Beyonce leads stars at premiere

Beyonce led the stars behind the voices of The Lion King down the red carpet on Tuesday at the world premiere of the remake of the 1994 Disney movie which uses computergenerated imagery to bring a realistic look to Pride Rock.

Depicting stunning African scenery, the movie follows the same plot as the original Oscarwinning animation about lion cub Simba, who flees his kingdom after his villainous uncle Scar connives to take his father Mufasa’s place as king.

Actor Donald Glover is the voice behind the grown-up Simba, while Beyonce portrays his friend Nala.

The cast also includes Chiwetel Ejiofor (Scar), Seth Rogen (Pumbaa), James Earl Jones, who voiced Mufasa in the 1994 movie, and SA actor John Kani.

“I just listened to what [Beyonce] had to teach me,” Glover said.

“Only very few times do you get to work with somebody as iconic as Beyonce.

“I was like, OK, we are blending this thing together so let me just listen to what she is doing and play off of that.”

The Lion King was an instant hit with audiences around the world when it was originally released.

A hugely successful musical theatre version still runs on New York’s Broadway and in London.

“It’s like a recipe that will be delicious forever, it just works,” Rogen said of the story.

The Lion King remake, which hits its worldwide cinema rollout in China on Friday before hitting other countries next week, follows new versions of Aladdin and Dumbo.