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| Battle for Pride Rock | |||
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• Scar is killed | ||
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The battle for Pride Rock was a physical conflict that served as the final confrontation between Simba and Scar and their respective allies, the pride and Shenzi's clan. It took place at Pride Rock. Simba and his pride emerged victorious when the hyenas turned on Scar and devoured him alive.
History[]
Simba's return[]
| “ | Simba: Tell them the truth. Scar: Truth? But truth is in the eye of the beho... All right. All right! I did it. Simba: So they can hear you. Scar: I killed Mufasa! |
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Under Scar's reign, the Pride Lands become a wasteland.
Following the death of Mufasa, Scar assumed the throne, allowing the hyenas to invade the Pride Lands. Their tendency to overhunt caused a terrible famine, during which the Pride Lander herds fled the land. Nala left the Pride Lands to find help and happened upon Mufasa's son, Simba. Although at first Simba resisted Nala's pleas for help, he eventually agreed to return to the Pride Lands.
Back at Pride Rock, Scar summoned Sarabi and demanded to know why her lionesses were not hunting, to which Sarabi replied that there was no food left and suggested that they abandon the Pride Lands. Agitated by this suggestion and infuriated when Sarabi declared him a lesser king than Mufasa, Scar struck her to the ground.
Simba returns to Pride Rock.
Just then, Simba, who had been observing from the shadows, sprang to his mother's defense. Simba ordered Scar to step down from the throne, to which Scar responded by flaunting his hyena army. The pride gathered behind Simba, who commanded Scar to either step down or fight. Instead, Scar forced Simba to admit his apparent responsibility for Mufasa's death. Taking advantage of Simba's guilt and the pride's shock, Scar cornered his nephew on the peak of Pride Rock, where the younger lion slipped and found himself clinging to the edge.
As lightning struck the dry grass, igniting flames, Scar revealed that it was he, not Simba, who had killed Mufasa. His strength renewed, Simba leapt from his precarious position, tackling Scar to the ground and calling him a murderer. He then forced Scar to publicly admit his responsibility for Mufasa's death. Upon this news, the pride immediately attacked and were met head-on by the hyenas.[1]
Simba forces Scar to admit his responsibility for Mufasa's death.
Meanwhile, a short distance away, Timon, Pumbaa, Ma, and Max had realized the gravity of the conflict that was about to take place. As the hyenas advanced on Simba, Timon announced that he had a plan to help their friend. He instructed Ma and Max to dig a catacomb of tunnels through Pride Rock, while he and Pumbaa resolved to draw the hyenas away from Simba and lure them into a trap.[2]
The battle[]
| “ | Simba: Run. Run away, Scar. And never return. Scar: Yes. Of course. As you wish, Your Majesty! |
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Rafiki braces against a group of hyenas.
The hyenas bore down on Simba, allowing Scar to escape. The lionesses and hyenas engaged in fierce fighting with one another. Timon and Pumbaa fought with the same techniques they had used to repel vultures, while Rafiki arrived to help Simba fend off his attackers via martial arts.
The fire spread and engulfed Pride Rock, causing some hyenas to flee, while others were cast into the flames. Banzai and Shenzi chased Timon into the royal den, where he tried to hide in Zazu's cage. Just as the hyenas were bearing down on them, Pumbaa appeared. Infuriated by Banzai's reference to him as "the pig," Pumbaa quickly routed the hyenas out of the den, freeing Zazu from prison in the process.[1]
Simba broke free from the fray and spotted Scar attempting to flee. Simba gave chase after Scar, pursuing him towards the top of Pride Rock, but he was cut off by Shenzi, Banzai, Ed, and a horde of hyenas. Luckily, Timon and Pumbaa appeared and distracted the hyenas by making an offensive joke about them. Furious, the hyenas abandoned Simba to pursue Timon and Pumbaa and quickly cornered them.
The hyenas fall into a sinkhole devised by Timon and Pumbaa.
