I remember in the original there was time dwelling on Simba looking at the body and begging for Mufasa to get up. Most notably, Mufasa's death scene (spoiler's I guess) feels weirdly rushed. The weird thing is despite being longer a lot of times it feels like it's rushing through the beats of the original.

Really, there is a lot to admire about the movie, but still it can't escape the shadow of the original. Rating: PG (Sequences of Violence|Peril|Some Thematic Elements) Now, with help from a curious pair of newfound friends, Simba must figure out how to grow up and take back what is rightfully his. The battle for Pride Rock is soon ravaged with betrayal, tragedy and drama, ultimately resulting in Simba's exile. Scar, Mufasa's brother - and former heir to the throne - has plans of his own. But not everyone in the kingdom celebrates the new cub's arrival. Filmmakers later realized it made more sense to have Scar sing a song about what he was planning to do before it happened, rather than commenting on his plan after it had been put into motion.Simba idolizes his father, King Mufasa, and takes to heart his own royal destiny on the plains of Africa. Titled 'Thanks To Me,' it had Scar singing all the ways the Pride Lands were better 'thanks to' his new reign. Though its melody was the same as the song we know today, its lyrics were completely different.

In an audio commentary track for 'The Lion King,' producer Don Hahn shares that 'Be Prepared,' the movie's big villain song, originally came after Mufasa's death. The song was recorded by Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella, and included on the 1995 album ' Rhythm of the Pride Lands.' Then nearly a decade later, Vulture shares that the creative team making 2004's direct-to-DVD film 'The Lion King 1 ½' invited Rice to write new lyrics to John's melody of 'Warthog Rhapsody' that could be used as a song for Timon, 'That's All I Need,' in the new movie. Though it was ultimately removed from the film, 'Warthog Rhapsody' went on to have a unique shelf life.

Instaling The Lion King