I'm guessing that I was one of the last to see Lion King (my sister and I saw it today). Anyway, while I was simply in awe of the performance, I noticed that there was alot of physics at work. The giraffes (stilts and all) needed to keep their center of mass over the support area of the stilts. The center of mass would have been a little below the actor's actual body, and further up (closer to his chest) because of the long headdress. The stilts need to be spread out to ensure a greater support area to bear the center of mass. If the actor had altered his cetner of mass in any way, he would most likely not be able to stand (or he'd fall)...