“I didn’t want it to be sung by the rat and the pig.”
not just the opening and closing verses.
“Originally, we sang the whole thing,” he recalls.
Pumbaa and Timon in ‘The Lion King’.Disney
“Elton Johnwas 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.'”
Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella in ‘The Lion King’.Monica Schipper/WireImageTHE; Image Group LA/Disney Channel via Getty
Disney
“We did [record] a version,” Lane continues.
“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-bang out voices.
It’s hard to do that and be romantic.
Elton was right.”
“Can You Feel the Love Tonight?”
“They’re Damon Runyon-esque characters.
So, Timon became a Brooklyn Jewish meerkat.
But in animation, you could get away with it.”
Want more movie news?
“I initially thought it would be, we came out and sang songs,” said Lane.
“But it’s a whole extravaganza they’re putting together.
There’s costumes and scenery.”
