Let me just start out by saying that "The Lion King" is my favorite Disney movie of all time. I think it's the most beautifully made, Elton John on the soundtrack can't be beat (I see all you Phil Collins stans and I respect you, but let me have this) and there's a reason the Broadway show is still the highest-grossing play of all time: It's fantastic.
That said, I try not to think too much about the ins and outs of the film now, as an adult, because we all know that some things made in the '90s can have...questionable morals when reexamined in present day. Take this one "Lion King" fan theory, for example, that left me completely and utterly shook.
Are you ready? Don't say I didn't warn you...
Scar may have eaten Mufasa's body after he died in the gorge.
Now you're probably thinking, How could we possibly know that? It wasn't shown in the movie. And you're right...kind of. When the question of the fate of Mufasa's body dawned on TikTok user Christian Jones, a quick Google search proved that hyenas don't usually eat lions. Therefore, Shenzi, Banzai, Ed and their posse did NOT have a feast a mere five minutes after watching Simba do this:
In truth, I've seen this movie hundreds of times over the years, and the fate of Mufasa's body never really crossed my mind? I suppose I assumed the other lions carried his body back to Pride Rock and they had a big circle of life-style funeral to honor the king. Boy, was I wrong.
Upon further Google-searching, our fair Jones discovered that in fact no other animals tend to eat lion carcasses -- other than lions. *cue jaw drop* It would be easy to believe Mufasa wasn't eaten by his own pride, except that there is a scene later in the move which calls this all into question. Enter, Scar.
In the scene above, while Zazu is singing a fabulous rendition of "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts," Scar is playing with a scull -- and it looks eerily similar to that of a lion scull.
LITERALLY WTF????
Now, obviously there's no proof of this. And one YouTuber did disbar this theory a couple years ago, insisting that said skull belonged to a baboon instead. But again, there is NO. WAY. TO. KNOW.
In truth, knowing Scar, this shouldn't surprise me. But it does.
Ugh. Long live the king.