Scar Isn't The Only Villain In The New Lion King

The Lion King became an instant classic any time Disney first released the animated movie in 1994. At the time, it was a game-changing moment for the studio, inserting a story about animals into a collection then dominated by human characters and becoming the highest-grossing film of the year. So it makes sense that Jon Favreau's reboot, which swaps the classic cartoon look for hyper-realistic CGI, could be pretty faithful to the beloved story. Still, as required to any remake, there really are some changes in back of the visuals. Notably, there’s a new sort of darkness veiling the film’s villains, the traitorous Scar and his hyena cronies, Shenzi, Kamari, and Azizi. Florence Kasumba, who voices Shenzi in the updated movie, recalls being “amused” the opening time she saw the hyenas in the animated feature. “I thought that Scar was a bad character, however I wasn't scared,” she told MTV News. “When I watch this version, both the hyenas and Scar scare me.”


Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Scar is more honest than Jeremy Irons’s “bored, wicked, and royally sarcastic” interpretation of the notorious Disney villain, while the hyenas benefit from an evil boost, trading their idiocy for a more sophisticated, scheming existence. Their renewed sincerity is evident in their names alone, with two of the three, Banzai and Ed, getting new monikers altogether, right now called Kamari and Azizi. Voiced by Keegan-Michael Key and Eric Andre, the characters are still tasked with allocating the comedic relief they’ve habitually given, making them slightly more likable than Scar himself, although the shift is still clear — and possibly for the initial time, the hyenas feel like true villains.


Much like the movie in general, the hyenas’ generic storyline remains. They are outsiders to Pride Rock, Scar recruits them to support him take the throne, and so they serve as his royal henchmen up until he betrays their trust in the end. However in Jon Favreau’s telling, there’s more intention in back of their decisions. “When Simba’s place on Earth and everybody goes to be able to see the future king, I don’t visualize any hyenas. If we’re talking about the circle of life, shouldn’t all animals be included? So there must be a reason,” Kasumba mentioned. “When I listen to [Shenzi’s] dialogue, she thinks that hyenas and lions have been at war. They don’t trust each other, and it’s just a question of who is stronger group in attempt to be on top. In this case, it’s the king, it’s Mufasa. Although Shenzi still tries to get on top and, with the help of Scar, she gets what she wants.”


Having a more mobile desire for power, Kasumba found one major difference between her character from the original film and the award-winning stage play to now: Soon after Scar successfully kills Mufasa and urgently convinces Simba to flee from the Pridelands, he gives the hyenas their simple directive. “Kill him,” Scar pans.


“In this version, it’s Shenzi,” Kasumba noted. In ‘94, the hyenas chase the lion cub up until he worms through a thicket of thorns, and the three of those determine to let him go, assuming he won’t last much longer without the protection of his pride. Nevertheless in 2019, the hyenas follow Simba up until he falls down a cliff, at which point Shenzi expenses Kamari and Azizi to end the hunt. “She’s like, ‘Look, I don’t need to do the work, just finish it for me.’ That’s the difference.”


Kasumba, who'd previously portrayed Shenzi on stage, called the change “interesting.” This time, she wasn’t playing the same character she’d recognized. “No, I had to go deeper,” she said.


Overall, the hyenas’ more sinister tone added a new layer to the characters, nevertheless they also couldn’t abandon their original purpose. “We had the challenge of injecting comedy into some of the most dramatic scenes in the movie,” Andre mentioned. Far from the only funny characters in the movie (Timon and Pumbaa remain and are voiced by Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen), Key and Andre were tasked with bringing the mood back up soon after what’s seen as one of the most devastating scenes in Disney history. “We’re attempting to be the comic relief immediately after Mufasa dies.” In itself, that directive is pretty grim. Andre compared this to a stand-up comedian taking the stage soon after another comedian bombs. It’s an exceptionally undesirable spot in the line-up, he explained, because it takes more task to create a group laugh any time they’re not already feeling good.


At the same time, Andre noted, that distinct moment is “so heavy, people need to laugh to break the tension.” And since Key and Andre, both comedy veterans, had the benefit of recording with each other, “we just sort of improvised up until we got it right,” he mentioned. More polished than the ‘94 hyenas using their hysterical laughter because the cue to buck up, the duo’s humor worked, with one ongoing bit in particular garnering the needed chuckles to warm crowds up for Timon and Pumbaa’s mid-movie debut.


The contradictions between who the hyenas were then and who they are right now are subtle, however the nuances add up to more totally realized villains, who aren’t just bad because they’re also stupid to be good. “As an animal, I would think hyenas are just there, they do whichever they require to do to survive, and so they move on with their life,” Kasumba mentioned. “But I know that Shenzi has a different agenda.” And that agenda is what turned these bumbling, one-note aides into villains in their own right.