THE LION KING. On the occasion of the return of the musical The Lion King to the Mogador theater in Paris, let’s take a look at the differences between the musical and the original Disney cartoon.
The Lion King is immortal, timeless. Back at the Mogador theater in Paris since November 2021, the musical comedy adapted from the Disney cartoon seduces young and old, until next July (at least). The Lion King, released on the big screen in 1994, is among the most popular Disney films, still three decades later. Adapting it into a musical means confronting the challenge of making this cult cartoon a show cut out for the boards. A challenge tackled by Julie Taymor, American director, who had the difficult task of adapting the film from Disney studios for the boards.
Successful bet: played from 2007 to 2010, already at the Mogador theater, The Lion King had attracted 1.5 million spectators and won three Molières: Best Musical, Best Costumes and Best Lights. The musical, after having conquered New York, was played all over the world, from Tokyo to Mexico City via Seoul, Sydney, London or Hamburg. In total, the show’s 25 productions have been seen by more than 100 million viewers.
If the success seems total, we asked ourselves the question of the differences between the original cartoon and its adaptation in musical comedy. To do this, Linternaute.com was able to interview Véronique Bandelier, resident director of the show at the Mogador theater. here is the seven differences Between The Lion King in film and its musical version.
The first difference is obvious to the spectator of the musical The Lion King from the first seconds of the show: Rafiki is a woman! Close to the mandrill, this somewhat disturbed old monkey living in a baobab tree accompanies Simba, the hero of the story, on his life journey. In Mogador, the role is played by the South African singer Ntsepa Pitjeng-Molebatsi.
But why did Rafiki become a woman on stage? The idea comes from Julie Taymor, the original director of the Lion King musical version. “When Julie Taymor was contacted, when she saw The Lion King, she found that the female characters were not sufficiently represented in the film. So she wanted to give them another value”, explains to Linternaute.com Véronique Bandelier, resident director of the Lion King at the Mogador theater.
“The character of Rafiki, who is normally the wonderful monkey shaman, changes sex and becomes the strongest feminine and spiritual presence of the show (…) this Rafiki, she has a double game in the show: she is a storyteller of the story and she is active in the story. She has a huge influence, she is with Nala, with Simba… She is a spiritual guide”, she adds, referring to Rafiki’s reference to the Sangoma, women South African shamans.
In addition to the character of Rafiki, which reinforces the female presence in the musical of the Lion King, Julie Taymor wanted to give more depth to another protagonist of the story, somewhat absent in the cartoon version: Nala. In the original Disney version, the role of the young lioness is confined to helping Simba, the only hero in the story with whom she will end her life.
“In the film, she is in search of food, there she goes into exile, without knowing where she is going, but she tells herself that she had to leave”, explains Véronique Bandelier. Julie Taymor “really worked on this character to give her something more rebellious, it’s not just a woman who is there and who suffers. In the wild, it’s the lionesses who hunt, who are very active. of the human character, it is she who makes the decision to leave to find a solution, to leave her family to go towards the unknown. It refers to the human world, but also to the animal world. Because she really leaves all consciousness elsewhere, in unknown places. Which shows his courage”, adds the resident director.
Another big difference between the Disney cartoon and its stage adaptation: Scar’s depth. From a classic villain in the original film, Mufasa’s brother becomes a broken, tortured, manipulative… but sentimental animal in the musical. “It’s one of the most important things for Julie Taymor when she saw the cartoon: she says that the challenge was to be able to show things on stage, which we cannot show in the film, underlines Véronique Bandelier. It is also by developing these characters differently.”
In the musical, at the Mogador theater as in its other versions, “we see her shenanigans, her manipulations (…) there is a very Shakespearian dimension in the way Julie Taymor treats the story, with in particular the madness of Scar which begins to arrive and which we can, with the theater, detail.
In the original Disney version, Simba is the sole hero of the story: a young lion cub driven into exile after the death of his father whom he thinks he killed, before returning and saving the Land of the Lions. But in the musical version, his character is also much deeper and is no longer the only hero in the story. “Simba has to find his place, so he goes through different trials. He has more bite, more rebellion in him compared to the cartoon. There is something more assertive”, underlines Véronique Bandelier.
