This was a song written for the film but was replaced by Hakuna Matata. I happen to like this song better than Hakuna Matata (but nobody really likes that song anyway, right?). I definitely think it should have been added into the stage show, as I think it's a tour de force, both musically and lyrically. Here's a link to the demo, in case anyone here hasn't heard it yet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es6vQ53yjv4. Thoughts?

I personally prefer Hakuna Matata.
Didn't they use the melody from Warthog Rhapsody in the 3rd Lion King film?
I think the song was called 'That's all I need'?

I also prefer Hakuna Matata. I don't like how Warthog Rhapsody focuses solely on Pumba. Simba also gets more time to shine in HM.

Well, so does Hakuna Matata. You don't find out what happened to Timon until they wrote an extra verse for that crappy midquel.

They actually already had Timon's verse from the beginning, but they cut it out.

"Hakuna Matata" is a better song. "Warthog Rhapsody" is, simply put, second rate, both musically and lyrically. Musically, it sounds like it was churned out by some kind of keyboard programme and the music overpowers the lyrics, which do not sit well on the melody at all. Not that it matters, because the lyrics sound like Tim Rice trying to force words into a programmed melody. There are missed accents all over the place and some of the vocabulary used is so clearly inappropriate to these characters. I'm glad it was not added to the stage show. The stage show is padded with enough sub-par Elton John and Tim Rice songs. None of the new John-Rice material really serves the material well at all: they are not nearly as good as the other additions and none is on par with any of the songs from the film.


Precisely. That latter point is what matters: how the song is used to take forward the story of Simba. After all, this is called The Lion King, not The Neverending Saga of Timon and Pumba.


One does not need to find out about what happened to Timon for "Hakuna Matata" to function as a narrative building block of the film. The song needs to take the story forward. In the version that was used, this is achieved. It would strain under the weight of an extra verse. Anyway, it is incorrect to say that "Hakuna Matata" focuses solely on Pumba. The song focuses primarily on Simba's journey and the development of the character: Pumba's story is merely a means to that end.


A good decision, as it was just padding out a point that had already been made. The key thing in this song was to figure out how it related to Simba's journey. What was included in "Hakuna Matata" was enough to do that and enough to take the story forward. "Warthog Rhapsody" does not achieve this and that one of the reasons why "Hakuna Matata" is a better song for The Lion King.

The only existing version of the song is a keyboard/voice demo; if you've heard any of the demos written for Menken and Ashman's Disney scores, they sound exactly the same. What did you expect, bongo drums and a kazoo?

I agree that the music of "Warthog" is the focal point, but that's more of an engineering/mixing issue than an actual flaw in the writing.

Nope, the song was released on the album Rhythm of the Pride Lands. But even if it hadn't been produced for an album, that would be besides the point: this is not about the arrangement of the music; it is about the music itself being formulaic and predictable. Even worse, the music lacks the energy and momentum required by the song that would need to fill that particular spot in film at that point. It is the writing that is at fault here, not the quality of the recording. As such, the problem with the lyrics is not to do with the mix, but with the fact that they are poorly married to the music. They don't sing, nor do they compel one to listen to what's being said. They're completely flaccid, incapable of moving the narrative along in the way they should.