10 Even More Movie Scenes Shot For Real

For a film that often looks and feels like you're watching a fully live-action cast of lions, hyenas, and other interesting creatures unleash many a show-stopping tune, Jon Favreau's The Lion King remake was almost entirely CGI.

In fact, the finished feature contained a staggering 1490 rendered shots that were created by the film's gifted animators and CG artists. But as noted by the film's director on Twitter/X after its release in 2019, there was actually one single shot in the roaring success that was 100% real.

This is the only real shot in #TheLionKing. There are 1490 rendered shots created by animators and CG artists. I slipped in one single shot that we actually photographed in Africa to see if anyone would notice. It is the first shot of the movie that begins The Circle of Life. pic.twitter.com/CO0spSyCv4

— Jon Favreau (@Jon_Favreau) July 26, 2019

It just so happened to be the very first shot of the entire movie, too.

That moment when a couple of trees are seen standing in the middle of the Pride Lands as the legendary Circle of Life begins was genuinely photographed in Africa, with Favreau opting to chuck this moment into his picture just "to see if anyone would notice."

With the first few seconds of this billion-dollar hit looking about as realistic as the remaining 118 minutes, though, there's a solid chance very few realised they were taking in an actual shot of Africa as that iconic tune got underway.