"I Just Can't Wait to Be King" is a song written by

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

(music) and

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ' ...

(lyrics) for the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

animated feature film ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance, it ...

'' (1994). The song is performed by American actor and singer

Jason Weaver Jason Michael Weaver (born July 18, 1979) is an American actor and singer best known for his roles as Marcus Henderson on The WB sitcom ''Smart Guy,'' Jerome Turrell on the short-lived sitcom '' Thea'' from 1993 to 1994, and the pre-teenaged ...

as the singing voice of young Simba, with English actor

Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles on the sitcoms '' Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and ''Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and the film series ''Johnny English'' (2003–201 ...

and American actress Laura Williams providing supporting vocals in their roles as Zazu and the singing voice of young Nala, respectively. The song was featured in the 2019 film adaptation, performed by

JD McCrary Jaydon McCrary (born July 18, 2007) is an American actor, dancer and singer. He is best known for his turn as Kenny Payne in ''The Paynes'' on the Oprah Winfrey Network. He starred in 2019's ''The Lion King'' as the voice of young Simba. He is ...

Shahadi Wright Joseph Shahadi Wright Joseph (born April 29, 2005) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She is best known for her starring role in Jordan Peele's horror film '' Us'' (2019) and as the voice for Young Nala in Jon Favreau's musical film ''The Lion ...

, and

John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. Oliver started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom. He came to wider attention ...

Analysis

The song is "An ode to youthful arrogance, invincibility and above all, impatience".

Critical reception

''The New York Times Film Reviews 1993–1994'' deemed the song to be derivative as well as "cute, lilting ndsafe", and likened the song to

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

singing "

Under the Sea "Under the Sea" is a song from The Walt Disney Company, Disney's 1989 animation, animated film ''The Little Mermaid (1989 film), The Little Mermaid'', composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman. It is influenced by the Calypso music, c ...

". ''

The Cavalier Daily ''The Cavalier Daily'' is an independent, student-run daily news organization at the University of Virginia. Founded in 1890, under the name ''College Topics'', ''The Cavalier Daily'' is Virginia's oldest collegiate daily and the oldest daily new ...

'' also compared the song to those from ''

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a h ...

'', and ''Popdust'' compared it to

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

's "

River of Dreams ''River of Dreams'' is the twelfth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on August 10, 1993. ''River of Dreams'' presented a more serious tone than found in Joel's previous albums, dealing with issues such as trust and ...

". ''The New York Times Theater Reviews 1997–1998'' felt that the song was "conventionally comic and upbeat". ''

Lakeland Ledger ''The Ledger'' is a daily newspaper serving Lakeland, Florida, and the Polk County area. The paper was founded on August 22, 1924, as the ''Lakeland Evening Ledger''. In 1927, it bought its main competitor, the morning ''Lakeland Star-Telegram' ...

'' wrote that it is a "dazzling

Busby Berkeley Busby Berkeley (born Berkeley William Enos; November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) was an American film director and musical choreographer. Berkeley devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. Berke ...

-style dancefest" with a " Rockettes kickline". It has been described as "strutting", "bouncy", "grand", and a "hubris-filled fantasy song". ''

News.com ''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...

'' deemed it the underdog song of ''The Lion King'', adding "this showstopper about the future didn't get the accolades its brethren received." Less favorable reviews have describe the song as "irritating" and not very "thematically rich". ''Popdust'' ranked the song 5 out of 6 songs in the film, and ''

BoingBoing ''Boing Boing'' is a website, first established as a zine in 1988, later becoming a group blog. Common topics and themes include technology, futurism, science fiction, gadgets, intellectual property, Disney, and left-wing politics. It twice won ...

'' listed it as the 11th best

"I Want" song The "I Want" song (also called an "I Wish" song) is a popular type of song featured in musical theatre, and has become a particularly popular term through its use to describe a series of songs featured in Disney Renaissance films that had the main ...

in the Disney repertoire. ''The Cavalier Daily'' deemed the Elton John reworking "uneventful and boring".

Certifications

Context

In film

"I Just Can't Wait to Be King" is a large contrast from the film's non-musical segments; the onset of the song sees a change from a neutral color palette. The song is performed near the beginning of the film by a young

Simba Simba is a fictional character and the protagonist of Disney's ''The Lion King (franchise), The Lion King'' franchise. Introduced in the 1994 film ''The Lion King'', Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation's List of Walt Disney Anim ...

and

Nala Nala (Sanskrit: नल) is a character in the ''Vana Parva'' book of the ''Mahabharata''. He was the king of Nishadha Kingdom and the son of Veerasena. Nala was known for his skill with horses and for his culinary expertise. He married prince ...

as to enunciate Simba's desires to become King. It is a prelude to Simba's lost innocence, being tricked into thinking he killed his father, his leaving Pride Rock, and attempt to forget his past.

Direct-to-video prequel

It also appears in DisneyToon's 2004 direct-to-video followup ''

The Lion King 1½ ''The Lion King 1½'' (also known as ''The Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata'', or ''The Lion King III: Hakuna Matata'') is a 2004 American animation, animated direct-to-video musical film, musical comedy film produced by the Australian branch of Disney ...

''.

