stayed the second-highest-grossing film ever until which 1996 blockbuster passed it?

Independence Day took its place in the all-time chart, but a 3D re-release in 2011 lifted The Lion King's lifetime total back above the alien-invasion hit's.

Joseph Williams, adult Simba's singing voice, was the lead singer of which rock band?

Toto, the band behind 'Africa', is where Joseph Williams made his name; in 'Hakuna Matata' he takes over the singing mid-song, at the moment Simba grows from cub to adult.

Which actress voiced the lioness Sarabi in the original 1994 film The Lion King?

Madge Sinclair had played a queen beside the same king before: she and Mufasa's actor were the royal parents in the 1988 comedy Coming to America.

Which actor voiced the hyena Banzai in the original 1994 film The Lion King?

Cheech Marin voiced Banzai; the hyena pair was first planned as a Cheech and Chong double act, but Tommy Chong was never cast and his part was rewritten for a woman.

Timon and Pumbaa's voice actors were co-starring in which Broadway musical when they auditioned together?

Guys and Dolls was their day job in 1992; the two read together at the audition, and the directors liked the double act so much that both were cast as the duo.

Scar's line 'You have no idea' was borrowed from his voice actor's earlier role as which real-life figure?

Claus von Bülow, the accused socialite of Reversal of Fortune, says 'You have no idea' in that film; the writers gave Scar the line, and his animator studied the performance.

Which supervising animator drew Scar for the 1994 film The Lion King?

Andreas Deja, who had already animated Gaston and Jafar, built Scar's look and mannerisms from the face and gestures of the character's own voice actor.

Which natural disaster forced The Lion King's animators to finish the film from home?

The Northridge earthquake shut the studio five months before release, so drawings were finished on kitchen tables and in garages and ferried from house to house.

Which technique let five artists fill The Lion King's stampede with hundreds of running creatures?

Computer animation built a few 3D animals, multiplied them into hundreds and shaded them to match the drawings; the two and a half minutes took more than two years.

Which 1962 epic did The Lion King's art director take as his model for a sense of sweeping scale?

Lawrence of Arabia was the benchmark for art director Andy Gaskill, who wanted audiences to sense the vastness of the savannah and feel its dust and breeze.

Which pop group's songwriters were first invited to write The Lion King's songs, having worked with its lyricist on Chess?

ABBA's Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus got the first call, but Andersson was tied up with his musical Kristina från Duvemåla, so the job went to Elton John.

Hans Zimmer was hired on the strength of which two earlier African-set films?

Zimmer had scored A World Apart (1988) and The Power of One (1992), both set in southern Africa; he drew on losing his own father to score Mufasa's death.

The mother of young Simba's singing voice refused Disney's $2 million offer for which deal instead?

$100,000 plus royalties was the deal she took: Disney kept re-releasing its films, she reasoned, and the singer says taking the buyout would have been the biggest mistake of his business career.

What is the highest RIAA certification The Lion King's 1994 soundtrack has earned in the US?

Diamond is the RIAA's award for ten million US copies; the soundtrack had already been certified at that level in 1995, four years before the Diamond award existed.

Which two theaters hosted The Lion King's limited release, nine days before it opened across America?

El Capitan and Radio City Music Hall showed the film from 15 June 1994, each screening preceded by a 20-minute live stage show; in New York it was performed by the Rockettes.

Which African language received a special dubbed version made for South Africa in 1994?

It was Disney's first Zulu dubbing.

The Lion King 3D in 2011 was the first reissue to top the US box office since which film's 1997 reissue?

Return of the Jedi's Special Edition led the charts in March 1997; The Lion King 3D opened to $30.2 million, and Disney promptly scheduled 3D reissues of four more animated hits.

Disney animators say the letters some viewers spot in a Lion King dust cloud are which effects-team abbreviation?

SFX is what animator Tom Sito says the dust spells, a signature slipped in by the effects team; activists who read it as 'SEX' accused Disney of hiding a subliminal message.

