The singer who voiced Simba in the original 'Lion King' turned down $2 million to take royalties, and he's very happy he did so
- Jason Weaver performed the singing voice of young Simba in the original animated version of "The Lion King."
- In an interview with VladTV, Weaver said he was originally offered $2 million upfront for his part in the film as a teen. But his mother turned it down.
- Weaver said his mother was wise enough to notice Disney was re-releasing some of their classics and renegotiated her son's salary so he received $100,000 upfront and a share of royalties.
- Over time, Weaver says the deal has paid off and he's made well more than $1.9 million from royalties.
- "If she hadn't done that, that would have been one of the biggest mistakes of my career," said Weaver.
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The original animated "Lion King" turned 25 this year and the man who gave young Simba his singing voice is still receiving royalties for his part in the film.
In an interview with Vlad TV, actor and singer Jason Weaver, said he was initially offered $2 million upfront to sing songs like "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" and "Hakuna Matata."
"You gotta remember, they're coming off of 'Beauty and the Beast.' They're coming off of 'Aladdin.' Disney had bread," said Weaver of Disney's ability to spend that much on an actor who's just singing the songs for one part in a film.
While Weaver did the singing parts for Simba, Jonathan Taylor Thomas was the regular voice for the character. But his mom decided to turn down the offer and renegotiate. Something seemed amiss.
"That amount of money, to the average middle-class family in Chicago in the early '90s, that's something, but immediately my mom goes, 'Wait a minute,'" Weaver said of his mom thinking critically about the deal after the initial excitement wore off.
If Disney was willing to pay $2 million upfront to Weaver for his part in the film, what weren't they bringing to the table?
"Let's negotiate off of royalties," Weaver recalled his mother said. "This was at a time when Disney wasn't doing those kind of deals unless you were Peabo Bryson, or somebody like that, already established huge pop star, that they had recruited."
Weaver's mother knew Disney re-released some of their movies from time to time and there was a chance they could do the same with "The Lion King." She ended up negotiating a deal that gave him $100,000 upfront along with a share of royalties.
"Disney had a reputation for re-releasing stuff," Weaver said. "I think at that time they had put out 'Sleeping Beauty' and some of their old catalog when [Walt] Disney was alive. They were releasing that stuff when they were releasing the new Disney stuff, so [my mom] was able to see the playing field and go, 'Wait a minute, this is going to make a lot of money over time."
"What happens when my son turns 40? Is he going to be able to get a check for this when they eventually re-release this?" he added. "Sure enough, she was absolutely right."
Since it's 1994 release, "The Lion King" has been re-released at least seven times across VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray. A CGI remake of the film was released this summer, which Weaver says probably has kids returning to the original film to watch. Weaver confirmed that his royalties will continue to be passed down to his children and their children.
There wasn't necessarily a reason to think "The Lion King" would be a big hit right away. When it was being made, the film was considered the "B" movie at the animation studio. A lot of animators didn't want to work on it. Under the leadership of Jeffrey Katzenberg, the "A" movie at the time was considered to be "Pocahontas."
Producer Don Hahn told Insider in 2017 the film was referred to internally as "Bambi in Africa" when describing it to others.
Read more: 17 things you probably didn't know about the making of 'The Lion King'
Weaver said, over time, he has made more than $1.9 million thanks to his mom's foresight.
"If she hadn't done that, that would have been one of the biggest mistakes of my career," he said of his mother's ability to see the long game with Disney.
You can watch part of Weaver's interview with VladTV below:
SEE ALSO: 'The Lion King' director and stars discuss how the original animated movie influenced the remake
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