The Lion King

Two Big Comedy Stars Set To Join Disney's Lion King Remake As Timon And Pumbaa

These two stars could be your new fave double act...

Wednesday, April 26, 2017 - 17:03

Having smashed it out of the park with its recent Cinderella and Beauty And The Beast re-dos, Disney is cranking up the gears on its latest live-action remake, The Lion King, with a pair of comedy stars in their sights to play Timon and Pumbaa…

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According to the rumour mill, Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen are the studio’s top picks to voice the meerkat – warthog duo, following in the footsteps of Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella. Nothing has been signed as yet, but apparently both actors are well into talks with Disney execs, so this one should be confirmed in the coming weeks.

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Should they sign, Eichner and Rogen will join Donald Glover’s new version of Simba, while original star James Earl Jones will be back to reprise his role as Mufasa. No word on who’s voicing Scar as yet, but we’re ready for him to break our hearts all over again…

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The Jungle Book helmer Jon Favreau is producing this one, so we can expect more of the same animal magic when this one hits our screens on 19 July 2019.

- By George Wales @GeorgeWales85

Want more Disney movie magic? HIT PLAY to watch the cast of Beauty And The Beast play a hilarious game of 'Would You Rather?'

25 Facts You Didn’t Know About Beauty And The Beast

Did you know: Beauty and the Beast was the first ever animated film to earn more than $100 million at the box office and made a staggering $424 million worldwide. C'est in-croyable!

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According to his animator, Beast is made up of 7 animals (a lion, buffalo, gorilla, wild boar, bear, wolf, and human person) and has a rainbow-coloured bum.

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It took a whopping six months to illustrate this ballroom scene with Beast and Belle dancing together.

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Blink and you’ll miss Bambi’s mother drinking from a stream in one of the opening shots of the film.

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The same can be said for Belle’s brief cameo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame where she can be seen walking down a busy street with her nose still stuck in a book.

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Fans of Frozen will be treated to a second fix of funny guy Josh Gad (who voiced Olaf the snowman) as he stars in the new live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast: playing Gaston’s bumbling sidekick Lefou.

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Other actors who have voiced characters in more than one Disney film include: Emma Thompson (Treasure Planet, Brave), Mindy Kaling (wreck it Ralph, Inside Out), Idris Elba (Finding Dory, Zootopia), and Kristen Bell (Frozen, Zootopia).

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One of the new characters introduced in the live-action film is this grand piano. Named “Candeza”, the piano, who is described as a neurotic maestro, will be voiced by acting veteran Stanley Tucci.

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When the film was released in China, Beast was dubbed by martial arts legend Jackie Chan.

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Believe it or not, Beast’s real name is never mentioned in the film and was only con-firmed as "Adam" in the CD Rom tie-in game and subsequent Broadway musical.

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Prepare to have your mind blown: Chip was originally meant to be a cute little music box instead of a cute little teacup.

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Beauty and the Beast is currently the 9th longest running musical in Broadway history.

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Belle’s dress is said to be loosely based on Dorothy's from The Wizard of Oz and was made the colour it is to illustrate how different Belle is from everyone else in town.

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The original version of Gaston’s death, which featured wolves killing him after he survived falling from Beast’s castle with a broken leg, was canned by producers and instead used in the Lion King during Scar’s demise.

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Eleven years after its release, the Library of Congress deemed Beauty and the Beast a “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” film and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.

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Some of the sculptures seen in Beast’s castle are said to be very early concept designs of Beast himself.

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Meanwhile, some of the paintings around the castle are actually undetailed versions of famous paintings. So, yes, that is the “Girl with a Pearl Earring” you spotted outside of Belle’s bedroom.

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Belle is the second Disney princess to not be of royal decent. The first one is basement baby Cinderella.

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Due to scheduling conflicts with Star Trek: The Next Generation, Patrick Stewart had to turn down the role of Cogsworth. He did manage to voice characters in two Disney films a few years later though: Bambi II and Chicken Little.

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Angela Lansbury’s character Mrs. Potts was originally called Mrs. Chamomile. But when none of the cast could pronounce the herbal tea properly, the producers settled on Potts.

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During filming, Lansbury didn’t think her character should sing the ballad ‘Tale As Old As Time’ so only recorded the track once as a backup. Not only did her version end up being used in the film. It also won an Oscar for ‘Best Original Song’.

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Ever wondered what the latin phrase "Vincit qui se vincit” on the stained glass window means? When translated, it reads; ”He conquers who conquers himself."

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Due to time constraints in post-production, Belle and Prince Adam’s final dance in the film is actually a reused animation from Sleeping Beauty of Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip dancing.

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Belle’s strong and independent personality is said to have been inspired by Katharine Hepburn's performance as headstrong character Jo March in the 1933 production of Little Women.

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The live-action adaptation starring Emma Watson as Belle, Dan Stevens as Beast, Luke Evans as Gaston, Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts, Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, and Ian McKellen as Cogsworth is in cinemas this weekend!

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The Lion King

Two Big Comedy Stars Set To Join Disney's Lion King Remake As Timon And Pumbaa

25 Facts You Didn’t Know About Beauty And The Beast

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