Patch For Scar

[Thomas Merino]

Scaris a fictional character and the main antagonist in Disney's The Lion King franchise. He was created by screenwriters Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts and Linda Woolverton, and animated by Andreas Deja. Scar is introduced in the first film as the ruthless, power-hungry younger brother of Mufasa, ruler of the Pride Lands. Originally first in line to Mufasa's throne until he is suddenly replaced by Mufasa's son Simba, Scar decides to lead an army of hyenas in his plot to take the throne by killing Mufasa and Simba, who escapes into exile, ultimately blaming his brother's death on his nephew.

Loosely based on King Claudius, the main antagonist of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Scar's villainy was additionally inspired by dictator Adolf Hitler, as well as stemming from lions' natural behaviors of pride takeovers. As the character's supervising animator, Deja based Scar's appearance on that of the original film voice actor Jeremy Irons, as well as the actor's performance as Claus von Blow in Reversal of Fortune. Chiwetel Ejiofor voices the photorealistic version of the character in the 2019 remake of the film with Kelvin Harrison Jr. voicing him in the upcoming 2024 film.

As a character, Scar has garnered widespread acclaim from film critics, who greeted Irons's vocal performance with equal enthusiasm. However, Scar's violence, dark color palette and allegedly effeminate mannerisms were initially met with mild controversy. Nevertheless, Scar continues to be revered as one of Disney's greatest villains by various media publications, topping The Huffington Post's list and ranking within the top ten of similar lists published by Yahoo! Movies, the Orlando Sentinel, E! and CNN. He has also been ranked among the greatest villains in film history by Digital Spy and Entertainment Weekly.

The Lion King was first conceived in 1988.[1] The film was eventually pitched to Disney executives, one of whom was among the first to observe similarities between author Thomas M. Disch's treatment and William Shakespeare's play Hamlet.[2][3] Although first citing these similarities as initially unintentional,[4] director Rob Minkoff always felt it was essential "to anchor [the film] with something familiar."[5] As directors, Minkoff and Roger Allers aspired to create "an animal picture based in a more natural setting,"[6] describing the film as "More true-life adventure than mythical epic."[7] Although not the first Disney film to have been inspired by Shakespeare's work,[8] The Lion King remains the studio's most prominent example[9] due to close parallels between its characters and Hamlet,[citation needed] while both stories revolve around main characters who struggle to come to terms with the reality that they must confront their treacherous uncles and avenge their fathers' deaths.[10] Scar is based on King Claudius.[11] According to Slate, while Claudius is mostly "a second-rate schemer ... consumed by anxiety and guilt," Scar very much "delight[s] in his monstrosity;"[12] both characters are motivated by jealousy.[13] Meanwhile, The Week observed that although both characters ultimately die, Claudius is killed by protagonist Hamlet while Scar dies "at the hand of his former hyena minions, and not Simba himself."[4] Additionally, the character shares similarities with Iago from Shakespeare's play Othello; both antagonists are skilled in exploiting their victims' fears.[14]

The original plot of The Lion King revolved around a rivalry between lions and baboons.[15] A baboon himself, Scar was their leader.[16] After this plot was abandoned, Scar was re-written into a rogue lion lacking any blood relation to both Mufasa and Simba.[17][18] The writers eventually decided that making Scar and Mufasa brothers would make the film more interesting.[19] At one point Scar owned a pet python as a sidekick, but this character was abandoned.[15] Because the film was originally intended to be much more adult-oriented, Scar was to have become infatuated with Simba's childhood friend and eventual love interest Nala, wanting the young lioness to rule alongside him as his queen[20] and consequentially banishing the character[15] when she refuses.[21] This concept was to have been further explored during a reprise of Scar's song "Be Prepared",[22] but both the idea and the song were ultimately completely removed from the film because they were deemed too "creepy". In addition to that, there was a scene in which Scar was originally going to defeat Simba, and throw him off Pride Rock, before he's engulfed by flames. This ending was cut for being far too dark for young viewers.[20] To further emphasize the character's villainy and tyranny, the writers loosely based Scar on Adolf Hitler.[23] According to The Jerusalem Post, Scar's song "Be Prepared" "features goose-stepping hyenas in a formation reminiscent of a Nuremberg rally."[24] This idea was first suggested by story artist Jorgen Klubien.[24]

