Almost 22 years since its release, the much-loved coming-of-age story from the African savannah continues to live on. Be it by repeat viewings, or as a musical on various stages across the world, Disney’s wonderful animated feature The Lion King rules our hearts.
And the resonance with Simba, Rafiki and a spectacular band of characters is all the more pronounced when kids take over the roles. At International School of London – Qatar (ISL-Q), close to 100 students participated in a grand production of The Lion King, engaging and entertaining an audience of around 1,500 people over three performances, last week.
Complete with a riot of colours courtesy a range of costumes and masks, ISL-Q’s reimagination of the beloved tale struck the right balance of revelling in celebration and exploring emotion. In the film, lion cub and future king Simba searches for his identity while living by a philosophy: No worries for the rest of your days.
His eagerness to please others and penchant for testing his boundaries sometimes gets him into trouble. Understandably, putting together this full-fledged show has been an uphill task. Claire Daniels, Head of Performing Arts, ISL-Q, told Community, “The main parts undertook a rigorous audition process last September and we have rehearsed after school and weekends since the beginning of October. The production was a team effort with many departments and staff in the school supporting it; be it the Art and Design departments making props and staging, the Drama, Dance and Music departments working on the performance aspects, or the team of older students working on make-up and front of house.t
Producing the show has taken a tremendous team effort and it shows. Moreover, as the school didn’t have a custom-made theatre large enough to stage The Lion King, the team took it upon themselves to transform the school gymnasium into a theatre with 500 seats. “This was a great challenge for us as we had to bring all aspects of the show together in the final week as the gym was being transformed,” Daniels said.
While the demanding rehearsal schedule sure took a great commitment from the students and their parents, the performance and the audience’s rousing response with standing ovations ensured that they received their well-earned rewards for their efforts. “I am delighted to be working with such a broad range of talent in the school,” Daniels said, “The participants were aged from seven to 17, and we had a primary choir of over 60 students who brought the popular songs from The Lion King to life.”
The sheer majestic wholesomeness of The Lion King soundtrack sets it apart from others. Little wonder then that it is the best-selling soundtrack album to an animated film in the United States with upwards of 7mn copies sold till date, with 4,934,000 copies sold in 1994 – the year of its release. Featuring songs from the film written by Elton John and Tim Rice, and a score composed by Hans Zimmer, the soundtrack has classics such as Can You Feel the Love Tonight, Circle of Life, and of course, Hakuna Matata.
The actors and singers worked hard to put out their finest performances and undertook extensive singing and acting training to raise the bar on their performance levels. “The dancers, choreographed by Kaeyla Wilmott-Hogg, added some showstopping routines to bring an extra dimension to the overall effect on stage,” Daniels said, “The costumes were all hand-made by a team of parents led by Gil Charleson and altogether it made for some breath-taking effects.”
Although visibly exhausted, the students have pointed out that apart from enabling them to develop their skills for performing arts, the shared experience has also led to them forming bonds with their peers during the show.
The Lion King was the first Disney animated film to feature an original storyline – that is, one that was not an adaptation of a pre-existing story. It is the highest-grossing hand-drawn animated feature of all time with a total box office of over $987mn; it is also the third highest-grossing animated feature in general, the 19th highest-grossing film of all time,  among many other accomplishments.