Which Japanese artist, the creator of Astro Boy, made Kimba the White Lion, which many say The Lion King copied?

Osamu Tezuka began Kimba as the manga Jungle Emperor in 1950; when The Lion King came out, hundreds of Japanese cartoonists signed a protest, but his own company declined to sue.

Who directed the 2019 remake of The Lion King?

Jon Favreau had his crew put on virtual-reality headsets and walk around the digital set, filming the animals with dollies and cranes as if on a real location.

Which fast-food chain ran the US kids' meal tie-in for The Lion King in 1994?

Burger King packed its kids' meals with Lion King toy figures in the summer of 1994; later in the decade Disney took its film tie-ins to the rival chain McDonald's.

Which Disney executive suggested modeling The Lion King's story on King Lear?

Michael Eisner, then Disney's chief, thought the pitch 'could be more Shakespearean' and proposed King Lear; a producer answered that the story already resembled Hamlet.

The Lion King's writers drew on which two biblical figures' stories to shape Simba's journey?

Joseph and Moses, each driven far from home before rising to lead, gave the writers a model for Simba once they found that leaning harder on Hamlet felt forced.

Which Walt Disney World park introduced the stage show Festival of the Lion King in 1998?

Animal Kingdom built the show around floats recycled from a retired Disneyland parade; it outlasted its first home, moving to the park's Africa area in 2014.

Which spin-off TV series ran 85 episodes between 1995 and 1999?

Timon & Pumbaa ran 85 episodes from 1995 to 1999; Nathan Lane voiced Timon only in early episodes, with Quinton Flynn and then Kevin Schon taking over.

Which Shakespeare play influenced the plot of The Lion King II: Simba's Pride?

Romeo and Juliet is the template: Simba's daughter and Kovu, raised among Scar's exiled followers, fall in love across the feud, but unlike Shakespeare's pair they live to reunite the prides.

In Simba's Pride, Rafiki sings to Kiara and Kovu about a paradise of love with which name?

Upendi is where love blooms, Rafiki promises, leading the pair into the jungle for a matchmaking number sung by Robert Guillaume with Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

Under what title was The Lion King 1½ released in many countries outside North America?

The Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata was the international title; at home Disney called it 1½ because its story runs alongside the first film's, retold from Timon and Pumbaa's side.

Which TV show does the framing device of The Lion King 1½ parody?

Mystery Science Theater 3000 is the model: Timon and Pumbaa sit in silhouette before the screen, heckling the first film and fast-forwarding to their own scenes.

Which relative of Timon's, voiced by Jerry Stiller, lives in his colony in The Lion King 1½?

Uncle Max, a gloomy pessimist, is talked into making Timon the colony's lookout; at the climax he helps dig the tunnels that drop the hyenas out of the fight.

Who developed the animated series The Lion Guard?

Ford Riley, creator of Special Agent Oso, developed The Lion Guard for Disney Junior in 2015; Kion leads the guard once led by his great-uncle Scar.

Where does the Lion Guard's long journey beyond the Pride Lands lead in the show's third season?

The Tree of Life, a refuge far off in Asia, is where the Guard go for cures: Kion carries a venomous scar from a cobra's bite and Ono's eyesight has been ruined by volcanic fumes.

What were the hyenas Banzai and Ed renamed in the 2019 remake?

Kamari and Azizi took over from Banzai and Ed in 2019, voiced by Keegan-Michael Key and Eric André; unlike Ed, who only laughs, Azizi talks.

The 2019 Lion King remake was the year's second-biggest film worldwide, behind which release?

Avengers: Endgame took $2.8 billion to the remake's $1.66 billion; the director later revealed that just one shot in his 'live-action' film, the very first, was really photographed.

Which new song, co-written and sung by Beyoncé, features in the 2019 remake of The Lion King?

Spirit plays as Simba heads home to reclaim his kingdom; the film's composer said it was the last piece added to the soundtrack.

Which two people co-wrote Beyoncé's new 2019 song with her?

'Spirit' was written by Beyoncé with Swedish producer Ilya Salmanzadeh and British artist Labrinth, and released as a single on 10 July 2019.

