I got in contact with a "Lion King II" producer
Posted: July 25th, 2013, 8:32 pm...via email and with the help from Akril, here's what she said when I (and Akril) asked her some questions regarding the production history of The Lion King II:
1. Why was Binti, Zazu's girlfriend, deleted from the film?
Her response was:
[quote]1. Binti was originally created by one of the very first Directors of the film and as it goes in the movie making business, as the next Director of the movie came on board, that character and storyline was eliminated. Having to create a storyline around incidental characters can clutter up the "A" storyline and we wanted to keep that the focus. I actually still have a little clay model of Binti that one of the storyboard artists made for me![/quote]
2. By the time you signed on to the film, were the hyenas originally going to appear in the sequel? If so, what was their role in the early version of the story? An article from the New York Daily News states Cheech Marin (the voice of Banzai) had reprised his role.
Her response was:
[quote]You are correct, the hyenas were going to appear in the film with a very similar role as in the Lion King, but we thought introducing them again would be redundant. Cheech was on board to reprise his role.[/quote]
3. Why were Nuka's last lines ("Well, I finally got your attention, didn't I?") and Zira's suicide scene deleted from the film?
Her response was:
[quote]We went back and forth about Zira's suicide scene and as you can imagine it was a hot topic amongst all the executives in the company. The Director on the film felt very strongly about keeping it in, but as with anything in life, if you have to ask yourself, "Is this appropriate for our audience" then it probably isn't.[/quote]
4. Do you have any information about a rhino character going to be voiced by Thomas Haden Church? (Here are some Google search results that indicate this.)
Her response was:
[quote]The rhino character was in a very early incarnation of the story and as with Binti, it was a character that was cut after the new Director came on board. No specific reason for why he was cut, it just boiled down to creative vision of the new Director.[/quote]
For those who joined recently, the rhino question goes back to a topic back in November 2011 posted by Noah where Binti allegedly had some relationship with a butch of rhinoceros, and rumored to be a "rhino jockey".
Also, the Binti question goes back to what Noah revealed in another topic that Binti was to have a "flirtatious" personality, and was going to voiced by Frasier actress Jane Leeves.
Finally, I asked some questions concerning Chaka (Simba's deleted son) and other deleted material, but she wasn't able to provide deeper context into it. I would post it if you like.
1. Why was Binti, Zazu's girlfriend, deleted from the film?
Her response was:
[quote]1. Binti was originally created by one of the very first Directors of the film and as it goes in the movie making business, as the next Director of the movie came on board, that character and storyline was eliminated. Having to create a storyline around incidental characters can clutter up the "A" storyline and we wanted to keep that the focus. I actually still have a little clay model of Binti that one of the storyboard artists made for me![/quote]
2. By the time you signed on to the film, were the hyenas originally going to appear in the sequel? If so, what was their role in the early version of the story? An article from the New York Daily News states Cheech Marin (the voice of Banzai) had reprised his role.
Her response was:
[quote]You are correct, the hyenas were going to appear in the film with a very similar role as in the Lion King, but we thought introducing them again would be redundant. Cheech was on board to reprise his role.[/quote]
3. Why were Nuka's last lines ("Well, I finally got your attention, didn't I?") and Zira's suicide scene deleted from the film?
Her response was:
[quote]We went back and forth about Zira's suicide scene and as you can imagine it was a hot topic amongst all the executives in the company. The Director on the film felt very strongly about keeping it in, but as with anything in life, if you have to ask yourself, "Is this appropriate for our audience" then it probably isn't.[/quote]
4. Do you have any information about a rhino character going to be voiced by Thomas Haden Church? (Here are some Google search results that indicate this.)
Her response was:
[quote]The rhino character was in a very early incarnation of the story and as with Binti, it was a character that was cut after the new Director came on board. No specific reason for why he was cut, it just boiled down to creative vision of the new Director.[/quote]
For those who joined recently, the rhino question goes back to a topic back in November 2011 posted by Noah where Binti allegedly had some relationship with a butch of rhinoceros, and rumored to be a "rhino jockey".
Also, the Binti question goes back to what Noah revealed in another topic that Binti was to have a "flirtatious" personality, and was going to voiced by Frasier actress Jane Leeves.
Finally, I asked some questions concerning Chaka (Simba's deleted son) and other deleted material, but she wasn't able to provide deeper context into it. I would post it if you like.
