Watch the voice cast of “The Lion King” record their parts for the animated film

Disney today released a new platinum/Walt Disney edition of “The Lion King” today and it’s packed full of bonus features and special featurettes that give a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the Oscar-winning, 23-year-old animated film. A highlight of the extra content is a look at the original voice cast recording their lines.

Like most recording sessions for animated films today, all the actors were recorded separately. However, when you see their parts come together (sans the animation), you’d be surprised to see how well they work together. That was even more evident when the cast recorded the songs for the film.

In the video above, you’ll see a Jason Weaver (singing voice of Simba) and “Mr. Bean” actor Rowan Atkinson (voice of Zazu) record the lines for the scene featuring the song “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King.” The video recording of the actors was originally done so that animators could put the mannerisms of the actors into the character’s animation and heighten the believability of their performances.

Be sure to check out the rest of the bonus features included on the re-release of “The Lion King” in the platinum/Walt Disney edition now available on Blu-ray/DVD combo pack.