Do you think Matthew Broderick was miscast as adult Simba?

[TheLionPrince]

A lot has been said about Broderick's vocal performance as adult Simba with a fair majority calling it bland and deeming that his voice doesn't seem to fit with the character while the other half is fairly supportive of it. Well, what do you think?

[Elton John]

He lacks the charisma of scott weinger as aladdin, lacked the vocal punch of robby benson as beast, and jtt did a better job as young simba. However he wasn't terrible or really bland, just that he was outclassed by almost every other actor in the movie but to be fair most of the other actors ranged from 'really freaking good' to 'some of the best english performances in animation' that I have seen.

After the lion king broderick went on to do award winning, critically acclaimed hit films such as Inspector Gadget, Roland Emmerichs Godzilla, and uh...at least he's still famous for Ferris Buellers Day Off.

[FireAndSun]

I definitely think they could have gotten a better voice actor for adult Simba. Broderick wasn't bad or anything. He did a perfectly acceptable job. But when you're competing with the sort of vocal performances given by Jeremy Irons or James Earl Jones in the movie, you're just going to seem lackluster in comparison.

[Alexterri1]

Eh I do somewhat agree. His performance isn't anything unique; as Elton John said, other male leads in Disney films have given much better performances, and KTT was more vibrant as cub samba.

But considering I honestly find Adult Simba to be pretty bland and boring anyway, its not a huge deal to me. And most of the performances in TLK are good, so I can forgive a few duds.

[Ninaroja]

I think he fits pretty well, though that might just be because that's how it's always been, and I can't imagine another voice there.

I might change my mind by the time the remake is released, though (I'm assuming "re-imagining" involves a whole new voice cast, as well)

[SimbasGuard]

Matthew spoke with a boyish charm that was needed when Simba was living the Hakuna Matata lifestyle with Timon and Pumbaa. I personally felt Simba's pain when he faced Mufasa's Ghost. and he did manage to have a regal presence when he needed to speak with authority. I had no problem believing that Simba had every intention of ripping Scar apart when he made that threat.

Matthew's performance was not the most impressive in the movie, but he totally fit Adult Simba perfectly. Also to paraphrase what FireAndSun said, When your vocal performance is being measured against James Earl Jones and Jeremy Irons. I think that there are very few actors that would not fall short under those circumstances.

[Squeely]

I think Broderick is fine as Simba. While he's not as amazing as Jones, Irons, or even Atkinson, I felt his sorrow over the loss of his father, joy over reconnecting with Nala, and anger at Scar. Imo, Broderick has quite a good range here! Though I am hoping for something along the lines of Jason Raize's Simba for the live action remake.

[Trent Gladney]

He seems miscast almost eveywhere. In Godzilla he was annoying as hell.

[Captain Cupcake]

I think he's a pretty good fit for the role. At least for what we saw.

Admittedly, with that voice and the demeanor they gave him, it's a bit difficult to picture Simba as a full-fledged, regal and commanding king later down the line (and that's even with a DTV sequel already giving us a glimpse of this). However, that isn't really a problem. He was intentionally designed to be this young, uncertain and lost individual, and out of the people that auditioned for the role, Broderick's voice and performance was most likely the sort they were gunning for with this particular character.

Had the film required him to be a more dominating and confident figure like his father, then someone else would have probably been better suited for the role, but with the story they were trying to tell, he was fine. Simba's the kind of character where his later years are best left to the imagination.

[Solar]

I really liked his performance as Simba! I'm kinda surprised to hear that it has a mixed reaction, though I guess I can kind of understand though. But I don't know, I really like his boyish charm he brings to it. Maybe the final scenes where he has to be really serious might not match that denouement, but I still think he does a good job. I'm not a fan of his voice on The Lion Guard and that really just made me miss Matthew even more. So yeah I definitely like him a lot ♥