Analyzing Evil: Scar From The Lion King 

A little out of order, but the 39th episode on Tony Montana will be out later this week!

Scar had poor leadership skills because he doesn't actually care about anybody but himself, only power. Mufasa was a good leader, he looks around every day to see how the society balances, and maintains that balance. Scar would rather rule over ruins, as long as he feels important & superior.

I think something interesting is that while Scar maybe tactically smarter than Mufasa he is actually really bad at being king. Mufasa carefully explains that the food must be carefully maintained and when Scar lets the Hyenas, basically a mercenary army, eat and hunt uninterrupted he upsets the ecosystem causing famine.

I feel like Scar would have actually gotten the respect and recognition he wanted if he actually had saved Mufasa that day

Those days when Disney had iconic villians

There's one thing you missed that I was waiting for. And that's the parallel between young Simba and Scar. When Simba was young he would explain how he can't wait to be king so he could do whatever he want. Even had a super popular song about that one idea. But his father taught him that there was more to being a king than just getting your way. That he had to respect the circle of life which is to say even though they as carnivores would eat their subjects, it's only because of their subjects that they get to continue to live. And when they die it will be their subjects that feed on them. As Simba grew older he began to understand what his father taught him but it was Scar that truly didn't get it. Scar and the hyenas hunted and hunted with no thought in their heads other than a full belly. Not realizing that eventually there won't be any food left to eat. And when Sarabi warned him of the incoming death of their pride, Scar retorted "I'm the King! I can do whatever I want!" Simba learned. Scar didn't. If Simba didn't have Mufasa to teach him who knows what kind of King he would have turned out to be.

I like that short moment when scar believes that he is mufasa, that raw fear of seeing what can only be described as a vengeful ghost.

It's kinda funny how Scar, who has a black mane, would in reality be considered the better Lion as a black mane indicate healthiness (IIRC). Then again, I guess you can't be a villain in a disney movie without wearing a bit of black haha

Shout out to Jeremy irons: what a legend

Scar definitely ushered in a new class of male antagonists for Disney. His impact cannot be overstated. Frollo, Hans and Dr. Facilier probably wouldn't exist if Scar hadn't come before.

I always thought the reason Scar didn’t kill Simba was because he didn’t want to get Simba’s scent on him and therefore tipping the lionesses off to what actually happened.

Now that you've done Scar, you need to do Shere Khan as well. It is really interesting comparing these two with each other. There are a lot of similarities, aside from the obvious, of course. They are both intelligent. And sadistic enough to toy with their prey. Extremely ruthless in pursuit of their goals. But there are also differences. While Scar is physically weaker than his 2 primary enemies there is no doubt that Shere Khan is THE apex predator in the jungle. Even other predators are wary of him. And while Scar is underestimated until his rise to power no one underestimates Shere Khan. Everyone knows him. And everyone is afraid of him. And it's clear from his confidence that he knows it.

I think Scar is one of the most dangerous villains ever because you don't know his game is about until it's too late. Hes not the strogest lion in the pride but the smartest and deceitful ruled by greed. There are a lot of people like Scar in this world and that's scary AF

I truly appreciate that you didn’t use the cgi adaption for this analysis. Thank you.

This video reminds me of just how good the original lion king is. The storytelling, the voice acting, and the animation was top notch or maybe I’m just nostalgic.

I'd actually like to see an episode about the hyenas from The Lion King, or at least one about Shenzi. You can see her starting to have doubts about Scar as early as the "Be Prepared" scene, but she seems to go into denial and keeps following his plan until she's finally forced to admit in the end that he doesn't have the hyenas' interests in mind. A really underrated villain.

Scar was a great character. Jeremy Irons is one of my favorite actors.

The vengeance story of "Son avenging his father to defeat his evil uncle" Goes way back to Ancient Egypt: Check resurrection of Osiris.

My favorite scene in TLK: "Sing for me." "It's a small world after all.." "NO! ANYTHING BUT THAT!"

It would be cool to get an episode on gollum from The Lord of the Rings, he’s a classic example of excellent character development in stories.