Which 2020 Disney+ visual album accompanied The Lion King: The Gift, Beyoncé's tie-in album?

Black Is King was written, directed and executive produced by Beyoncé, who retold Simba's story with a young African king as its human lead and released it in July 2020.

Which Oscar-winning director helmed Mufasa: The Lion King?

Barry Jenkins, known for intimate dramas such as Moonlight, made the all-digital prequel with the cinematographer and editor he had worked with on that film.

Who made her film debut in Mufasa: The Lion King, playing the cub of the lioness her own mother voices?

Blue Ivy Carter, then 12, voices Kiara opposite Beyoncé's Nala; the director said both were enthusiastic when he proposed casting mother and daughter together.

What is the name of the legendary lush oasis young Mufasa dreams of in Mufasa: The Lion King?

Milele is the lush promised land that Mufasa's parents, Masego and Afia, describe to him before a flash flood sweeps the cub away from them.

Mufasa: The Lion King lost its December 2024 opening weekend in US cinemas to which sequel released the same day?

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 won that weekend by $60 million to $35 million, but Mufasa passed it two weekends later and finished on $723 million worldwide to Sonic's $492 million.

How many Tony Awards did The Lion King musical win in 1998, including Best Musical?

The Lion King won six 1998 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Choreography for Garth Fagan and Best Scenic Design for Richard Hudson.

Which show forced the Broadway Lion King to move theatres in 2006?

Mary Poppins took over the New Amsterdam Theatre in 2006, sending The Lion King to the Minskoff; the newcomer closed in 2013, while the show it displaced kept running.

In which city did The Lion King musical open at the Lyceum Theatre in October 1999?

London's Lyceum had spent decades as a dance hall and then stood closed for ten years before it was restored as a theatre in 1996, three years ahead of the show's arrival.

Which song, written for the stage musical, do the three hyenas sing when they corner young Simba and Nala?

Chow Down has Shenzi, Banzai and Ed gloating over the trespassers they have caught, until Mufasa arrives and frightens them off.

Which two Lion King songs were Oscar-nominated alongside the winning ballad?

'Circle of Life' and 'Hakuna Matata' both lost the 1995 Oscar to the film's love ballad, a song once planned as a comic number for Timon and Pumbaa until Elton John objected.

Which singer provided the deep lead vocals on 'Circle of Life'?

Carmen Twillie sang the English lead on 'Circle of Life' while Lebo M performed the opening Zulu chant 'Nants ingonyama'.

Which Grammy did 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight' win in 1995?

Elton John's 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight' won the 1995 Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, adding to its Oscar and Golden Globe wins.

Which reggae star, heard on the Cool Runnings soundtrack, recorded 'Hakuna Matata' for the album Rhythm of the Pride Lands?

Jimmy Cliff recorded the song two decades after starring in The Harder They Come, the 1972 Jamaican film whose soundtrack carried reggae to audiences around the world.

Which song from the 1995 album Rhythm of the Pride Lands later opened the sequel Simba's Pride and joined the stage musical?

He Lives in You began on that album; on stage Mufasa first sings it to his son as 'They Live in You', and the title changes only after the king's death.

Which group's 1961 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' added English lyrics to Solomon Linda's song?

The Tokens' 1961 doo-wop version, with English lyrics by George David Weiss, went out as the B-side of a single called 'Tina'; the A-side flopped and the flip went to No. 1.

What is the grown Nala doing when she and Simba meet again in the jungle?

Hunting Pumbaa: she chases him through the jungle until Simba leaps in to defend him, and the two lions recognise each other in the middle of the fight.

What does young Nala say each time she wrestles Simba onto his back?

'Pinned ya,' she crows, twice in a row; years later the grown Nala flips Simba the same way in the jungle, and that is the moment he knows who she is.

What are the parting words of Mufasa's ghost to Simba in The Lion King?

'Remember who you are,' the vision repeats as it fades into the clouds; the words end Simba's years of hiding and send him racing home to challenge Scar.

