Shared with you
The Zulu-language lyrics for the opening chant of "The Circle of Life" are: "Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba / Sithi uhm ingonyama / Nants ingonyama bagithi baba / Sithi uhhmm ingonyama / Ingonyama Siyo Nqoba / Ingonyama Ingonyama nengw enamabala". This translates as: "Here comes a lion, Father / Oh, yes, it's a lion / Here comes a lion, Father / Oh yes, it's a lion / A lion We're going to conquer / A lion A lion and a leopard come to this open place." The lyrics were written by the South African composer Lebo M. Zulu is one of many South African languages along with Swahili, an East African language, used predominantly in this movie. Many characters' names are Swahili including Simba (lion); Nala (gift); Pumbaa (heart); Rafiki (friend); and Sarabi (mirage).
According to Seth Rogen, his singing skills were so poor that the vocal coach hired for him (none other than Pharrell Williams) was "literally...banging his head against a wall trying to extract...a f**king good note out of me."
Jon Favreau revealed in an interview that he brought James Earl Jones back as the voice of Mufasa because: "I see it as carrying the legacy across. Just hearing him say the lines is really moving and surreal, the timbre of his voice has changed. That served the role well because he sounds like a king who's ruled for a long time."
Jon Favreau has stated that there is only one "real shot" in the entire film. Writing on Instagram, he said, "There are 1490 rendered shots created by animators and CG artists. I slipped in one single shot that we actually photographed in Africa to see if anyone would notice. It is the first shot of the movie that begins The Circle of Life."
Unlike in the original, Simba's eyes are a hazy blue as a baby. This is true to actual lion biology, in which cubs are born blind and cannot open their eyes until about ten days after their birth. The blue color is a result of delayed melanin production, but this changes as the cubs grow, such that their eyes are golden-brown by the time they're three months old; this as reflected in Simba's "cubhood" design.