Summary Hans Zimmer drew inspiration from African sounds to create the iconic opening song of The Lion King.
“Circle of Life” ends with a musical button, creating a dramatic impact on the audience.
Disney’s original plan for the song was very different, but Zimmer’s creativity led to its extended version.
Hans Zimmer, the famed composer of Disney’s The Lion King, recently revealed some interesting information about what went into making The Lion King’s famous opening song, “The Circle of Life.” When The Lion King premiered in 1994, it was an instant success, and a large part of that success is thanks to its memorable award-winning soundtrack. Zimmer scored the animated film with a handful of original songs written by composer Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice, who had previously worked with Disney on the Aladdin soundtrack. Along with composing the songs, John was also a featured vocalist on multiple tracks.
The Disney Renaissance film soundtrack earned two Academy Awards, one for John and Rice for Best Original Song and one for Zimmer for Best Original Score, marking his first of two wins. The soundtrack was so successful that it had three nominations in the Best Original Song category – “Can You Feel The Love Tonight,” “Circle of Life,” and “Hakuna Matata” – with “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” being the ultimate winner. The Lion King takes inspiration from Hamlet and is set in the Pride Lands of Africa, leading to a unique score with African sounds, lyrics, and voices.
Hans Zimmer’s Process & Inspiration For The Lion King’s “Circle Of Life” Explained
Hans Zimmer Was Inspired By African Sounds
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Since his film score debut in 1982’s Moonlighting, German composer Hans Zimmer has scored over 150 movies, including The Lion King. Disney scores have spanned a variety of sounds based on its characters and where the story takes place. For example, the Caribbean sound of calypso and Jamaican reggae can be heard in The Little Mermaid soundtrack, most notably in the songs sung by the Trinidadian-accented crab Sebastian, “Kiss The Girl” and “Under The Sea.” The Moana soundtrack also features Polynesian lyrics to honor the culture explored in the film.
For The Lion King, Zimmer was inspired by African sounds and included various African instruments in the score to bring the sound to life on the big screen. This included a mix of traditional African drums and other percussion instruments to bring a more modern African sound. For “Circle of Life,” Zimmer worked with South African composer Lebo M, who sings the song’s opening lyrics. In the Netflix documentary Hollywood Rebel, Zimmer also shared his unique process of creating synthesized demos for directors, something that wasn’t common practice at the time.
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Why The Lion King’s “Circle Of Life” Ends The Way It Does
The Lion King’s “Circle Of Life” Has A Unique Ending
The Lion King’s “Circle of Life” is memorable for many things: the African chant, “Nants ingonyama bagithi baba,” that opens the song; the scene it accompanies of the animals coming together at Pride Rock to see the newborn prince Simba, and its dramatic ending. There are many different ways to end a song, one of which is known as a musical button. A musical button is the opposite of a fade-out, providing a solid bump at the end of a song. Buttons are popular in musical theatre, as they let an audience know when to clap.
Zimmer’s “Circle of Life” ends on a musical button, with an emphatic drumbeat that caps everything off perfectly. However, this wasn’t intentional on Zimmer’s part, as shown in Hollywood Rebel. Zimmer shared that when The Lion King’s directors and producers came in to hear the song, he hadn’t finished it yet. To distract from this, Zimmer added the drumbeat at the end, incidentally creating one of Disney’s most iconic song endings.
Disney’s Original Plan For The Lion King’s Score Was Very Different
“Circle Of Life” Was Meant To Be Much Shorter
Just like the ending of “Circle of Life,” the song itself wasn’t supposed to play out the way it did. When it came time for Zimmer to write “Circle of Life,” The Lion King director and producers had a plan for it due to pre-written dialogue and an already animated sequence. “Circle of Life” clocks in at just under 4 minutes, but Disney had originally asked Zimmer to arrange just 20 seconds of what Elton John had already composed before the song was meant to switch into dialogue.
Fortunately, in his excitement about working with Lebo M, Zimmer forgot all about these instructions, creating the much longer demo that was then used in the film. When it came time to show the song to the director and producers, Zimmer worried they’d make him redo it to fit their original plan. Instead, Disney decided to reanimate the entire opening and took the dialogue out completely. In doing so, “Circle of Life” was able to speak for itself, and Zimmer created one of Disney’s most iconic songs that perfectly set the tone for The Lion King.
Where To Watch The Lion King