Nathan Lane turns 69 today.  Nathan has starred in movies like The Birdcage, Mouse Hunt and The Producers.  To me, he will always be Timon from The Lion King, where he introduced us to the phrase “Hakuna Matata.”

In this popular song from the 1994 Disney classic The Lion King, Timon the meerkat (Nathan) and Pumbaa the warthog (Ernie Sabella) share their worry-free philosophy with Simba (Matthew Broderick), a lion cub who is grieving over the death of his father.

The Swahili phrase “Hakuna Matata,” they explain, means “no worries” and helped Pumbaa deal with his own rough childhood, when all the other animals shunned him over his frequent flatulence. Simba also adopts the motto as he transitions from a cub to a full-grown lion.

The song was written by Elton John (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics), who also wrote Can You Feel The Love Tonight and Circle of Life for the film.  It  was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, but lost to another Lion King number: “Can You Feel The Love Tonight.”

Shortly after the film was released, Disney trademarked the phrase so other companies couldn’t exploit the brand by plastering the motto on their products. In 2018, close to 200,000 people signed a petition for Disney to give up the trademark on the grounds of cultural appropriation. “The term ‘Hakuna Matata’ is not a Disney creation, hence not an infringement on intellectual or creative property, but an assault on the Swahili people and Africa as a whole,” the petition reads. But, as trademark experts point out, Disney doesn’t really own the phrase, it just owns the use of the phrase when connected to the film or the company. 

“No worries”…..feel free to use the term and sing along!  Happy birthday, Nathan Lane!