Koba from Planet of the Apes. His story carries an excellent message on what hatred can do to a person.

Scar is a bad dude but Jeremy Irons' voice is amazing.

Ah yes, the most successful adaptation of Hamlet with a more likeable version of the evil Uncle Claudius

5:03 I would also argue he makes the mistake of letting his sadism override his better judgment. He just had to make Simba feel guilty for “killing” Mufasa, when he could have just killed him. He makes the same mistake at the end of the film. Instead of sending Simba falling to his death, he just had to rub it in his face that he was responsible for Mufasa’s death, leading to Simba leaping at Scar and forcing him to admit the truth. This is a mistake that leads to the downfall of many Disney villains, such as Ursula, Gaston, Frollo, and Clayton.

Fuck yeah this is one of the most iconic villains in Disney history also your analysis of this character is spot on.

I love the attention you give to Scar and Mufasa's body language and all around visuals! Truly highlights the strengths of animation and why it makes characters so fun to work with.

Fun fact: Scar looks more masculine despite his somewhat feminine antics. I don't exactly know how it works, but defeats do make lions age faster and that is easiest to notice from the color of their mane.

My nephew once asked me why the heroes never try talking to villain. I explained to him there are some people words just won’t reach. Scar is one of those people.

Fun fact about Scar; in a non-canon novel of the Lion King, Scar's real name is Taka, which loosely translate to "Dirt," "Trash," or "Want" in Swahili. It's no wonder why he had a lot of insecurities over his older brother while the two were growing up together.

I like the visual of scar being the only lion who always has his claws out to keep up the evil look.

Can I just notice the incredible talent of narrative that you have. You are amazing and your channel deserves much more views. Keep up the good work 👍👏

If Scar wasn't so consumed my envy and resentment he had the charisma to be a well loved luitentent to Mufasa

Adapting Hamlet for the story was brilliant. And the story is told is such a clear way and the characters also have clear motivations makes it so that its very easy for kids to grasp the basics behind of the story and even the moral undertones to it. Not only one of the best animated but also one of the best movies made.

I think the the outlawing of mentioning Mufasa's name is a symptom of Scar's madness. There is a deleted scene called "the madness of Scar" where Scar bemoans his lack of love among his subjects, ultimately deciding he needs an heir. So I imagine his snapping at hearing his brother's name was a holdover from his implied madness in an earlier version of the script. That and his refusal to abandon Pride Rock even in the face of certain death.

I love the subtle detail in which a character driven soley by greed and envy, is also the only character in the whole film to have green eyes. Green with envy...

I could relate to Scar in a sense. Since I lived in the shadow of my older brother for many years, from looking a lot like him, being compared to him. It got old at one point but the only thing is for me, I wasn’t envious of my brother and didn’t kill him of course.

“While his brothers corpse is still warm”. brootal.

Scar is one of the most detestable Disney villains. He not only murders his brother in cold blood and attempts to do the same to his nephew, but he makes his nephew believe that he caused his father's death. Scar's death is one of the most satisfying Disney villain deaths.

Super insightful that Scar is the embodiment of Envy. Powerful.🤯 Good lesson: Be grateful for what you have and you won't turn out like Scar

"i'm surrounded by idiots..." such an apt quote in this day and age... jeremy irons was, is, and always will be the perfect casting for this character...

Scar is one of the best Disney Villains. He’s pure evil, cold blooded, sociopathic, cruel, malicious, very selfish and extremely narcissistic. I like that about him cause he’s easily hated.

Back when Disney made great archetypes...

Personally, I thought the animated version of The Lion King was better than the live-action version. And Scar has, if not one of, the best villain songs ever written. The next villains you should do is Tempest Shadow from My Little Pony: The Movie, and Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Those two villains would be interesting.

What’s ironic is that in the real world lionesses go crazy for lions with a darker mane. The real life Scar would be a stud muffin.

Analyzing Evil: the entire cast and crew of Lion King 2019

The Lion King was the first film I remember watching at the cinema. Man, I'm getting old.

