Why The Lion King Didn't Have Timon And Pumbaa Sing Can You Feel The Love Tonight
When The Lion King was first coming together, the story was not firmly cemented into its final amalgamation. Timon and Pumbaa, in fact, were written into the script after Ernie Sabella and Nathan Lane auditioned for the hyenas. And at one point, the creative team had the two actors record a version of "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" for the movie. If you are scratching your head and wondering what happened to that version, you aren't alone--it didn't make it into the final version of the movie. According to Ernie Sabella, who voices Pumbaa in various projects, including The Lion King and The Lion Guard, he and Lane recorded the song, but the idea was dumped after Sir Elton John revealed his reluctance to include the version. Sabella said,
Speaking to CinemaBlend ahead of The Lion King's latest Blu-ray release, Ernie Sabella recounted how Elton John was not pleased Sabella and Nathan Lane recorded a version of "Can You Feel The Love Tonight." The song was composed as a love song. It eventually played during a scene with Simba and Nala spending time together after they reunited, but not until after various versions of the track were scrapped. The final version features an intro from Timon and Pumbaa before working into the song, with Kristle Edwards, Joseph Williams and Sally Dworsky on the song itself.
If you'd like to hear how the Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella version of the song would have turned out, you can catch a snippet of it, below. Elton John even expressed being "horrified" about the warthog singing his song.
Luckily, Ernie Sabella doesn't seem to be too stung about Elton John's general distaste for his version of the now-classic Disney song. In fact, he roaringly told a story about seeing Elton John after The Lion King was completed.
With a rendition like that, it's unlikely we'll be forgetting anytime soon, either.
To nab your own copy of the Walt Disney Signature Collection Blu-ray of The Lion King, head to Disney's site. The new set will be out on August 29. Be sure to peruse the full list of extras, which include plenty of behind-the-scenes footage and more.
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Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways.