Paring Down “Be Prepared” Didn’t Prepare Us: Why Live Action Lion King Doesn’t Work
The Lion King is one of those iconic movies that you remember as a kid because of its brashness. They killed Mufasa! Onscreen! And they showed a realistic reaction to death. Also then the Broadway show added more songs to make us cry.
The 2019 reboot of The Lion King currently has a 53% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from critics. 89% of the audience likes it, but I don’t think it will be for me. The movie isn’t going to be what I remember watching on a VHS. Scar in CGI won’t be Scar in 2D.
What was the red flag? The composers reducing “Be Prepared” to a mostly spoken monologue. Scar speaks it to Shenzi and the hyenas and only sings towards the end. Disappointed? Yeah. So was I when I looked it up on YouTube.
Scar for much of the film’s beginning skulks and sulks. He misses that Simba loves him, in favor of convincing the cub to go on a dangerous venture, and subtly plans a murder attempt. “Be Prepared” shows Scar tossing the subtlety out the window. He brazenly tells the hyenas they’re going to kill Simba and Mufasa, ushering in a new era where they all will profit.
Scar for the first time shows arrogance and sliminess with his body language. He strokes back his mane, flounces around, and pinches Shenzi’s cheek. We love that he is brash and condesending. He’s insulting the hyenas he needs to take over the Pridelands. Scar knows that he’s going to commit a great evil, and he is reveling in it.
Making it a cold monologue with some singing doesn’t do the trick. You need to have that singing and body language for the film to work! Otherwise, why would we want to keep watching to see how Scar’s plan unfolds and succeeds? We need to see that moment where we are enthralled by Scar, and we also want him to be defeated in the end.
Disney, you can do better. You know it. If you’re going to give us remakes, keep the best villain songs. Taking out Jafar’s in Aladdin was the right move, but you can’t take out “Be Prepared” or pare it down. Go all in, the way Scar does.