Tim Curry, Malcolm McDowell, Alan Rickman, Patrick Stewart, and Ian McKellen were all originally considered for the role of Scar.[27] However, the role was ultimately won by actor Jeremy Irons[23] because of his classical theater training; the directors had deliberately wanted Scar "to come across as a Shakespearean character."[27] Successfully recruiting Irons for the film was considered an unprecedented achievement for the studio because, at the time, it was rare for a dramatic actor of Irons's caliber to agree to voice an animated character,[28] especially immediately after winning an Academy Award.[25] In fact, the Oscar-winning actor[29] nearly declined because, in fear of jeopardizing his successful career, he was "[h]esitant to jump from a dramatic role to an animated feature."[30] Prior to The Lion King, Irons was famous for starring as several villains and antagonists in live-action films "geared towards adults."[31] Although he had starred in a children's film before, the actor admitted that it did not mirror the success of The Lion King,[31] a film that has since gained notoriety for its cast of well known, award-winning Hollywood actors,[32] which animation historian Jerry Beck referred to in his book The Animated Movie Guide as "the most impressive list of actors ever to grace an animated film."[33]

As directors, Minkoff and Allers "work[ed] very closely with the actors to create their performance."[34] Describing Irons as "a gentleman and a brilliant actor," Allers revealed that the actor was constantly offering "extra interpretations of lines which were fantastic."[5] Producer Don Hahn recalled that Irons "really wanted to play with the words and the pacing," specifically referring to a scene in which Scar coaxes Simba onto a rock and tricks the young cub to stay there and await his father's arrival alone, dubbing it "a father and son ... thing." According to Hahn, "The comedy in [Irons's] inflection comes from Scar sounding so disdainful he can barely summon the will to finish the sentence."[25] Irons's physical appearance and mannerisms served as inspiration for Scar's supervising animator Andreas Deja, namely his flicking his paw in disgust.[25] Critics have cited physical similarities between Irons and Scar.[35]

In a reference to the role that earned Irons an Academy Award, Claus von Blow in Reversal of Fortune, the writers gave Scar one of von Blow's lines, "You have no idea," which is uttered by Irons in a similar tone.[36][37] According to author Rachel Stein of New Perspectives on Environmental Justice: Gender, Sexuality, and Activism, Irons relies "on his history of playing sexually perverse, socially dangerous male characters to animate his depiction of Scar."[38] On the contrary, Irons revealed to Connect Savannah that the similarities between the voices of Scar and von Blow were largely unintentional, explaining, "Whatever voice came was arrived at by looking at the initial sketches, and from the freedom the directors gave me to try anything." Irons concluded, "The fact that he may occasionally remind you of Claus, comes from the fact that they both share the same voice box."[39]

While recording Scar's song, "Be Prepared," Irons encountered challenges with his singing voice. The actor reportedly "blew out his voice" upon belting the line "you won't get a sniff without me," rendering him incapable of completing the musical number.[40] Consequently, Disney was forced to recruit American voice actor Jim Cummings, who had also been providing the voice of The Lion King's laughing hyena Ed at the time,[41] to impersonate Irons and record the rest of the song.[42] Jim Cummings told The Huffington Post that "[s]tunt singing" is actually something the actor continues to do regularly, having done the same for American actor Russell Means, voice of Chief Powhatan in Disney's Pocahontas.[43] Critics observed that Irons "fakes his way ... through 'Be Prepared' in the grand tradition of talk-singing," drawing similarities between him and American actor James Cagney and English actor Rex Harrison.[44] Deja revealed that, during a recording session, Irons's stomach was grumbling. Deja joked, "The growling sound could be heard in his recording, so we had to record that part of his dialog all over again."[45] As a result of Irons's prominent British accent, critics have compared both the actor and Scar to Shere Khan, the villain of Disney's earlier film The Jungle Book, voiced by English actor George Sanders.[25]

The studio originally dismissed The Lion King as a risk because, at the time, it was believed that the greatest films starred people.[51] Concerned about the novelty of the film, Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg decided to divide the studio into two separate animated films, The Lion King and Pocahontas, the latter of which was dubbed "the home run" because it was expected to be the more successful of the two projects.[52] Disney's more seasoned and experienced animators gravitated towards Pocahontas, while the studio's newer animators were relegated to working on The Lion King, dubbing themselves the "B-team".[53] However, Allers received Katzenberg's decision positively as an opportunity for "newer animators ... to step up to leadership roles",[53] among them Andreas Deja, who became Scar's supervising animator.[53] Well known for animating several Disney villains,[54] Deja summarized the experience as "more fun than drawing heroes" because "You have so much more to work with in terms of expressions and acting and drawing-wise than you would have with a nice princess or a prince ... where you have to be ever so careful with the draftsmanship."[55]

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