We all know the story – a royal lion cub longs to be king of the savannah like his father. But his evil uncle will stop at nothing to become the next heir instead.

Anyway, like every movie, there are facts that few in the general public already know. But here, I’m going to state the facts and share my reactions to them.

Below is the list:

1: Mufasa was going to have a song

This fact interested me because I realized how nice that would have been. Mufasa did have a song in the Broadway adaptation. It’s called “He Lives in You,” and he sings it to remind Simba that the great kings of the past will always be with him.

That song does get sung in the sequel, The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride. But it isn’t from Mufasa since he dies in the main film.

2: Live animals were used for the character designs

And this includes lions. How did these animals stay calm around the animators? They could never be tamed like dogs or cats.

But it is possible that the creatures were secretly and heavily drugged to remain calm. And no one will disclose it.

3: The wildebeest stampede scene took 3 years to complete

Because animation is tough and a lot of work, it can take years to complete a full-length film. For traditional hand-drawn animation, that’s no different.

But early CGI effects were involved during that moment. That is one of the reasons.

So, I am not really surprised. Yet it must have been exhausting for the crew after all that time.

4: Each character’s name fits their roles for the story in Swahili

For instance, Simba means lion, Mufasa means king, and Rafiki means friend. They all fit the characters perfectly.

This is actually normal for stories of any kind. The creators will give the characters names based on their personalities, traits, or roles in the stories.

5: Zoologists considered the portrayal of the hyenas offensive

The hyenas were depicted as evil, cowardly, and dumb, the opposite of how real ones are. One person even tried to sue Disney for that.

But I think they were overreacting (no offense if any of you are reading this). Hyenas don’t understand that context. And they’re wild animals who don’t watch movies.

6: The “subliminal message” scene was actually spelling SFX

This has become big around the late 2000s and early 2010s. When Simba slips on some flowers after getting into a fight with Nala, the bits blow. People thought it was spelling out the word, “sex,” especially since many family-friendly films have innuendos that go over kids’ heads.

However, the creators of The Lion King debunked this and said that it actually spelled “SFX.” I find that interesting, although I wouldn’t have minded if it spelled the other word as long as it wasn’t obvious to children.

7: The story was loosely based off Shakespeare’s Hamlet

Unlike many Disney movies, The Lion King was not based off an existing story. However, it did have some elements from Hamlet. That includes a young prince whose father gets killed by his desperate uncle. Others include the exile of the prince, the ghost of the father asking for revenge, and the prince becoming king.

I find it interesting that Disney would use a play by Shakespeare to add details to their film. Of course, there were differences, too. For example, Timon and Pumbaa singing “Hakuna Matata” as a way to get Simba to think positively and live freely was original to The Lion King.

Conclusion

I hope you found these facts interesting as well as my thoughts on them. You might have already known at least some of them. Or this might be your first time.

What do you think of these fun facts? Let me know in the comments if you wish.