'Lion King' in real life? Zoo says its cub was 'Simba'; 'Scar' spotted in Kenya

The Dallas Zoo says the movements of one of its lion cubs were captured on video and sent to Disney’s animation team as reference for Simba in ‘The Lion King’ live-action remake. (Disney, Dallas Zoo/Facebook)

Turns out fans of the original “The Lion King” don’t need to see the new remake to see living versions of Simba and Scar out in the real world.

The Dallas Zoo has revealed the actual cub they say served as inspiration for animators, and movie fans have spotted a one-eyed lion ‘Scar’ in Kenya.

Audiences have been flocking to cinemas to watch Mufasa, Simba and Scar again on-screen in Disney's new “The Lion King” remake -- which has led to the House of Mouse earning US$185 million in its opening weekend.

Like the original animation team who created the original 1994 version, Disney’s animators needed inspiration from real animals for the remake. And the Dallas Zoo say their lion cub could have been one of the real-life models.

In a Facebook post, the zoo in Texas says the movements and behaviours of their lion cub Bahati were captured on video and sent to the animation team as reference for the Simba character.

“The world's most famous lion cub may have gotten some of his moves from our very own Bahati,” the zoo’s post read. It was accompanied by video of the adorable cub mewing.

Years ahead of the film’s release this summer, the zoo says they sent footage of Bahiti when the cub was only a month old.

“From walking on wobbly new legs to licking milk droplets off of her face, we captured every moment, no matter how small,” the post continued, before encouraging people watching the new film to “let us know if you see any bit of baby Bahati in Simba.“

The lion cub isn’t so little anymore as Bahati is now a fully-grown, two-and-a-half-year-old lioness. The cub was actually extra special to the zoo. According to a zoo blog post from 2017, she was “the first lion cub born at the Dallas Zoo in 43 years.”

A better inspiration for Scar spotted in Kenya

While some moviegoers have praised how Simba appears in the film, others have criticized the way the CGI characters appear less emotive or don’t look like their animated counterparts.

Fans have criticized the appearance of the classic character Scar, played by Jeremy Irons in the original and Chiwetel Ejiofor in the remake. In particular, many are upset that the remake’s version doesn’t have a black mane and only has subtle scarring across his eye.

But a lion recently spotted in Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve park might have served as a better inspiration for the animators.

Italian amateur photographer Fabrizio Bignotti was touring the park when he noticed a lion with a wound on the left side of its face -- just like the animated character.

The lion’s name is Benna and he reportedly lost his eye fighting a rival lion, Bignotti told the U.K. tabloid The Daily Mail.

Animators used virtual reality tech unavailable in 1994

The animation studio which provided the visual effects was The Moving Picture Company, which had worked on Disney’s other computer-generated, live-action 2016 remake “The Jungle Book.”

According to the team’s website, animators used a combination of virtual reality/augmented reality technology and motion capture to get the movements of the animals just right.

During the original 1994 movie’s production, animators actually went to the Miami Zoo to study and see many of the animals used in their film. Some even travelled to Kenya to model the iconic Pride Lands seen in the movie.