The Lion King is the 62nd episode of Screen Junkies comedy series Honest Trailers. It was written by Spencer Gilbert, Gilli Nissim, Dan Murrell, Alexander Zeldin, Ian Weinreich and Andy Signore. It was narrated by Jon Bailey as Epic Voice Guy. It parodies the 1994 Disney animated film The Lion King in the format of a musical episode. It features song parodies with music and performances by AVbyte. It was published on June 10, 2014, to coincide with the film's 20th anniversary. It is 4 minutes 50 seconds long. It has been viewed over 18 million times, and is one of the highest-viewed Honest Trailers of all time.
Watch Honest Trailers - The Lion King on YouTube
"Witness the birth of lion king Simba, an obnoxious know-it-all who rubs his privilege in everyone's face." ~ Honest Trailers - The Lion King
Script[]
Before there was Frozen, relive the peak of Disney animation, followed immediately by its downfall (shows posters for The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Tarzan, Treasure Planet, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Brother Bear, The Emperor's New Groove, Home on the Range, The Lion King 1 1/2, and The Lion King II: Simba's Pride). The Lion King.
Revisit the original tale of a royal heir whose parents die, prompting them to run away from their kingdom, then sing a song about letting go of their worries while things fall apart back home, and return to defeat an evil prince (shows clips comparing The Lion King and Frozen during this summary). I knew there was a reason I liked that movie.
Journey to Pride Rock, an animal kingdom with some incredibly generous borders (Mufasa: Everything the light touches is our kingdom.) and its own version of New Jersey (Simba: What about that shadowy place?/Mufasa: You must never go there, Simba.), where all of its African animals talk like they're British (Zazu: Good morning, sire!), evil British (Scar: It's to die for.), Latino (Banzai: Que pasa?), Jewish moms (Timon: So, where you from?), gangsta (Shenzi: There ain't no way I'm goin' in there!), or CNN (Mufasa: Remember who you are.).
Witness the birth of lion king Simba, an obnoxious know-it-all who rubs his privilege in everyone's face (Simba: My dad just showed me the whole kingdom; and I'm going to rule it all. Heh heh.). Watch as Simba's life of leisure is shattered by his evil uncle, a lion who is either named Scar by coincidence or he got stuck with a really mean nickname.
Get ready for a G-rated movie filled with domestic abuse, a child raised by a same-sex couple -- not that there's a problem with that -- and the most traumatic death of a parent since Bambi's mom got shot in the face.
Simba: Dad, we gotta go home.
(tries to rouse his dead father; the narrator is heard tearing up) Ha...Hakuna Matata?
So let Frozen go and experience the best music of any Disney musical ever, with unforgettable songs like "The Be Careful What You Wish For Song" (sung to the tune of "I Just Can't Wait to Be King")...
Oh, I just can't wait 'til Dad dies!
..."The Plotting Evil Stuff Song" (sung to the tune of "Be Prepared")...
So prepare, because I am the bad guy!
Be prepared for me to do bad guy things.
..."The Catchy Song to Distract Kids from the Horrific Death They Just Saw" (sung to the tune of "Hakuna Matata")...
Simba: I went through trauma at a very young age.
Timon: Don't be a downer, kid.
Simba, Timon: They just killed my dad...
Pumbaa: Forget all that!
Simba, Pumbaa, Timon: An African Catchphrase!
..."The Slow Jam" (sung to the tune of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight")...
Simba, Nala: We are gonna pork tonight.
Yeah, we are totally gonna pooooooooork.
It was nice to be childhood friends with ya,
But now it's time to pooooooooork!
...and "The Song That Fools Us Into Thinking These Animals Live in Harmony" (sung to the tune of "Circle of Life").
Singer: IIIIIIIIIIIIII don't know-aaaaaaaaa what the words really are.
Chorus: (It's okay, we'll make them up. They'll make them up.)
No one knows-a what-a we are saying,
But it's fun to sing it anyway-a.
Singer: He's a threat to our lives!
He could eat us aaaaaaaaaaaall!
He is on display to remind us we're prey!
Starring Lion Jafar (Jeremy Irons as Scar); Bird Sebastian (Rowan Atkinson as Zazu); Ren & Stimpy (Nathan Lane as Timon and Ernie Sabella as Pumbaa); Ed, Edd, 'n Eddy (Cheech Marin as Banzai, Whoopi Goldberg as Shenzi, and Jim Cummings as Ed); Do-Me Eyes (Moira Kelly as Nala); Dad Vader (James Earl Jones as Mufasa); and Kimba the White Lion (Seriously, Look It Up) (Jonathan Taylor Thomas as Young Simba and Matthew Broderick as Adult Simba).
The Lion King.
Wait, if Mufasa and Scar are the only male lions in the pride, then Nala's dad is probably (shows Mufasa)...oh, no.
Trivia[]
- In August 2017, Screen Junkies filmed a reaction video to this Honest Trailer with The Lion KIng director Rob Minkoff.
- Screen Junkies have produced Honest Trailers for several other musicals including Les Miserables, Frozen, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Aladdin, The Jungle Book, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Beauty and the Beast, Moana, La La Land, and The Greatest Showman. They also included parody songs in the Honest Trailers for The LEGO Movie, Fifty Shades of Grey, Toy Story and Honest Retro TV Themes!
Watch the full Reaction Video with Lion King Director Rob Minkoff on YouTube
Reception[]
Honest Trailers - The Lion King has a 97.9% approval rating from YouTube viewers. People wrote that the Honest Trailer delivered "many harsh but humorous truths" including the similarity to Frozen. JOE wrote that the Honest Trailer was "brilliant" and particularly commended the parody songs. Uproxx said the Honest Trailer was "brutally honest' and "will ruin your childhood." Geek Tyrant declared the Honest Trailer was "hilarious" and also called out the parody songs, including "I Just Can't Wait 'Till Dad Dies," "I Went Through a Trauma," and "We Are Gonna Pork Tonight." Gizmodo also commended the songs, calling them "especially hilarious." In the same article, the site also praised the Honest Trailers series more generally, writing, "We're fans of Honest Trailers because they cut through all the bullshit from every Hollywood blockbuster there is."
Production credits[]
Voiceover Narration by Jon Bailey
Series Created by Andy Signore & Brett Weiner
Written by Spencer Gilbert, Gilli Nissim, Dan Murrell, Alexander Zeldin, Ian Weinreich and Andy Signore
Directed by Andy Signore
Edited by Dan Murrell
Music composed and performed by AVbyte
Music/Arrangement/Recording: Antonius Nazareth
Young Simba/Female Solo: Elizabeth Oldak
Scar/Male Solo (for Circle of Life and Can You Feel The Love Tonight): Dimitri Moise
Pumba/Timone/Man Choir: Michael Ruocco
External links[]
- Before There Was Frozen: The Lion King Gets the Honest Trailer Treatment - People article
- Video: The Honest Trailer for The Lion King is just brilliant - JOE article
- Honest Trailer For ‘The Lion King’ Will Ruin Your Childhood - Uproxx article
- Funny Honest Trailer for THE LION KING - Geek Tyrant article
- I Can't Stop Laughing At This Brutally Honest The Lion King Trailer - Gizmodo article