People are only just discovering what the opening words of The Circle of Life in The Lion King actually translate to.

Disney's The Lion King was originally released in 1994 and tells the story of a young lion prince called Simba, who is banished from his kingdom following the murder of his father, Mufasa, by his uncle Scar.

The tale follows Simba's return to the kingdom as a grown lion to reclaim his rightful throne. However, more than 30 years since the film's initial release, people are only now learning what the opening lyrics of The Circle of Life actually signify.

Comedian Learnmore Jonasi featured on the One54 Podcast, presented by Akbar Gbajabiamila and comedian Godfrey, which celebrates and examines the stories, culture, and accomplishments of Africa's 54 nations.

During the podcast, the three began discussing The Lion King, with Jonasi revealing to viewers what the Zulu song lyrics meant in the simplest possible way.

He claimed: "It means 'look, there's a lion. Oh my god'." The podcast's co-hosts erupted with laughter as they struggled to believe that was the actual translation.

Godfrey remarked: "This whole time, I thought it was this beautiful, majestic spiritual s***. They have made billions off that."

Those commenting on the video were equally shocked by the lyrics' meaning, and couldn't resist laughing.

One viewer commented: "This man ain't about to destroy my childhood with all of this accuracy! I love The Lion King and that's that!" A second said: "This is really awesome. I've never laughed so hard than when he said it means, 'look there's a lion'."

Nevertheless, commenters were quick to point out that they believed the song's translation to be inaccurate.

One person said: "The translation is wrong about that song. Though I understand Zulu is not his home language. I'm Zulu and that basically translates to "here's our lion" and what it really means in our culture is "Here's our King! It's like a chanting in a way."

A second said: "Translation is overly simplified. In Nguni languages a lion can be referred to ibhubesi (general speak) or ingonyama which refers to the majesty of the creature and as a reference to the king.

"The opening words "nansi ingonyama bakithi" means "look, here is his majesty". Very strong statement."

Learnmore Jonasi did concede that he had a grievance with The Lion King regarding the lions in the film speaking with American accents, whilst the monkey was given an African accent.