Disney offered a quick sneak peek at the creative process behind their live-action remake of “The Lion King” on Tuesday, allowing us to see Donald Glover, Beyonce, James Earl Jones and more working in the sound booth.
We even got a snippet of both Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner recording their version of “Hakuna Matata” along with Glover.
“You guys sounded great,” Glover can be heard saying in a special featurette ahead of Rogen’s signature chuckle.
Director Jon Favreau said that what made the film and the music come together so well was that he had the luxury of musicians like Glover and Beyonce giving their own spins on the music by Tim Rice and Elton John. Pharrell is helping out in the studio on the film as well.
“‘The Lion King’ was a story that people knew intimately,” said Favreau, who appears to have been the right choice to handle the technical challenge posed by making the animated animals look lifelike. “I’m entering into ‘Lion King’ inheriting everything I learned on ‘Jungle Book.’ There was a tremendous opportunity to retell the story using a new set of tools and technology.”
“This has been a really incredible experience,” Glover said. “I’ve never seen anything made this way before, the level of care where everyone knows how much it means and everyone is invested.”
Check out the featurette above.
“The Lion King” opens in theaters on July 19.