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Hi

I wanted to know your thought on this song in The Lion King.

To me, it feels out of place from the rest of the music. Every time I get to that point brings down the movie for me.

It is way too slow, wrong choice of voices to sing it and can´t hold a candle to the rest of the soundtrack. I find that it´s not even memorable as pop version; it amazes me people like it so much.

So, I wonder who else thinks the same way.

I don't agree, I think it works very well in the film and isn't out of place. It's purpose is to move along the romantic subplot between Simba and Nala and it does that brilliantly in my opinion.

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In my opinion, a song like Love Will Find the Way from LK2 would have worked better.

But it seems it´s just me then.

I think it does suit the film, and where it is positioned within the plot. Slow, understanding of the affection that is growing between them.

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Very interesting topic....

I have mixed feelings about the song. I like it. I understand it's purpose in the film. But my issue with it comes to its format.... first the comedic timon/pumbaa section, then the "unseen female voiceover", then the characters actually singing....

I remember this bothering me when the film first came out. After a long string of films where characters actually sing, suddenly there is the weird voiceover thing... I dont know. Doesnt quite fit, format wise.

Maybe a more unified format would have worked better...

The Circle of Life has a voiceover and no animals actually sing it either and it works fine don't you think?

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Marce82 is probably talking about how it switches between voiceover and characters singing within that one song. I think I would've preferred if all the songs were voiceovers, now that we're talking about it.

I don’t feel either way about the song itself, but the romance subplot in TLK never worked for me anyway. Like Faline and Vixey, Nala is just a baby-maker and not much else. It does shift between "Hakuna Matata" and "CYFtLT" somewhat abruptly. It would probably work better to cut the romance, but Disney rarely does that.

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Yes! Lion King has one of the worst romantic subplots of any DAC. Simba and Nala quickly fall in love after little to no development in that area, have a song, have sex, and then it ends, never to be reminded of until the baby at the end.

Heck, their romance isn't what actually convinces Simba to go back home, so it doesn't even advance the plot. It just exists so Elton John can have a "classic" Disney love song. That's probably why Katzenberg wanted it cut.

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The only part I don't like about it is the Timon & Pumbaa bookends. The Diana Ross sounding voice over and Simba/Nala stuff is pretty, both visually and audibly, and I get a big LOL kick out of Nala's "Take me Loverboy, my body is ready!" look to Simba near the end.

As far as Katzenburg's credibility in wanting things cut, I still want to punch him in the face for even considering cutting Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid.

I actually think the romantic subplot does advance the overall plot. The movie hinted at Simba and Nala's romantic undertones repeatedly. Simba and Nala fall in love and produce an heir, thereby continuing the "circle of life."

I don't feel it is out of place. I do wish the CYFTLT song lyrics and scene was this version.


I was thinking the other day how unnecessary it was for the film to have two songs about "The great life I'll have when I'm kiiiiing!" I'd take "Be Prepared" over "I Can't Wait" any day.

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No the song is not out of place at all.

Not only does it advance the romantic subplot (Yes their pairing up was hinted at earlier and actually predicted by Zazu so it didn't randomly come out of the blue) it also advances/addresses the main plot:

"[Simba:]
So many things to tell her
But how to make her see
The truth about my past? Impossible!
She'd turn away from me
[Nala:]
He's holding back, he's hiding
But what, I can't decide
Why won't he be the king I know he is
The king I see inside?"

This directly addresses the main plot.

Musically it fit very well. Essentially this was the calm before the storm (the final confrontation with Scar).

Now that you´ve mentioned that the love part doesn´t fit or work.

Never stopped to think about it but yes. That´s true.

In fact, it´s even more odd that Simba and Nala were engaged by their parents. ¿On a 1995 movie?

Yes, the same thing happened in Sleeping Beauty however:

1. The arranged marriage made sense since it was a reflect of the historical setting for the film.

2. They were both royalty.

3. They met by coincidence and fell in love at first sight.

None of these apply to Simba and Nala. Besides, TLK is a modern movie. What kind of message was is that for children?

What Lion King are you watching?


Their romance wasn't addressed post-song until the end because they had bigger priorities, I.e. Saving their families, etc. Their romance isn't what supposed to convince him to go home. In fact I'm glad it wasn't.



Wait. Simba and Nala weren't engaged by their parents.

Zazu: Just look at you two. Little seeds of romance blossoming in the savannah. Your parents will be *thrilled*, what with your being betrothed and all.
Young Simba: Be-what?
Zazu: Betrothed. Intended. Affianced.
Young Nala: Meaning...?
Zazu: One day, you two are going to be married.
Young Simba: Yuck.
Young Nala: Ewww.
Young Simba: I can't marry her. She's my friend.
Young Nala: Yeah. It'd be so weird.
Zazu: Well, sorry to bust the old bubble, but you two turtledoves have no choice. It's a tradition going back generations.

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While I don't feel the song is "out of place", I did however feel the romantic subplot didn't work in my eyes. I realize that their childhood friends, but their romance just felt incredibly forced. Still to this day, I'm shocked that this was the song that won at the Oscars for Best Song over "Circle of Life" and "Hakana Matata". I actually felt it was the weakest song in the movie personally.

After watching the movie again for what, the millionth time, I do think that it's a nice song, but if anything, it might have been put on a little too soon. After only a few minutes of Simba and Nala reuniting, they can already feel a major love connection? Talk about fast.

That´s how I feel about it. That´s what I meant when I made the post.

So why bother having it? It's poorly developed and serves no substantial plot purpose. The kid could have been born regardless of the song's existance.



To be fair this happens in many Disney movies, but usually "love" is key to having a happy ending and/or defeating a villan's plot. Not so with Lion King.

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This is what I was thinking as well. They could’ve still ended the movie with his child being held up, because the audience would assume that he’d got with one of the lionesses. As it is, Simba and Nala didn’t seem so much in love, but that she was in heat.

As an aside, I find it sad that the two female characters in this movie are just a means to an end (baby), not really characters. Their attempt to make Nala seem empowered was fake feminism in the same vein as Jasmine’s “I’m not a prize to be won.” I'm surprised that TLM and B&tB have got more complaints than Aladdin and TLK in that regard. I've found female characters are often portrayed negatively (or just absent) moreso in films that are usually considered "for boys." What's sad is there are usually more male characters than female characters even in films designated "for girls."

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