Practical techniques closer to animated characters are one of Disney’s essential selling factors in recent times. One good thing about the reboot is that we get to see real actors and actresses trying their best to imitate their caricature counterparts. Even I have to admit that Smith’s Genie was pretty awesome.
Disney’s Live-Action Simba Inspired by the Most Adorable Lion Cub Ever!
By the way, let’s get back to the lions! Did you know that Disney animators used a real lion cub from the Dallas Zoo as a version of Simba? Whether you like it or not, these are straight data!
Have you ever noticed how natural little Simba’s movements appear in the movie? That’s because the animators used a living, breathing lion cub named Bahati as a reference!
Bahati’s birthday is St. Patrick’s Day March 17, 2017.
He has parents. It’s not like the Dallas Zoo cloned him. So here’s his mom, Lena.
And here’s his dad – Kamau. Who is also the leader of Contentment?
Bahati means “lucky” in Swahili, so you at least know that someone is lucky, because Bahati became the best cub born at the zoo in the last 45 years.
The animation group got a video with the little lioness and transferred almost every movement to the virtual 3D medium. From licking her face to the furry paw movements.
A 3-D lion will look real if the hit movements are robotic and completely fake. So a live lion is a gift from God.
Although Simba is a male and Bahati is a female, they have many similarities.
It takes a lot of time to create a 3D animated movie of Disney caliber, so currently, Bahati looks like Nala, as she is 2 years old.
But she will always be the inspiration behind Simba, The Lion King!