Cast Announced For The Maori Language Version Of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Film The Lion King

Aotearoa New Zealand, Thursday 26th, June - Matewa Media and Walt Disney Animation Studios are thrilled to announce the cast for The Lion King Reo Māori. After an open casting call, hundreds of auditions were submitted from across the motu, and 14 actors have been offered roles in the film and begun the recording process.

After reviewing the recordings of The Lion King Reo Māori, Rick Dempsey, Sr. VP, Creative, Disney Character Voices International said “…it is a phenomenal effort. The passion and excitement for this version is evident in the talent performances and direction across the board. The translation works incredibly well with the lip-sync and timing. It was thrilling to see all of your hard work come together with such fantastic creative results. Congratulations and thank you for all the time you invested in making it so extraordinary!”

Returning to the Matewa Media whānau is Piripi Taylor (MOANA Reo Māori) who will play iconic father figure, Mufasa, while Matu Ngaropo (currently on an Australian tour of Hamilton) will play his villainous brother, Scar.

Mataara Stokes plays the beloved Simba, and Arihia Cassidy as Nala. Tuterangi Ruha steps into the role of Young Simba, while Te NūTube star Te Haakura Ihimaera-Manly will play Young Nala. Rounding out the Pride Rock whānau is māmā Sarabi who will be voiced by Ngāpaki Moetara (Waru).

The Lion King's trusted sidekick duo Timon and Pumbaa will be voiced by Matai Rae and Justin Rogers in Te Reo o Te Taitokerau. And trusted advisor to the king, Zazu will be voiced by Whatanui Flavell in Te Reo o Taranaki.

Ani-Piki Tuari will play lead Kahungungu hyena, Shenzi, with Jase Te Patu and Antonio Te Maioha playing Banzai and Ed to round out the trio.

The final addition to the cast is Te Wehi Preston who will voice Rafiki.

The cast will work with a team of Te Reo Māori experts from each rohe (region) to perfect the five different mita (dialects) that will be celebrated in the film.

Performance and Musical Directors Rachel House (Moana Reo Māori, Hunt for the Wilderpeople) and Rob Ruha (Moana Reo Māori) reunite with the Matewa Media team to deliver the reimagined beloved films into Te reo Māori.

“I’m super proud of the talent we’ve assembled here, it's been an awesome journey to see how much talent we have - it didn't make it easy as we had so many choices but we love this cast. They all just fitted together beautifully." says Rachel House

“This is a massive kaupapa and I’m so stoked with how all the mita is sitting within one film, I can’t wait for the motu to see it. One of our biggest goals we set out to achieve is Kotahitanga and I believe this film is a celebration of that” emphasised producer Tweedie Waititi.

The Lion King Reo Māori will have a local premiere in Auckland on June 21st, and be available in participating cinemas in both New Zealand and Australia from June 23rd. The film will then be available to stream on Disney+ later this year.

In July 2021, it was announced that Matewa Media directors Tweedie Waititi and Chelsea Winstanley were underway on the development of Māori language versions for both Walt Disney Animations Studios Academy Award®-winning animated features The Lion King and Frozen. This follows their successful collaboration in 2017, which brought Moana Reo Māori to New Zealand and Australian cinemas and Disney+ (2020).

Further information on is available on www.matewamedia.nz

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