Zazu, Mufasa’s then Simba’s royal butler, also saw a dusting off in the 1994 Disney adaptation. cynical. On stage, the character of Zazu borrows elements of modern language, which makes him completely timeless. “These characters, we bring them to life in the spirit of the times”, welcomes Véronique Bandelier.
Enter to sing the song Let It Go cartoon Snow Queen or talking to King Mufasa on Twitter (see the video in the header of the article), the butler has never looked so modern. While retaining its biting humor and accompanying, despite the hardships, the characters of Simba and Nala.
In 2007, during the first version of the Lion King at the Mogador theater in Paris, the lyrics of the cartoon’s cult songs had been changed. “While there, the four songs from the movie [présentes dans le spectacle], we chose to use the words of the cartoon. They are adapted for the cinema, but they are so much in the collective unconscious, it has become a reference. And we feel that the public recognizes the lyrics and suddenly, it’s interesting to make the link between this cartoon, which people must have seen a while ago, and its transcription on stage, more theatrical, more lively” , explains Véronique Bandelier.
Also note, on stage in Mogador, the presence of a live orchestra: “a real difference” for the resident director, who also underlines the addition of “Zulu choirs”, “African rhythms” and ” choreographic elements”. Also present in the show are “eight South African artists, who bring this particular color of Africa, its vibrations”. So many contributions that add to the magic of the show, which is totally different from the 1994 cartoon at this point.
Last major difference from the stage adaptation of the Lion King, the incarnation of animals by the 49 artists of the show. To do this, Julia Taymor imagined a string of puppets, masks and costumes representing various animals of the savannah. “The characters are both human and animal. And so Julie Taymor really wanted to use the codes of theater, old theater techniques. We will always see the dancer and his animal, the actor and his puppet…”, explains Veronique Bandelier.
And to add: “She really wants to show what she calls the ‘double event’, that we can see the human and the animal. Which allows the actor to put all the emotions in his character. But what ‘there isn’t one that hides the other. It gives a huge range of acting for the actors, to express the animal, thoughtful, manipulative side for Scar for example, very lively for Timon or good-natured for Pumba. It’s fabulous for actors.”
And the magic happens.
All information about The Lion King at the Mogador Theater
“It’s the story of life”. 14 years after its first visit to Paris, the musical The Lion King is back at the Mogador theater, from November 6, 2021 until July 31, 2022. Directly inspired by the most famous Disney cartoon released in 1994, the show features its cult characters, Simba, Nala, Rafiki, Mufasa , but also the terrible Scar and the troublemakers Zazu, Timon and Pumba. Fabulous costumes, gigantic paintings, known and recognized songs, dozens of animals and a live orchestra… The Lion King intends to seduce young and old alike.
Musical figures The Lion King make you dizzy: 49 artists, 11 musicians, 80 technicians, 200 masks, 200 puppets… For this new version at the Mogador theatre, directed by Julie Taymor, the Stage Entertainment production lifted the veil on this casting a few months before the premiere of the show:
- Rafiki : Ntsepa PITJENG
- Mufasa : Noah NDEMA
- Scar : Olivier BREITMAN
- Simba : Gwendal MARIMOUTOU
- Nala : Cylia
- Zazu : Sebastien PEREZ
- tiller : Alexandre FAITROUNI
- Pumbaa : Rodrigue GALIO
- Shenzi : Terja DIAVA
- BanzaiScar lining: Abdel-Rahym MADI
- EdZazu & Timon lining: Sébastien VALTER
- Sarabi : Rachel VALERY
- child simba : William BOULAY-ITELA, Martin D’ARAM DE VALADA, Ethan DARSOULANT, Esteban HERNANDEZ SANCHEZ, Aristote LAIOS, Idrissa SOUMARE and Naïley TEMBELY-LAIDET.
- Nala child : Lyka BA, Mee-Naïdhy FAUBERT, Ambre MARCUSSY, Mélissa MASUNGI, Ilona SAMASSI, Marion TAKAM and Ilyana ZAOUAK.
The tickets for The Lion King at the Mogador theater are available at all the usual points of sale, such as Fnac, TicketacWhere Reduced ticket, but also on the site of the Parisian performance hall. For the price of places, count between 25 euros in category 4 to 110 euros in gold square on Saturday evening (90 euros during the week).