Movies
Disney trademarked ‘Hakuna Matata.’ but a new petition demands the company drop it.
The popular Disney phrase “Hakuna Matata,” a song about having no worries, is now bringing Disney worries. Disney has officially trademarked the phrase “Hakuna Matata originated in Africa and lets just say the African community is not happy.
The petition states that the phrase has long been used by Swahili speakers in many African countries Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and more — so Disney
“can’t be allowed to trademark something that it didn’t invent.”
Disney originally applied to trademark “hakuna matata” for use on merchandise in 1994, the same year it released the original “Lion King.” It was eventually granted the trademark in 2003, by which point American audiences probably associated the phrase with the Elton John and Tim Rice tune sung by an animated meerkat and warthog.
Disney was not the first to use the popular phrase, back in 1982 a musical number. Kenyan band Them Mushrooms featured “hakuna matata” in their popular song “Jambo Bwana (Hello Mister)”
Disney has yet to release a statement regarding the petition