As fans will recall, Simba flees the Pride Lands following the death of his father, Mufasa (James Earl Jones), at Scar’s hands … err, paws. However, years later, when they are both grown, Nala seeks out Simba and enlists him to overthrow Scar’s tyrannical rule. Though the film marks this as something of a chance encounter, the deleted scene helps to explain how this development might have come to be.
After all, had the scene been left in, viewers might deduce that Nala was deliberately seeking someone to challenge Scar after being disgusted by his advances. It also helps to explain why she may have fled Pride Rock in “The Lion King,” allowing her to forage for food in a safer, more distant environment far away from Scar.
While the scene and the original version of Scar’s song were cut from the animated picture, they appear in the stage musical version, where a different song by Scar, titled “The Madness of King Scar,” includes this development. Though it may not be as catchy as “Be Prepared” or the other songs included in the original film, the scene and the song do offer a further window into Scar’s evil heart in “The Lion King.”
