When ranking Walt Disney’s animated features, The Lion King is generally on the high side of things. The beloved Oscar-winning movie (which is streaming with a Disney+ subscription) featured plenty of iconic songs from the hands of the great Elton John. It turns out Timon and Pumbaa were originally supposed to sing “Can You Feel The Love Tonight”, and Nathan Lane revealed the story behind why that didn’t happen.
“Can You Feel The Love Tonight” is a Disney song that charted on the billboard charts, and is one of the best Disney love songs. But during a conversation with EW, the great Nathan Lane revealed that he almost ended up singing the track. In his words:
Originally, we sang the whole thing. Elton John was 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.’
Well, that’s pretty iconic. While Lane no doubt would have killed it belting out “Can You Feel The Love Tonight”, Elton John understandably wanted the track to be sung by lovers Simba and Nala. And the final song is one of the most uplifting Disney songs of all time.
In the end, Elton John’s instincts were probably for the best. In fact, Nathan Lane admits that the prolific recording artist made the right call, especially given the type of vocal performance he and Pumbaa voice actor Ernie Sabella were giving in their roles. As Lane put it:
We did [record] a version. 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-type voices. It’s hard to do that and be romantic. Elton was right.
Of course, hardcore Disney fans remember that Lane and Sabella did get to sing a bit of the song. Timon and Pumbaa introduce the melody and lament that their buddy Simba was falling in love before their eyes.
History is on Elton John’s side as well, as “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” ended up winning a Grammy, Academy Award, and Golden Globe. And having Timon and Pumbaa belt it out would have had a very different feel.
The cultural impact of The Lion King is still being seen today. The Broadway musical is still running, and the franchise continues to expand thanks to the live-action Lion King and upcoming Mufasa movie. If the prequel does well, the studio might continue expanding this burgeoning property.
The Lion King is streaming now on Disney+. Be sure to check out the 2025 move release dates to plan your trips to the movies in the New Year.