The Lion King: Press pause at 1 hour and 21 minutes and listen carefully to this line by Rafiq. Have you noticed anything strange?

A hint of The Fury of Living with Bruce Lee during the final battle, a character from Lady and the Tramp hiding among Scary’s hyenas, or even a little musical touch on one of the most famous attractions in the Disney parks.

The Lion King, like almost all of the Enchanted Kingdom classics that came out in the heyday of the 90s, is a film to be (re)discovered with your eyes closed (and sometimes your ears strained). Discover all the little details there.

Rafik’s voice has changed!

That’s exactly the sound element we’re interested in today: located in the final minutes of the feature film, it may have escaped your ears for years, even if you know The Lion King by heart. But, perhaps, on the contrary, this small detail has been bothering you for a long time, and you can’t explain it in the slightest.

Indeed, at exactly 1 hour, 21 minutes and 46 seconds into the film, as Simba prepares to return to the summit of Lions Rock after his victory over Scar, the moment Rafiq turns to him and says “It’s time!”The monkey’s voice suddenly changes in range and volume.

For this one and only line, it is no longer the voice of Mad Hondo (also known for dubbing Eddie Murphy or Donkey in Shrek) that we hear in the film, but the voice of another actor. Who is ? And why did they replace Med Hondo with this final sentence?

Who is behind this last line?

Thanks to YouTuber Nicolas Delage and the lengthy investigation he conducted to answer this thorny question, we now have an answer. Great video at the end which he published to accompany his investigation, and after much research he really teaches us (Thanks to an article by blogger Remy Carmeli, who is obsessed with dubbing) that Rafiq’s voice at the end of the film is actually Fred Taib’s voice.

This French dubbing legend who disappeared in 2021 is none other than the VF art director of The Lion King. As we learn in the article and video, Mad Hondo was overseas (presumably in Mali filming his Lumière Noire) when the dubbing studio shot the last scene of The Lion King. Therefore, it was Fred Taib himself who replaced him in short order and offered Rafiq his last line, as well as a vocal signature for his own artistic direction.

Did you already notice the change in Rafiq’s voice at the end of the movie?

(Re)discover our video dedicated to The Lion King…