Timon and Pumbaa Timon and Pumbaa are an animated meerkat and warthog duo introduced in Disney's 1994 animated film ''The Lion King'' and its franchise. Timon was played through his many appearances by Nathan Lane (in all three films and early episodes of the ...

are disturbed by some noise from outside of their home, which is actually Simba, Nala, and the animals singing this musical number. Timon is angry and hits the leg of an elephant supporting the tower of animals with a stick. The elephant jumps in surprise and causes the tower to collapse, explaining why it collapses in the original film. Timon and Pumbaa's home is ruined by this event.

In musical

The song appears in the

Broadway show Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

and is performed by

Scott Irby-Ranniar Scott Irby-Ranniar (born September 15, 1984) is an American actor and singer born in Harlem, New York. He is best known for originating the role of Young Simba in the Broadway production of The Lion King in 1997. He is a former member of the ba ...

, Kajuana Shuford, and

Geoff Hoyle Geoff Hoyle (born 15 April 1945) is an English performer who originated the role of Zazu in the Broadway theatre production of ''The Lion King.'' Hoyle has also performed in vaudeville shows, worked with Bill Irwin in "The Pickle Family Circus", p ...

on the 1997 Original Cast Recording. In the

Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...

version of The Lion King, "I Just Can't Wait to be King" was performed by

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

singer and entertainer

Kalimba Mbira ( ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and pl ...

. Elton John himself also recorded his own version of the song for the film's soundtrack.

Cover versions

* Performed live by the

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

band

Suburban Legends Suburban Legends are an American ska punk band that formed in Huntington Beach, California, in 1998 and later based themselves in nearby Santa Ana. After building a fanbase in the Orange County ska scene through their numerous regular perform ...

, most often when performing at

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...

Tomorrowland Terrace Tomorrowland Terrace is a restaurant located in Tomorrowland at Disneyland in Anaheim, California that is notable for its unique concert stage, which hydraulics, hydraulically rises out of the ground. It opened with the new Tomorrowland in 1967. ...

, but occasionally while on tour as well.

Vincent Walker Vincent Francis Walker (born March 2, 1980), better known as Vince Walker, is an American multi-instrumentalist, best known as the lead singer of third-wave ska band Suburban Legends. He was formerly the lead trumpet player, and left sometime aft ...

sings the part of Simba, while

Brian Klemm Brian Wayne Klemm (born May 21, 1982) is the guitarist for the Orange County-based third-wave ska band Suburban Legends. He joined Suburban Legends in 1999, shortly before the release of Origin Edition, although he did not play guitar on the albu ...

sings the part of Zazu. The song appears on their 2012 album, ''

Day Job Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any other ...

''. * Pop star

Aaron Carter Aaron Charles Carter (December 7, 1987November 5, 2022) was an American singer and rapper. He came to fame as a teen pop singer in the late 1990s, establishing himself as a star among preteen and teenage audiences during the first years of the ...

remixed the song on ''

Disneymania ''Disneymania'', also known as ''Disneymania 1'', is the first installment in the Disneymania album series presenting songs from Disney films, performed by various musical artists. Released on September 17, 2002, the album was considered a commer ...

''. *

Allstar Weekend Allstar Weekend was an American pop rock band based in Poway, California. The band gained its popularity from the Disney Channel television network. The band consisted of lead singer Zachary "Zach" Porter, bassist Cameron Quiseng, drummer Micha ...

remade the song for ''

DisneyMania 7 ''Disneymania 7'' is the seventh and final installment in the ''Disneymania (series), Disneymania'' series. It features a variety of contemporary performers performing Disney songs. ''Disneymania 7'' was released on March 9, 2010.Amazon.com.Disne ...

''. * The Brazilian musical group “

Exaltasamba Exaltasamba is a Brazilian pagode music group, formed in 1982 in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo. The group began simply playing gigs in restaurants and bars. They later began writing their own songs, eventually releasing an album, "Eterno Aman ...

” recorded a Portuguese version of “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” (''O que eu quero mais é ser rei'', roughly translated as “What I want most is to be king”) in a

samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...

style to the CD

Disney Adventures ''Disney Adventures'' (also short-formed as ''D.A.'') was an American children's entertainment and educational magazine published twelve (later ten) times per year by Disney Publishing Worldwide, a subsidiary of Disney Consumer Products, a unit o ...

in Samba. *

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

covered the song for his album ''

In the Key of Disney ''In the Key of Disney'' is the ninth studio album by Brian Wilson, released on October 25, 2011, by Walt Disney Records as part of the Disney Pearl Series. The album is the second release by Disney for Wilson, after ''Brian Wilson Reimagines Ge ...

''. * In 2015, it was covered by members of

SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company ha ...

trainee team

SM Rookies SM Rookies (, stylized as SMROOKIES) is a pre-debut training team created by South Korean entertainment agency SM Entertainment in 2013, composed of trainees who have yet to join an idol group. From 2013 to 2018, the team officially introduced 30 ...

on the

Disney Channel Korea Disney Channel () was a South Korean pay television channel owned by Disney Channels Korea Ltd., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (Korea) LLC and the Disney Branded Television unit of Disney International Operations. The South Kor ...

show

Mickey Mouse Club ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions, the program was first televised fo ...

References

External links

* (on Disney's official channel) {{authority control 1994 songs Songs from The Lion King (franchise) Elton John songs Disney Renaissance songs Songs with lyrics by Tim Rice Songs with music by Elton John