Which song does the villain sing in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride?

My Lullaby turns a bedtime song into a war plan: the Outsiders' leader croons to the cub Kovu about the day he will kill Simba and take the throne.

What kind of bird is Ono in The Lion Guard?

Ono is an egret, the Lion Guard's 'keenest of sight', scouting from the air; his eyesight is damaged in season three.

What does Scar tell young Simba to do after Mufasa's death?

Scar tells the guilt-stricken cub to 'run away and never return', then sends the hyenas to kill him.

What does Timon do to distract the hyenas while Simba sneaks past?

Timon performs a hula dance, with Pumbaa as the roast pig, to lure the hyenas away so Simba can slip past them to confront Scar.

Mufasa tells Simba that the great kings of the past watch over him from where?

Mufasa tells Simba the great kings of the past look down from the stars; Simba later repeats this to Timon and Pumbaa, who laugh at it.

Where does young Simba collapse, to be found by Timon and Pumbaa?

In the desert, with vultures already circling; Timon and Pumbaa scatter the birds, and Timon agrees to keep the cub once he sees the use of having a lion on their side.

What kind of animal is Fuli in The Lion Guard?

Fuli is a cheetah and the Guard's fastest member; on the season-three journey she falls for Azaad, a cheetah she meets far from the Pride Lands.

What power does Kion wield as leader of the Lion Guard?

The Roar of the Elders brings the great lions of the past roaring alongside Kion; Scar once had it too, and lost it after turning it on his own Lion Guard.

Mufasa tells young Simba their kingdom is everything touched by what?

'Everything the light touches is our kingdom,' Mufasa says at sunrise; the one shadowy place he puts off-limits is exactly where Simba's uncle soon tempts the cub to go.

What does Rafiki's name mean in Swahili?

Friend is the Swahili meaning of rafiki, and he acts the part: he tracks the grown Simba down and leads him to the pool where the vision of Mufasa appears.

Which comedian voiced Timon in the 2019 remake of The Lion King?

Billy Eichner recorded Timon side by side with the remake's Pumbaa instead of alone in a booth, and the director encouraged the pair to improvise.

What does Scar mutter as the hyenas shudder and cackle at the sound of Mufasa's name?

'I'm surrounded by idiots,' Scar sighs, rubbing his forehead, while Banzai keeps shouting the king's name to make Shenzi shiver and Ed collapses laughing.

On what holiday in 2002 was The Lion King re-issued for IMAX and large-format theaters?

The IMAX reissue opened on Christmas Day 2002; producer Don Hahn said a whole generation of kids had never seen the film on a big screen.

What does Pumbaa's name mean in Swahili?

Foolish, or careless, is the sense of the Swahili verb pumbaa; yet it is Pumbaa who rightly guesses that the sparkling dots in the night sky are balls of burning gas.

Broadway's first Nala, Heather Headley, won a 2000 Tony in the title role of which musical by The Lion King's songwriters?

Aida reunited the film's songwriting pair for Disney's next Broadway musical; Headley, who had left Northwestern University a year early for the stage, went from Nala to its lead.

Which film topped the AFI's 2008 list of animated films, three places above The Lion King?

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs came first, ahead of Pinocchio and Bambi; The Lion King, in fourth, was the only film in the top five made after 1942.

Which developer, later famous for Command & Conquer, made the 1994 Lion King video game?

Westwood Studios made the second level's monkey puzzle harder near the end of development: Disney wanted more playtime, so that the game could not be finished on a rental.

In The Lion King, what does the mandrill shaman hit adult Simba with as a lesson about the past?

His stick delivers the lesson that an old hurt can be learned from instead of fled, and it is the push that sends Simba home to challenge his uncle.

In The Lion King, which embarrassing problem got Pumbaa shunned by the other animals as a youngster?

His flatulence is the backstory Pumbaa gets to tell in song, during the number in which he and Timon teach the runaway cub to forget his worries.

In The Lion King, what do the cubs Simba and Nala learn that their parents have arranged for them?

