Why was Be Prepared cut instead of Hukana Matata?

[FriendlyHyena]

I know both songs are beloved, but Scar is clearly evil so Be Prepared fits. However, Hukana Matata actually tells people to live in an apathetic lifestyle where you ignore problems. That's actually one of the biggest problems in the world: apathy. And, indeed, the Hukana Matata lifestyle nearly made Simba shirk his duty of going back to challenge Scar and it was only the arrival of ghost Mufasa that caused him to go back.

The sad thing is, it may have helped Simba in the short term after the shock of exile and the death of Mufasa, but, long term, the lifestyle harmed him.


Thus, I think they should remove Hukana Mattata and put back in Be Prepared.

[Elton John]

Because that apathy was necessary for the plot at that point?

[TLK_Kid]

The Lion King is not The Lion King without Hakuna Matata. Simple as that.

[Panpardus]

[TLK_Kid]

If they're animating "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" in a realistic setting, they can do anything.

[Elton John]

I still don’t believe that Be Prepared is cut.

An out of context interview with the real Elton John isn’t enough to convince me.

He never directly stated that the song was cut, he just forgot to mention it.

[SwagaliciousXXX]

[WildSimba]

[Elton John]

I like how people assume that the song is cut because of an out of context quote from an interview.

Oh wait I really hate it.

Seriously....

They might cut the song, they might not. Literally no one working on the movie has directly stated that the song is cut.

Just a quote from an EJ interview where he forgot to mention it.

[WildSimba]