I think it's worth noting that while most lions have their claws sheathed 90% unless they're in use, but Scar's claws are always out.

Fun fact: Scar has a scar on his face.

Let’s not forgot how Scar, in a deleted scene from the movie which is included in the Broadway musical and the live-action film, became fixated on the idea of an heir and tried to force Nala into becoming his queen to produce one, which is ultimately the biggest reason for why she ran away (it’s a super creepy scene, even as just rough storyboards, since he’s not only rubbing up on Nala and circling her, but singing a rendition of sorts of “Be Prepared”; it has been animated and since wound up on YT, though I’m not sure how official that animation is). There’s a reason why that scene is referred to as “The Madness of King Scar.” He also corrupted several of the lionesses into following him wholeheartedly, particularly Zira, and chose her youngest cub Kovu to take on his mantle and legacy once he died, which caused a slew of problems later during Simba’s reign. Furthermore, in the Lion Guard TV show, Scar gets resurrected as a ghost that tries to infect the Pridelands with his evil all over again, to the point that during his final moments, he has his snake minion Ushari strike and bite his grandnephew Kion ; this not only gives Kion a lasting scar, similar to the ones both Kovu and Scar himself carry, but injects him with a venom meant to turn him evil and corrupt. His final act as a ghost was to try and destroy another cub in his family, to make another him. Oh, and Scar was the previous leader of the Lion Guard, which is traditional for the secondborn prince. However, being able to use the almighty Roar of the Elders that comes with the role convinced him that he deserved to be the next king. Scar tried to stage a coup and take the throne using the Roar, but the other members of his Guard refused to help him. Enraged, Scar turned the Roar upon them, killing all of them. Not only did this doom his coup before it got off the ground, but it also cost him both his role as the LG leader and the Roar itself, since that power may only be used for good. His greed left him about as powerless as he’s ever been, and he still refused to admit responsibility. Quick trivia bit to provide some insight about Ahadi and Uru’s attitude towards their secondborn: Scar’s original name was “Taka.” It means “Trash.” They don’t seem to have been abusive, from what little we know of them, but they definitely treated Mufasa as the Golden child while Scar was left in the shadows.

The reason scar is so physically contrasting to mufasa is because in the original script scar was a rouge lion that mufasa took in and allowed him to stay there. They later changed it to make it his brother but his design was already made so the kept it as is.

My coworkers called me Scar because I reminded them of him. I watched The Lion King as a kid long ago and didn't know what character they were referring to. Now I remembered. I quit that trifling job after 4 months. Great work, as always. I'm impressed with how you pick up the physical features and how you interpret them.

Always did like scar, wish we had a villain like him in movies or shows with all the Machiavellian machinations included.

When watching the movie, you can see 2 characters that can’t wait to be king. While Simba song is exactly like a child that can’t wait to be grown and dreams for a life of no one to tell me what to do or boss around, basic stuff. But Scar son is shows his plot, motive, loyalty, and patiently waiting to be king no matter what price to pay

Just so you know in the Lion King novels Scar real name is Taka which means trash. Mufasa name means King. So imagine having parents that named one kid trash and the other King. Yeah I don’t blame him for resenting his family.

Probably the best analyzation of the character I’ve seen. I’ve seen some TLK fans try to make him out to be the victim or even go as far as to say he did nothing wrong. For a future episode, I would recommend doing a villain from the Godzilla franchise, chiefly Ghidorah or Mechagodzilla.

Scar's downfall wasn't trusting the hyenas to kill Simba. It was his hubris. Even when Simba returned, Scar was able to turn everyone against him, framing him for the murder of Mufasa, to where even Simba's supporters could only stand by. At the point of dealing Simba a killing blow, he chooses to gloat and reveal the truth to Simba, whose rage immediately and irrevocably turns the tables. Had he just kept his mouth shut, he would have defeated Simba and been vindicated in doing so.

I have always found Scar's story interesting. Quite often, a villan's agenda initially fails. But to actually see the manipulation fruit in their favor makes the audience wonder how long the villain can get away with it. Not necessarily support the villains behavior, quite the opposite! More like silently waiting for the villan's just deserves, acknowledge the inevitable mistake that unravels everything.

