‘The Lion King’ original ending was deemed too dark for Disney
The Lion King is one of those cinematic classics that the people involved didn’t necessarily see its success coming. The Disney film, which was developed at the same time as Pocahontas, faced in-house competition between the two projects, with many having more faith in the story based on the life of a Powhatan woman.
Nonetheless, in an ironic real-life plot twist, The Lion King turned out to be an absolute masterpiece and a contender for the single most successful Disney animation to date. The film’s continued impact on popular culture speaks for itself. In contrast, Pocahontas is often dismissed as the worst of the Disney Renaissance era.
Because The Lion King is such a beloved and important part of so many childhoods, it’s sometimes easy to forget just how dark some of the plot actually is. After all, Scar is easily one of the most evil, sinister Disney villains, and Mustafa’s death remains deeply upsetting to this day. The film does have a happy ending, but Simba certainly goes through a very tough ordeal before he gets there.
Still, the darkness of The Lion King shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise. Disney, as a brand, has strong connotations with childhood, but many of their films are very frightening and emotional in places. This was very much established in their early efforts; the climax of Pinocchio, featuring the terrifying Monstro the Whale, is extremely intense, and the death of Bambi’s mother in the film of the same name is still remembered as one of the most upsetting deaths in all of cinema. Of course, many Disney films have continued this trend.
The Lion King, it has to be remembered, is partly based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet, which is a famously dark and depressing tragedy. Still, the film could have turned out even darker, given that there was an alternative version of the ending, which Disney decided was too frightening for audiences.
In the original ending, Simba fights with Scar and throws him off Pride Rock. Scar is left dangling and calls out for help, and Simba, deciding to uphold his moral code, helps his uncle up. Scar, upholding his evil nature, immediately throws Simba off the cliff, but Simba survives the fall. Scar is so busy gloating that he doesn’t notice the rising flames, which then kill him.
In all honesty, regardless of how dark this alternate ending proved to be, it sounds slightly on the convoluted side, and the ending we all know – in which Scar’s hyena allies overhear Scar planning to betray them and kill him – was very effective. Seeing Scar’s constant trickery and backstabbing finally lead to his death was poetic justice.
