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'Elton John Was Mortified': Nathan Lane Reveals The Lion King's Can You Feel the Love Tonight Was Originally Meant For Timon And Pumbaa
Elton John was not feeling the original choices in The Lion King to sing his Oscar-winning ballad, Can You Feel The Love Tonight.
Nathan Lane, the star of The Lion King, has revealed that Elton John made a late change to a famous song from the animated classic, Can You Feel the Love Tonight. The song, which soundtracks the bond between Simba and Nala, was performed by Simba, Nala, and some off-screen singers, with Timon and Pumbaa opening and closing the song respectively.
However in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lane revealed that the comedic duo, Timon and Pumba were originally due to sing the entire song, but John changed his mind after wanting a more serious tone for the love song.
Nathan Lane reveals the iconic The Lion King song was almost completely different
Nathan Lane revealed to Entertainment Weekly that in early versions of the 1994 animated classic, The Lion King, Timon and Pumbaa were meant to sing all of Can You Feel the Love Tonight? not just the opening and closing verses.
"Originally, we sang the whole thing,” Lane said. “Elton John was mortified that the warthog and the meerkat were singing it. He said, ‘The reason I wrote the score was because I wanted to have a Disney love song. I didn’t want it to be sung by the rat and the pig.'”
"We did [record] a version," Lane continued. "We sang the whole thing in our character voices. It wasn't like we were going to do our legit Broadway version. We were doing two very character-type voices. It's hard to do that and be romantic. Elton was right."
The duo was also to do a number titled The Warthog Rhapsody, but it was replaced with Hakuna Matata. "Thankfully, everyone came to their senses,” Lane joked.
Lane also revealed that Timon and Pumbaa weren’t even conceived when he and Ernie Sabella first auditioned, with the characters only being written after producers were impressed by the duo's vocal talents during an audition for the hyena roles.
"They said, 'You're doing Guys and Dolls, and that's the right energy for these two characters," explained Lane. "They're Damon Runyon-esque characters. So, Timon became a Brooklyn Jewish meerkat.
"And Ernie very cleverly did this vocal thing, which was a combination of two actors - Michael Gazzo and Wallace Beery. In the old days of vaudeville, there was a lot of dialect comedy, but now we're not allowed to do that. But in animation, you can get away with it."
The Lion King saga will have a new entry later this year, Mufasa: The Lion King, which is slated to release on 20 December with Moonlight and The Underground Railroad director Barry Jenkins helming Mufasa: The Lion King, a prequel and sequel to the 2019 live-action remake of the original film.
Lane and Sabella will appear in Disney’s The Lion King 30th Anniversary – A Live-to-Film Concert Event at the Hollywood Bowl that ends tonight. The show will feature Lane and Sabella performing a live rendition of Hakuna Matata, as well as their verses in Can You Feel The Love Tonight? Jeremy Irons, Billy Eichner, and Jennifer Hudson will also participate in the event.
A brief about the upcoming Mufasa: The Lion King
Mufasa: The Lion King is an upcoming American musical drama film directed by Barry Jenkins, written by Jeff Nathanson, and produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Pastel Productions. The film is photorealistic animated and both a prequel and sequel to the 2019 adaptation of the 1994 film The Lion King.
The prequel is about the rise of one of the greatest kings of the Pride Lands, goes back to the African savannah where Rafiki tells Kiara, daughter of Simba and Nala, the story of her grandfather while Timon and Pumbaa add color commentary.
New and returning cast members are;
- Aaron Pierre as Mufasa
- Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Taka, a lion prince with a bright future who accepts Mufasa into his family as a brother
- Tiffany Boone as Sarabi
- Kagiso Lediga as Young Rafiki
- Preston Nyman as Zazu
- Mads Mikkelsen as Kiros, a formidable lion with big plans for his pride
- Thandiwe Newton as Taka’s mother, Eshe
- Lennie James as Taka’s father, Obasi
- Anika Noni Rose as Mufasa’s mother, Afia
- Keith David as Mufasa’s father, Masego
- John Kani as Rafiki
- Seth Rogen as Pumbaa
- Billy Eichner as Timon
- Donald Glover as Simba
- Introducing Blue Ivy Carter as Kiara, daughter of King Simba and Queen Nala
- And Beyoncé Knowles-Carter as Nala
Additional casting includes Braelyn Rankins, Theo Somolu, Folake Olowofoyeku, Joanna Jones, Thuso Mbedu, Sheila Atim, Abdul Salis and Dominique Jennings.
Blending live-action filmmaking techniques with photoreal computer-generated imagery, Mufasa: The Lion King is directed by Barry Jenkins, produced by Adele Romanski & Mark Ceryak, and executive-produced by Peter Tobyansen.
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