Also, now I would love to see Gaston analysed, especially since he’s another one that has garnered defence and praise, particularly on how Belle should have chosen him over the Beast.

It's kinda funny tho because what is the one thing scar offers the hyenas to gain there loyalty? Not power, not status, nor even wealth. He offers them food that should say alot....

Ramses from the Prince of Egypt would be a nice one, some people are asking for villain of long series, but netherless, excelent video, this is like a gold mine for writers that want to learn how to build a good villain, binge watched almost all your videos hahaha, but with this one you earned a new suscriber, keep the good work ;)

One of the many reasons Scar is rated so highly as a Disney villain is because he succeeded. Not only does he kill the hero but he's in power for years. Unlike many other villains who have a short-lived victory (i.e. Ursula who gains the trident and then is immediately killed or Jafar who becomes a genie and then is trapped in a lamp) Scar is king for a significant amount of time. And truly he only made one mistake in the entire film. Simba might have survived but he ran away. He came back but Scar immediately manipulates all of Simba's allies against him and is able to kill him without being apprehended by the lionesses. No, his only mistake was gloating and admitted he killed Mufasa before he sent Simba over the edge. Everything else worked out flawlessly, he is objectively one of the most, if not the number 1, most successful Disney villain

Everyone knows a scar. Devious, deceptive, but weak at heart.

Another thing to note is Mufasa never respected Scar. In the film when Scar says "Oh I was first in line. Until the little hairball was born." Mufasa says he is MY son and YOUR king. Not my son and your nephew. He seemed to not even regard Scar as his brother but just another one of his subjects. And the only reason Mufasa visited Scar was because he wasn't at the ceremony for Simba. Nothing else. Not to see his brother and see how he was doing and talk to him like a brother should.

I was going the recommend the guards from sleepers, but i feel like there's no words to describe the level of evil they partake in

Suggestions: Alex Forrest - "Fatal Attraction" Joan Crawford - "Mommie Dearest"

Dr. Doom would be an interesting villain to analyze since it’s implied that if he got his way, he could bring about utopia.

You could easily make a second channel talking about heroes, and anti heroes! Super entertaining and interesting regardless

The Lion Guard goes more in depth into some of Scar's motivations, but this tracks.

Scar may be smarter than Mufasa, but what he lacks is wisdom. A more subtle display of Scar's cowardice: he always has his claws out, yet never dares to fight anyone able to defend themselves. This is like a weak man who has to flash a gun at people to prove his "strength".

you should do an "Analyzing Evil" on Dexter from Dexter, due to the new season coming out in November and him being such a brilliant read.

Never noticed how much Tom Hiddleston's Loki looks like Scar.

"Scar is a great example of how envy can poison a person." True. Thanks for the vid! I think Scar had a soft spot for Simba. Simba loved him. That's why Scar couldn't kill him on the day Mufasa died, he was still his little nephew, it was too personal, so he gave his underlings the dirty work instead.

Jeremy Irons has a fantastic villain voice. He made Scar what he was. Another request for Johan Liebert from Naoki Urasawa's Monster.

Maaannnnn.... This is so real growing up with a sibling or 2 or more. When it comes to boys growing into Men and still haven't figured it out about love, hate, who's superior and who's the favorite when we're still blood at the end of the day. Sh** kind of touched me in a way🤔 #GoodStuff💯

Despite the out of order presentation, I believe you were pretty accurate about Scar... but I think it would've been a good idea to add to this by throwing in the "Lion Pelt" that was dawned by the hero character of the following movie Hercules as an Easter Egg. This said Easter egg scene shows said hero (Hercules) wearing a lion's pelt that remarkably resembles that of the villain in this very video, Scar. And yes, you can look this up here on RU-vid if you or someone else watching this doesn't believe me.

I'd like to see Professor Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary and High Inquisitor of the Ministry of Magic, Headmistress of Hogwarts, from Harry Potter in one of your videos. She is an extremely well made and nuanced villain, especially in the books, and the movie managed to portray her perfectly, despite missing lots of details.