Their marriage is news the royal hornbill breaks to them, and both cubs recoil at the idea of marrying a best friend.

Which Canadian comic actor gave Pumbaa his voice and laugh in the 2019 remake of The Lion King?

Seth Rogen recorded his lines in the same room as his Timon co-star so the pair could improvise, and he came back to the part for the 2024 prequel.

Which British-born late-night comedian voiced Mufasa's hornbill adviser in the 2019 remake of The Lion King?

John Oliver, the host of Last Week Tonight, followed another English comedian into the part and described the fussy royal adviser as a bird who likes structure.

The voices of Simba's parents in The Lion King had played a king and queen in which 1988 comedy?

Coming to America cast the pair as the rulers of the fictional African kingdom of Zamunda, parents to Eddie Murphy's prince, six years before they became lion royalty.

Which Danish actor voices Kiros, the white lion who hunts the heroes in Mufasa: The Lion King?

Mads Mikkelsen had already menaced James Bond in Casino Royale and Doctor Strange for Marvel before voicing the leader of the film's outcast white lions.

In the Disney series The Lion Guard, what kind of animal is Bunga, the fearless best friend of Kion?

Honey badger suits the bravest member of the team, and Bunga was raised by Timon and Pumbaa, who turn up in the series as his adoptive uncles.

Which star of the sitcom Benson voiced the wise old mandrill shaman in the 1994 film The Lion King?

Robert Guillaume had won two Emmys as the sharp-tongued butler Benson DuBois, first on Soap and then on the spin-off that carried his character's name.

In The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, what is the name of Kovu's sister, a fierce Outsider lioness?

Vitani is the middle child and only daughter of the villain's family, and her secret report to her mother is what exposes Kovu's failure to kill Simba.

Which villain song does Scar sing to the hyenas in The Lion King while plotting his brother's murder?

Be Prepared began life under the title Thanks to Me, as a number in which the newly crowned Scar introduced the hyenas to the lionesses.

In The Lion King, which change does Simba undergo during the motto song Timon and Pumbaa teach him?

He grows up from cub to full-maned adult in the space of one song, which lets the film skip his carefree jungle years in a few bars of music.

Which Broadway songwriter wrote the new songs for the 2024 prequel film Mufasa: The Lion King?

Lin-Manuel Miranda was approached by the director, who had stayed in touch after almost casting him in the 2018 drama If Beale Street Could Talk.

Scar's marching hyenas in The Lion King were modelled on a propaganda film from which regime?

Nazi Germany's rally film Triumph of the Will supplied the goose-stepping ranks, with Scar watching from a cliff above columns of light.

The boy who sang for young Simba in The Lion King had just played which pop star in a TV miniseries?

Michael Jackson was the sound the songwriters were after, and they told the young actor's mother they wanted a cub with that boyhood Jackson 5 feel.

Timon and Pumbaa's motto song from The Lion King plays on a car radio in which later animated film?

Toy Story slips the tune into the family car while Andy's baby sister spots Woody and Buzz Lightyear in a wing mirror.

In The Lion King stage musical, which ballad does the adult Simba sing while grieving for his father?

Endless Night is built as a lament sung straight to his dead father, and its melody came from a track on the film's 1995 follow-up album.

Which new end-credits song did the 1994 film's songwriters add to the 2019 remake of The Lion King?

Never Too Late plays over the closing credits, sung by the same pop star whose own recordings closed the original film a quarter of a century earlier.

In The Lion King stage musical, how do the actors playing giraffes reach their towering height?

Walking on stilts is one of the tricks that keep the performers in plain view, in a show whose animals are worn as costumes and giant hollow puppets.

Which animated film had Disney already turned into a Broadway musical before The Lion King?

Beauty and the Beast had reached Broadway in 1994, and like it the lion show added extra songs written specially for the stage.

For The Lion King stage musical, which change did the director make to the film's mandrill shaman?

Made the role female, because the director saw that the film had no leading female character; on stage the shaman also serves as the narrator.

