Disney’s Live-Action Simba Was Based on the Cutest Lion Cub Ever!

The
realistic approach towards the animated characters is one of Disney’s
main selling points these days. One good thing about the reboots is
that we get to see real actors and actresses trying their hardest to
mimic their cartoon equivalents. Even I have to admit that Will
Smith’s Genie was pretty amazing.

Anyway,
back to the lions! Did you know that Disney animators used a real
lion cub from the Dallas Zoo, as a model for Simba? Like it or not,
these are straight facts!

Have
you noticed how natural little Simba’s movements looked in the movie?
That’s because the animators used a living, breathing lion cub Bahati
as a reference!

Bahati
shares her birthday with St. Patrick’s Day – on March 17, 2017.

Naturally,
she has parents. It’s not like the Dallas Zoo cloned her. So here’s
her mommy Lina.

And
here’s her daddy – Kamau. Who’s also the pride’s leader.

Bahati
means “Lucky” in Swahili, so you know at least that one makes
sense, because in the last 45 years, Bahati was the only cub to be
born in the zoo.

The
animation team received a video with the tiny lioness and almost
every movement was transferred to the digital 3D medium. From licking
her own face, to adorable paw action.

A
3D lion won’t look real if hit movements are robotic and outright
fake. That’s why a living lion was truly a godsend.

Even
though Simba is a male and Bahati is a female, they do share a lot of
similarities.

It
takes a lot of time to make a 3D animated movie of the Disney
caliber, so currently Bahati looks more like Nala, since she’s 2
years old.

But she will forever remain the inspiration behind Simba, the Lion King!