10 Interesting Facts About The Making Of The Lion King
2. The Iconic Opening Used To Be Completely Different
It’s hard to pick a favourite moment in The Lion King. The movie is packed with some of the best scenes Disney has ever created. Really, the entire film is a series of unforgettable moments.
But there’s one scene that sticks in the mind more than any other: the opening sequence. From the moment the sun starts to rise, this scene captures the audience with stunning visuals and an iconic piece of music.
However, it wasn’t always like this. At one point, the opening sequence featured a fair amount of dialogue from the assembled lions, and they even said a Swahili prayer at one point. Another version of the story centred around Scar as he overlooked Simba’s ceremony before slouching away from the scene.
Though it would have been interesting to see these openings, the filmmakers definitely made the right decision when they decided to ditch the dialogue. The reason the opening sequence works so well is that it relies entirely on visual storytelling.