Knowing that Ma and Max had yet to finish their tunnels, Timon and Pumbaa stalled for time by performing entertaining acts, and Timon even pretended to propose to Shenzi. Just as the hyenas were closing in, Max kicked out one of the tunnel supports, which fell and took out the rest in a series, destroying the tunnel and forcing the ground to crack and expand. However, due to a wedged tunnel support, the crack in the ground eventually stopped widening, allowing the remaining hyenas to close back in. Just as Shenzi lunged for the kill, Timon leapt between her legs and into the crack, where he collided with the wedged tunnel support. The support fell, creating a sinkhole beneath the hyenas, who were swept into the hole and sent sliding down an underground tunnel.[2]
Meanwhile, at the top of Pride Rock, Scar begged Simba for forgiveness and attempted to blame the hyenas for Mufasa's death. Unbeknownst to Scar, Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed overheard this exchange and slunk away, furious. Declaring that he was not like Scar, Simba agreed to spare his uncle, instead banishing him from the Pride Lands.
Simba and Scar battle atop Pride Rock.
Feigning compliance, Scar pretended to leave before turning around, brushing hot embers into Simba's eyes, and attacking him. Simba was downed for a few seconds before he recovered himself and met Scar head-on. For a few moments, they fought brutally. At last, Scar knocked Simba to the ground and lunged for the killing blow. However, Simba caught him with his hind legs and kicked him over the ledge.
Scar plummeted to the base of Pride Rock, where he lay still for a moment before rising. He was pleased to see Shenzi and her clan approach, but his hope turned to terror when he realized they had overheard his betrayal of them. Despite his pleas, the hyenas surrounded him and attacked, eating him alive, as the flames engulfed them.[1]
Legacy[]
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Some time after the battle occurred, paintings depicting the event were done in the Lair of the Lion Guard. In addition, the kumbuka celebration was created to honor and commemorate Simba's victory over Scar. The ceremony takes place at Pride Rock, where the Pride Landers gather to pay homage to Simba and his family.[3]
Appearances[]
Films
TV series
Books
Comics
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Trivia[]
General[]
- After Pumbaa's victory over the hyenas, he, Timon, and Zazu make "ooh, ooh" sounds. This is a reference to the "ooh, ooh" chant coined by Arsenio Hall.[4]
- When Scar points to his waiting legion of hyenas, the silhouette of Jock from Disney's 1955 film Lady and the Tramp can be seen among the mob.[1]
- In The Lion Guard episode "Battle for the Pride Lands", Scar has a flashback of the battle.[5]
- The flashback incorrectly shows Simba throwing Scar off the peak and Scar plummeting into the flames below. In actuality, Simba flips Scar off the summit, and he tumbles to the base of Pride Rock, which is surrounded by flames.[1]
- In Disney's 1991 film Beauty and the Beast, Gaston's death was originally intended to have resulted from him being eaten alive by wolves after surviving his fall from the Beast's castle with a broken leg; this idea was ultimately discarded and eventually reused for Scar's death in The Lion King.[6]
- The true cause of Scar's death seems to be unknown to several characters.
- In The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, Zira believes that Simba killed Scar.[7]
- In The Lion Guard, Janja believes that Scar died in the fire. Additionally, the paintings depicting the battle show Scar being hurled into the flames, omitting his demise by the hyenas.
- In actuality, Scar survived the fall and the fire, and was killed by his own minions, the hyenas.[1]
In development[]
- Originally, Scar was supposed to defeat Simba and throw him off Pride Rock before being engulfed in flame whilst laughing in victory. This scene was cut due to being too dark and horrific for a Disney film.
- Sarabi was originally supposed to be unconscious during the entire battle and wake up after Scar's death.[8]
- In the 1993 draft of the film, Banzai is flung onto the rib cage imprisoning Zazu, freeing him. Zazu begins to peck Banzai on the head, and Ed comes to help. The two come close to killing Zazu, but Timon and Pumbaa ram them from behind and send them flying into a burning tree.[9]
- It was originally going to be just Shenzi who followed Scar up Pride Rock and heard him betray the hyenas.[10]
- During early production of The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, the battle of Pride Rock was called "the great war."[11]
- Storyboards of the climax of The Lion King 1½ show Timon and Pumbaa skirmishing with the hyenas. The battle culminates with them and Simba's pride chasing the hyenas away from Pride Rock. Ma and Max do not appear at all.[12]
Media[]
References[]
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