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Download AudioThe voice of Simba in the te reo Māori version of Disney’s The Lion King says it was tough to find the right tone.
Artist Mataara Stokes says he hadn’t done voice work before, and he had to do justice to the character as well as say the kupu in the regional dialect chosen for the lion guard.
“We were worried I sounded a bit too old but I was trying to find a version of Simba that still was in te ao Maori but still a version that could relate to the original version as well,” he says.
Other voices for the 1994 musical animation include Piripi Taylor as Mufasa, Matu Ngaropo from the Lion King Musical as Scar, Te Haakura Ihimaera-Manley as Young Nala, Tuterangi Ruha as Young Simba, Arihia Cassidy as Nala and Ngapaki Moetara as Sarabi.
The Lion King: Reo Māori is due for release on June 23.
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