I Just Can't Wait To Be King
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"I Just Can't Wait to Be King" is a 1994 song written by
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
(music) and
Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English songwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ''Jesus C ...
(lyrics) for the
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
animated feature film ''
The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...
'' (1994). The song was performed in 1992 by American actor and singer Jason Weaver 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 in the sitcoms ''Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and '' Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and in the film series '' Johnny English'' (2003– ...
and American actress Laura Williams providing supporting vocals in their roles as Zazu and the singing voice of young Nala, respectively. It was released June 12, 1994 on The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. The song was featured in the 2019 film adaptation, performed by JD McCrary,
John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British and American comedian who hosts ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' on HBO. He started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom and came to wider attention for his work ...
, and
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), the voice for Young Nala in Jon Favreau's musical film '' The Lion King'' ...
released June 11, 2019 on The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.


Elton John single

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
performed the second version of I Just Can't Wait to Be King as a single.


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 Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
singing " Under the Sea". ''
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 n ...
'' also compared the song to those from ''
The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" (), sometimes translated in English as "The Little Sea Maid", is a fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Originally published in 1837 as part of a collection of fairy tales for children, the story foll ...
'', and ''Popdust'' compared it to
Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...
's " River of Dreams". ''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. History The paper was founded on August 22, 1924, as the ''Lakeland Evening Ledger''. In 1927, it bought its main competitor, the morning ''Lakeland S ...
'' wrote that it is a "dazzling
Busby Berkeley Berkeley William Enos, (November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) known professionally as Busby Berkeley, was an American film director and musical choreographer. Berkeley devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geo ...
-style dancefest" with a " Rockettes kickline". It has been described as "strutting", "bouncy", "grand", and a "hubris-filled fantasy song". '' News.com'' 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 described the song as "irritating" and not very "thematically rich". ''Popdust'' ranked the song 5 out of 6 songs in the film, and '' BoingBoing'' listed it as the 11th best "I Want" song 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 in Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney's ''The Lion King (franchise), The Lion King ''franchise. First appearing as a cub in ''The Lion King'' (1994), the character flees his homeland when his father, Mufasa, is ...
and
Nala Nala () is a legendary king of ancient Nishadha kingdom and the central protagonist of the '' Nalopakhyana'', a sub-narrative within the Indian epic '' Mahabharata'', found in its third book, '' Vana Parva'' (Book of the Forest). He is renown ...
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''. Timon and Pumbaa 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 and is performed by Scott Irby-Ranniar, Kajuana Shuford, and Geoff Hoyle on the 1997 Original Cast Recording. In the
Spanish language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...
version of The Lion King, "I Just Can't Wait to be King" was performed by Mexican 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 ...
. Elton John himself also recorded his own version of the song for the film's soundtrack.


Cover versions

* Performed live by the ska/
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 ...
band Suburban Legends, most often when performing at
Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. 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, ...
's
Tomorrowland Terrace Tomorrowland Terrace is a name given to four quick-service restaurants located at three Disney Parks around the world—each in their respective Tomorrowland sections. The first opened in Disneyland Park in 1967, the second at Magic Kingdom Pa ...
, but occasionally while on tour as well. Vincent Walker sings the part of Simba, while Brian Klemm sings the part of Zazu. The song appears on their 2012 album, ''
Day Job ''Day Job'' is the fourth studio album by Canadian country music artist Gord Bamford. It was released on April 6, 2010, by Royalty Records. Its first single was the title track. Track listing Chart performance Singles References External li ...
''. * 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 th ...
remixed the song on '' Disneymania''. * Allstar Weekend remade the song for '' DisneyMania 7''. * The Brazilian musical group “ Exaltasamba” 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 () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...
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 ...
in Samba. *
Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...
covered the song for his album '' In the Key of Disney''. * In 2015, it was covered by members of
SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency established in 1995 by Lee Soo-man. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies and has been responsible for fostering and popularizing the car ...
trainee team SM Rookies on the Disney Channel Korea show Mickey Mouse Club. * In 2015, the song was including in a Lion King songs medley performed by Youtuber and singer Georgia Merry.


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 Songs about kings