Disney classic The Lion King is getting a te reo Māori remake and it is set to be released in cinemas in June.
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Disney is hoping the rendition of the animated classic can spread aroha for the film - and the language.
Jase Te Patu, who voices the male hyena character Banzai, told Morning Report he was part of the live day show in Australia 10 years ago.
"And when I saw that it was coming to New Zealand in my language, our language te reo, I auditioned along with hundreds of other people and was really lucky to get the part.
"I feel blessed and honored to be a part of this beautiful, beautiful project."
Playing Banzai was the opposite of who he believed he was as a person, he said.
The mana of the story with its African roots had been maintained, he said. And while it was translated in te reo Māori, the "richness" of the story was intact, "so nothing's lost".
"This movie is for our next generation, this is for our tamariki, mokopuna, for our young babies who can have a Disney movie, a mainstream movie in our language. So our language not only lives, it thrives."
