<P> Several film and entertainment critics have noted similarities and parallels between the stories of The Lion King and William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, and their protagonists . Allers said that these similarities were not initially intentional and came as a surprise to the filmmakers themselves; they noticed the similarities only after the story was established and they eventually decided to pursue it . According to Hahn, "When we first pitched the revised outline of the movie...someone in the room announced that its themes and relationships were similar to Hamlet . Everyone responded favorably to the idea that we were doing something Shakespearean, so we continued to look for ways to model our film on that all - time classic ." </P> <P> Screenwriter Jonathan Roberts said that, in a musical, songs are used to convey a character's emotions and "I wants ." Composer Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice wrote the song "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" in order to give Simba a medium through which he can express his desire to become King of the Pride Lands . Roberts said, "It's a way for storytellers to move the story and deliver the direction of the character ." </P> <P> Matthew Broderick provided the speaking voice of Adult Simba . The first actor to be assigned to The Lion King, Broderick learned of the role while he was on vacation in Ireland, where he received a telephone call from his agent informing him that the directors were interested in casting him as Simba . At the time, Broderick was well known for portraying the title character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986). The directors decided to cast him as Simba because they felt that he was "perfect" for the role; according to producer Don Hahn, Broderick's voice resembled "the kind of character who could be irresponsible and likeable, but you also felt that he could come back in a very heroic way ." Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who was starring as Randy Taylor on the television sitcom Home Improvement at the time, was cast as the speaking voice of Young Simba . His appearance and personality would later serve as creative inspiration for supervising animator Mark Henn . </P> <P> Though Broderick is a trained Broadway singer, he was not up to the task, and neither was non-singer Thomas, so Toto lead singer Joseph Williams and actor Jason Weaver were hired to dub their respective singing voices . Williams' voice is heard on the song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight". Impressed by Weaver's performance as a young Michael Jackson in the miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream, songwriters Elton John and Tim Rice recruited him to record "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" and "Hakuna Matata" while the film was still in its early stages of production . As directors, Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff worked closely with the actors in order to ensure credible performances . As is frequently done in animated films, the filmmakers videotaped the actors while they recorded their dialogue, allowing the animators to incorporate their specific mannerisms into the designs of their characters . </P>

Who plays young simba in the lion king