Who doesn't remember the Disney classic The Lion King and the epic songs in it? People growing up watching Disney have no problem recalling Rafiki and his crazy antics or Timon and Pumba singing in the jungle. Even now as a twenty two year old, I childishly watch the movie knowing full well what's going to happen next. The only thing I wish is that there's a way to make the movie with Avatar technology. So, I thought of a list of actors and actresses that could match the roles of dramatic animals.
Who would take the lead role of Simba? Joseph Gordon-Levitt, of course. After watching him dance in (500) Days of Summer and kick ass in Inception, he suitably displays the traits of a king-to-be by simultaneously being awkward and fierce. It should be a no-brainer for this rising star to go from lost youth to confident leader.
The qualities of casting Scar would require finding an actor who manipulates not only his family but the audience as well. Ralph Fiennes is better recognized as Voldemort, the ultimate villain in the Harry Potter series, but should also be considered for his role as Hades, the treacherous god in The Clash of The Titans. Scar is the weaker brother of the mighty Mufasa. I can easily see Fiennes bowing out of a fight and then only to cleverly plot the demise of his mortal enemy.
James Earl Jones has THE defining voice of the great fathers Mufasa and Darth Vader. Unfortunately, his large figure automatically rules him out from being the alpha male in this live-action movie. In my imaginary film, I would have Liam Neeson casted as Mufasa. Neeson heroically saves his daughter in Taken, heroically saves lives in Schindler's List, heroically guides his son in The Clash of the Titans, and
The best friends Timon and Pumba should be the models for every black-and-white duo. This one's pretty hard to cast; so I'm just going to give it to Zach Braff and Donald Faison. I've been obsessively watching the series since the semester has been over and I cannot help but laugh at every almost homosexual act they have. Timon and Pumba are best buds without question as are the comical doctors JD and Turk. Both pairs always make me laugh.
Rafiki, the crazy babboon-shaman, has the smallest role with the largest impact. It's hard to say. This one is a tie between Steve Carell and Jim Carrey. Carell, better known as Michael Scott from The Office, is unfortunately the typecast actor who is usually not taken seriously but does a great job of being serious during intense climaxes. Carrey is one of my favorite actor/comedians. He was snubbed from SNL but moved onto greater things in Hollywood. Both of them have the charismatic qualities of a maniac (in a good way) that has the ability to interpret the future.
The roles of Shenzi, Ed, and Banzai have been criticized, but they are important characters as Scar's underlings. Ken Jeong has a unique ability to make people laugh but at the same time I want to strangle him which qualifies him to be Banzai.
Nala - Natalie Portman
Zazu - Chris Tucker
Sarabi - Oprah
the ending
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