Disney’s The Lion King packed hit after hit into its official soundtrack – “Can You Feel The Love Tonight?”, “Circle of Life,” “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King”… if you were a 90s/00s kid or parent, you’ll know these songs like the back of your hand.
But for the 30th anniversary of the Disney flick, the film’s original cast rejoined forces to bring those hits back to life, in a way the world had never experienced before! The standout moment from the entire show? When Timon and Pumbaa, a.k.a. Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella, sang “Hakuna Matata” in the ultimate ‘do you feel old yet’ performance.
Music Man readers can check out this incredible live set in the video above and prepare to be knocked off your feet by the rich nostalgia running through this viral clip. It’s already amassed over 2.8 million views to date!
If you grew up watching The Lion King (or parenting a child obsessed with the film), Nathan and Ernie’s performance is absolutely unmissable. Not only does it feel almost revolutionary to finally put faces to the voices that soundtracked so many childhoods, but to see the aged voice actors resurrect their old roles and sink into character in real time is an exquisite experience.
Nathan Lane, 67 years of age in this clip, and Ernie Sabella, 74, give a shockingly solid performance. While we’re all used to hearing their voices spout from the mouths of a meerkat and a warthog, it’s incredible to watch these stars perform in the flesh, with such charisma and connection, their matching mud-brown suits serving a sense of unity despite the many decades which have passed since the film’s premiere.
Hilariously, despite not dressing like spot-on savannah animals, the actors fit their roles astoundingly well: Nathan naturally embodying his skinny meerkat character Timon and Ernie a seamless fit for the larger-than-life warthog, Pumbaa. Ernie’s voice may show clearer signs of aging than Nathan’s, but together, they pull off their set perfectly, their crowd laughing at their in-song jokes and full-heartedly singing their lyrics.
Just as you think the flashback couldn’t become more vivid, Jason Weaver (the original voice of young Simba) joins the stage in a Saharan yellow suit, to harmonize on the song’s iconic chorus, “Hakuna Matata.” But this clip isn’t all song and dance – the three stars reenact both spoken word segments and the bug-eating scene to perfection. As the camera pans round to reveal the smitten audience, it’s almost breathtaking to see folks of all generations sinking into this absolute throwback of a moment. Hardly any films endure a legacy as long-standing as The Lion King.