Some people have said that it's no wonder Scar became evil, since even his own brother didn't respect him (as when both Mufasa and Zazu joke about treating Scar like a dirty rug and beating him). Well, a prequel to this movie later revealed that, in the past, Scar WAS respected by Mufasa and the rest of the pride, and was offered the noble position of Mufasa's second-in-command. But that just wasn't enough for him.

Scar really was jealous of Mufasa being king to the point of killing his own brother just to do nothing when he finally rose to power

Remember when Disney made villians that were interesting and charismatic?

Such an underrated channel keep it up my friend!

I hope you'll do Sosuke Aizen soon. Or Aku. Or Frieza.

I’m so happy watching this channel grow, I subscribed for Col. Kurtz and I’ve been loving every video since

"I know that your paths of retention, are as wet, as a warthog backside. But thick as you are, pay attention. My words are a matter of pride".......

Future Suggestions: Michael Corleone (Godfather series) Biff Tanner (Back to the future trilogy) Johnny Lawrence (Karate kid, Cobra Kai)

I’m so glad you did this. As a kid and til this day scar is my favorite villain in fiction history. From his voice, his appearance to his personality. That remake of the Lion King though 🗑.

I never realized just how despicable Scar really was. Another great job, Vile! I am really looking forward to the 'Tony Soprano' episode!

A few suggestions for future villains to analyze: Thanos (Infinity War), Ramses (Prince of Egypt), Sheriff of Nottingham (Prince of Thieves), Doc Ock (Spiderman 2), Wicked Witch of the West (1939 film). Would be cool to hear your thoughts.

He reminds me of King Richard III, who after the death of his brother the King falsely accused his nephews of being Bastards. Parliament believed his lies and stripped the oldest, who was the Rightful King of his titles. Shortly after his was Coronation he Assassinated the true King and his younger brother and Lawful Heir in their sleep. 3 years later Richard III suffered the indignity of being the Last King of England to be killed in Battle. He was butchered and rightly so.

I love Scar. He's a villain, and he knows and loves being it. It's also why he's a crap king. He's a villain, after all, not a king.

To see my favorite Disney villain being analyzed is an early birthday gift for me

Backstabbing, envious, and manipulative slime is what he is. What was dark about this movie is not only Mufasa’s murder but also the animal skeletons at the elephant graveyard and the Pridelands plagued by famine under Scar’s unfit rule over the kingdom with his hyena minions. He also tried to get Simba killed five times and still failed.

Please do Johan Liebert from the anime Monster. It's 74 episodes long, but he's one of the best villains of all time.

I would like you to tackle Sam Jackson in Jackie Brown, Alicia Silverstone in The Crush, Robert de Niro in The Fan, Macaulay Culkin in The Good Son and Terry Mcquinn from The Stepfather movies.

Can you do an “Analyzing Evil” on Lord Ruber in Quest for Camelot 1998,

This was a good analysis it explains what kind of person or lion scar is and that he is willing to get what he wants through devious schemes

Scar was created out of human interest in referring to Lions as 'Kings'. In really large lion prides, there is often more than one dominant male that share the pride. These lions are usually siblings that have been cast out of their original pride by an adult dominant male at the same time, or more rarely lions that 'accidentally' packed up together on hunts and grew to trust one another while they both were banished. The only time a Mufasa-Scar situation would've developed in real life would be either if the Mufasa lion had a vicious temperament or the Scar lion was genuinely completely useless (and then he'd likely just be cast out).

the reason scar wanted to be king so badly is because he thought it would be easy he wanted all of the power and privileges that came with that position while not grasping the responsibilities that come with it hence why he became so lazy but that's just not what doug thinks

Wow, I honestly never thought to delve that deep into Scar but that was a great analysis! Good stuff!

Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias, from the Watchmen comic, could be an interesting character to analyze. One of those people that do despicable things "for the greater good".

He’s easily Disney’s most iconic villain followed by thanos