The Lion King Franchise Songs

## Lion King Songs

### Circle of Life

"**Circle of Life**" is the opening song of Disney's 1994 animated film *The Lion King*, composed by Elton John with lyrics

by Tim Rice. The song was performed by Carmen Twillie (female vocals) and Lebo M (opening Zulu vocals) as the film's opening song. Elton John also sang a pop version of the song with the London Community Gospel Choir, which was included in the film's soundtrack and made into a music video. The song was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song in 1994 along with two other songs from *The Lion King*, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" and "Hakuna Matata", though "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" won the award. The song reached #11 in the UK, and #18 in the US.

The song is also featured frequently in attractions that include *The Lion King* atDisney theme parks, such as parades.

Michael Crawford sang this song as part of a medley for *The Disney Album* in2001.

### I Just Can't Wait to Be King

"**I Just Can't Wait to Be King**" is a song from *The Lion King*. It is performed near the beginning of the film by a

young Simba and Nala to distract Zazu, as well as to enunciate Simba's desires to become king. It is a large contrast from the film's non-musical segments, as emphasized by the number's usage of lively colors and sounds. Also, the animals and backgrounds are notably more surreal as opposed to how they looked during "Circle of Life."

The song was composed by Tim Rice (lyrics) and Elton John (music). It was performed by Jason Weaver, Rowan Atkinson, Laura Williams, and the chorus. In the original Broadway cast recording of *The Lion King*, it is performed by Scott Irby-Ranniar, Kajuana Shuford, and Geoff Hoyle. Elton John himself also recorded his own version of the song for the film's soundtrack.

It also appears in DisneyToon's 2004 direct-to-video midquel *The Lion King 1½*.Timon and Pumbaa are disturbed by some noise from outside of their home, which is actually Simba, Nala, and the animals singing this musical number. Timon becomes angry and hits the leg of an elephant supporting the tower of animals. The elephant jumps in surprise, causing the tower to collapse, explaining why it collapses on Zazu in the original film and Pumbaa then realizes what Timon has done and pulls him out of the way. Timon and Pumbaa's home is ruined by this event. Oddly, this film establishes that the events of the song happened, when the original film implied that the events of that sequence didn't in the aftermath of the song.

### Be Prepared

"**Be Prepared**" is one of the five songs written for *The Lion King*. It was written by lyricist Tim Rice and composer Elton

John. The song is performed by the voice actors for Scar, Jeremy Irons, as well as the voice actors for Shenzi, Banzai and Ed: Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin and Jim Cummings.

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### Hakuna Matata

"**Hakuna Matata**" is a song sung by Timon, Pumbaa and Simba from Disney's 32nd animated feature, *The Lion King*. It was composed by Elton John, who also composed other songs from the film, and with the lyrics by Tim Rice. It was nominated for the 67th Academy Award for Best Original Song, but lost to another song in the film, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?". The song is also ranked #99 on the list AFI's *100 Years... 100 Songs*,[1] along with "When You Wish Upon a Star" (#7), "Some Day My Prince Will Come" (#19), and "Beauty and the Beast" (#62). It is one of only four songs from Disney that made the cut.

### Can You Feel the Love Tonight

"**Can You Feel the Love Tonight**" is a classical pop song from the Disney's 1994animated feature film, *The Lion King*.

It was originally composed by Elton Johnwith lyrics written by Tim Rice. It won the 1994 Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. It was also nominated for AFI's "100 Years...100 Songs", as one of 15 from Disney and one of 17 from an animated movie to be nominated. The ones that eventually made the cut was: "When You Wish Upon A Star" (#7), "Some Day My Prince Will Come" (#19), "Beauty and the Beast" (#62) and "Hakuna Matata" (#99).

### The Morning Report

"**The Morning Report**" is a song written for the Broadway musical adaptation of*The Lion King*. Sung by Zazu, Mufasa, and young Simba, the song is an extension of the scene in the original film where Zazu delivers a morning report to Mufasa, and later gets pounced on by Simba, after which, Simba starts singing it while scaring Zazu. It was later added, with an accompanying animated sequence, to the film for its 2002 IMAX limited theatrical release. This can be found on the film's 2003 Platinum Edition DVD release, along with the original theatrical cut. The song is absent in the theatrical version of the 2011 3-D rerelease, but later appeared as a stand-alone bonus feature on the Diamond Edition Blu-ray release. The 2010 cuts to the Broadway version, as well as the North American tour, eliminated this song completely.