The Lion King musical overtook which show in 2014 as the top-earning title in box-office history?

Phantom of the Opera had held the record across stage and screen alike, ahead of even the biggest films, until the lion show's worldwide productions passed it.

In The Lion King stage musical, what can the mechanical lion masks of Mufasa and Scar do?

Lunge forward is the trick: the headpieces can be raised and lowered, so that one lion seems to spring at another like a pouncing cat.

Broadway's first Mufasa in The Lion King had voiced which character in Disney's The Little Mermaid?

Sebastian, the crab who leads the Oscar-winning Under the Sea, made him a Disney voice years before he took the stage as Simba's father.

At which former home of the Ziegfeld Follies did The Lion King first open on Broadway?

New Amsterdam Theatre stands on 42nd Street, and after Disney took over its operation the house went on to host two more of the company's stage musicals.

In The Lion King stage musical, which song does Nala sing as she leaves her ruined homeland?

Shadowland has the lionesses and the shaman bless her journey, and it began as a choral track on a 1995 album inspired by the film.

In The Lion King stage musical, which dance do Timon and Pumbaa perform to distract Scar's guards?

The Charleston is the stage show's own diversion, and it buys Simba and Nala the time to slip past and reach the summit where Scar waits.

In the 1994 film The Lion King, which feature does Scar keep permanently on show, unlike the other lions?

Claws stay on show on Scar alone, and he sinks them into his brother's paws on the cliff edge instead of pulling him to safety.

Which star of 12 Years a Slave voiced Scar in the 2019 remake of The Lion King?

Chiwetel Ejiofor won the part after the director saw him play the antagonist Baron Mordo in Marvel's Doctor Strange.

Scar, the villain of The Lion King, carries the mark he is named for across which part of his face?

Left eye is where the mark sits, and the sequel gives a matching wound to the young lion Kovu when his mother strikes him after a failed ambush.

In the prequel Mufasa: The Lion King, how are the brothers Mufasa and the future Scar related?

By adoption: a flood sweeps the orphaned Mufasa to a royal cub whose family takes him in, a change one critic said at least explains the brothers' different accents.

The animator who drew Scar for The Lion King had just animated Gaston and which other Disney villain?

Jafar and Gaston came first, and after a third villain in a row he asked for a break from them, turning down Frollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Scar from The Lion King turns up as a lion skin worn by the hero of which later Disney film?

Hercules wears the pelt in a wink to the 1994 film, where the king's adviser jokes that Scar would look good as a rug; one animator supervised both the lion and the demigod.

In the first plot devised for The Lion King, Scar was not a lion but the leader of which animals?

Baboons were at war with the lions in that first outline; once it was dropped, Scar became a rogue lion with no family tie, and only later the king's brother.

In the series The Lion Guard, which animal's venomous bite is revealed to have given Scar his mark?

A cobra belonging to a rogue lion did the damage; his brother then teased him with the nickname Scar, and the mockery set him plotting against the throne.

Which star of the civil rights drama Selma voices the fiery spirit of Scar in The Lion Guard?

David Oyelowo's villain returns from the dead in the flames of a volcano and spends a whole season raising an army against his great-nephew.

Which star of the TV comedy Atlanta voiced the adult Simba in the 2019 remake of The Lion King?

Donald Glover asked to record his lines again after his own father died, saying the loss had deepened his understanding of the character.

The Lion King's working title was dropped once its makers realised that lions do not live where?

In jungles was the catch: the film was for a time called King of the Jungle, a title meant as a metaphor for the world a young lion has to survive.

The boy who spoke for young Simba in The Lion King recorded some lines on the set of which sitcom?

Home Improvement and the film were both made on Disney's Burbank lot, and its young star likened the cub to his sitcom character Randy: curious, confident and quick-witted.

The makers of The Lion King cast the adult Simba's voice on the strength of which 1980s teen comedy?

Ferris Bueller's Day Off showed the humour they wanted, and its star was the first actor cast; the lion's animator sketched him during recording sessions.