Intro
Recently, the new Life-Action movie of Mufasa came out, and we gained more knowledge about him, but most importantly, Scar. I am aware that the life action movies aren't always the greatest, but I still want to get into this. Honestly, in my opinion, this is the only life action movie that connects to the original movie. One where the original villain becomes the villain by the end of the movie, and doesn't become he hero.
To be honest, I think people misunderstood the reason why he became the villain. They say it was because of a girl, but was it really? In my eyes, that was only the breaking point, not the full reason.
Note: This doesn't make him less of a villain in the original movie, and I'm not defending his actions. But as a writer you can sometimes wonder why a villain became the way he was. So, let's dive into the movie and analyze Taka, before he became Scar.
A Found Family, But Already Jealousy
When Taka finds Mufasa as a cub, the two instantly become friends. Even though his father rejects Mufasa and even wants to kill him, Taka saves him when they have to race, letting him win. The two become like brothers instantly.
Years fly by in a classic song transition, and we get to see more of them as teen Lions. Both Mufasa and Taka are instantly shown as being mischievous and playful, messing around with the male lions of their tribe. Taka's father doesn't really approve of how Taka behaves, and tries to teach him how to be king and protect his land, which apparently is by sleeping. Boring right? Taka thinks so too, so he sneaks off and follows Mufasa and his mother who are going to hunt.
As he hides in the grass, he hears Mufasa talk to his mother about how he is the lucky one. He likes being a stray...
"Maybe I'm the lucky one... I never have to be like Taka. I never have to be king."
While he watches, you can see Taka's look and you hear a soft growl coming from him. It's not much, but it already shows light jealousy. He does want to be king, but he isn't sure if he wants to be like his father. He wanted to hunt with his mother too, and watching them talk and bound together, they clearly show that there is already a sense of jealousy. Since Mufasa was forced to live with the females, he got to hunt, but Taka was never even asked to join.
Writer's Note: This is the perfect start of a build up throughout the story. He doesn't hate Mufasa. He loves him and sees him as a brother. But he also is just a little bit jealous.
This is the moment where the a major problem of the story happens. Mufasa and Taka's mother get attacked by the main antagonists of the movie. The moment that Taka sees his mother is in danger and almost being killed, he tries to run in and help. Sadly, he gets hurt before he can get to them, which is the first time this happened. He runs away instead, afraid.
Mufasa however stays and kills one of the Lions that attacked them, making the other one run away. Basically, Taka's father shows gratitude towards him while he always hated him. On the other hand, you can clearly see he is disappointed in his son for running away, even though he tells him it doesn't matter. Telling him to just pretend it never happened. No one can know he ran for his mother.
Taka is portrayed as a coward here, which people believe doesn't fit with his original character. But if you think about it... When have we seen him fight in the original movie? He let's the Hyena's try and kill Simba and Nala as a cub, he doesn't try to fight Mufasa and just throws him off a cliff. Even in the final battle he first runs. When he ends up at a cliff, he tries to manipulate Simba and gets the upper hand by throwing embers in his eyes. And ONLY then, he fights... And loses quickly. Instead, Scar uses the skill he IS good at: Manipulation and Deception.
Writer's note: To be honest, this is a good example of a great villain. He knows his weaknesses, but he also knows his strengths. He uses his strength to navigate and get what he wants, making up for his lack of courage and strength.
Losing Everything
After that moment, Taka loses everything he ever had. The outsiders are coming, and to protect his bloodline, Taka is sent away together with Mufasa. The whole pride except for them is killed. Taka now lost his parents, but also the rest of his pride, and he is left alone with Mufasa.
But this doesn't break his spirit yet. He still has Mufasa, and part of him still hopes that maybe there is part of his family left. He even saves himself and Mufasa again. When they are chased by the outsiders, their path is blocked by water. Being afraid of water, Mufasa suggest to fight them. But it's two against about ten of them. Taka knows better and throws them both of the cliff into the water to escape.
Writer's note: His quick thinking is one of his good character traits that make up for his lack of strength and courage. He knows he can't fight, even if he had the strength. He knows Mufasa won't jump into the water because he nearly drowned, so he sees just one option that practically saved their lives.
From the moment they meet Sarabi, Taka likes her, because she is beautiful and 'queen material'. Not really the greatest thing to look at or say in Romance, but still... This is his first impression. He begs Mufasa to help him, because he doesn't know how to talk to her. Mufasa helps, giving tips and even pretends it was Taka who saved her life in the stampede instead of him. All so he can make a good impression.
Imagine all that, but then waking up in the night and seeing the two of them laying together. Singing and in love. Taka is heartbroken, seeing his brother with the woman he wanted.
A Shift Into Anger, Only To Regret It
Taka remembers what his father told him about Mufasa. He had always said he would betray him, but Taka thought he never would. He is heartbroken and angry. When he tumbles down the mountains and falls right into the group of outsiders that has been hunting them, he remembers another thing that his father taught him.
"Deceit is tool of a great king..."
There are a few options here. Run back up the mountain - probably getting caught very easily by lions who are stronger and faster than him, fight a whole pride on his own... Or pretending to be on their side. His quick thinking makes him choose the last.
Writers Note: This is the first time we see his manipulative and charismatic character in action. The outsiders could have killed him, and they would have, if he would not have decided to deceive them and get them to work together with him. We could see it as a character development. It's a bad development, but it is still development either way. Some characters don't develop into heroes.
When the attack happens and Mufasa finds out what Taka did, he is filled with disbelief. Though right before the final battle, we can also see just a hint of hesitation in Taka. But he has done it already, and can't turn back. Though Sarabi was his breaking point, when Mufasa asks him why, we are answered with the following.
"I am the son of a king, but Sarabi choose you... Just like my Mother. Just like my own father! You stole my destiny..."
When he talks to the outsiders earlier, we also get a hint of the grudge he had been keeping deep down inside.
"I have no father... He did this..."
It isn't just about the most recent event. It's everything all together. Mufasa killed the son of the leader of the outsiders, which caused them to hunt down Taka's pride. This is technically the reason why his whole pride was killed.
Writers Note: This doesn't make what he did a good thing of course. He betrayed his brother in a worse way, even if it was out of heartbreak and anger. Villains most of the time don't have valid reason to be like this, but they believe they do.
When he watches Mufasa fight, he remembers the time they had together as brothers. How they played when they were just cubs, and Taka starts to regret what he has done. He doesn't really want Mufasa to die. At least, not anymore... He finally gathers up enough courage, remembering his mother's words that his moment of courage will come. He runs up and just as the villain is about to strike Mufasa, he jumps in front, taking the blow instead, and gaining his scar.
The two fight together against the villain, and in the end he is defeated. Taka shows regret, asking his brother for forgiveness. Many of the animals say he needs to be banished but Mufasa refuses. But he also tells Taka he will never say his name again. Because he can't... And so Taka tells him to call him Scar, so he will never forget what he did.
The Brother Who Got Everything
Though Scar regrets betraying Mufasa in the moment, his jealousy grows. He was the son of a king. He was supposed to be king one day. He was in love with Sarabi. He lost both his parents...
Meanwhile, Mufasa became king of the pridelands after defeating the villains, and Sarabi fell in love with him. Added to that, he finds his mother who he lost at the beginning of the movie again. His father is dead, but he is reunited with his mother.
In other words, Mufasa had all that Scar ever wanted, and he was left with nothing...
Of course, this movie was made way later than the original animated movie, but if you think about it... Mufasa couldn't even respect him anymore. Not enough to call out his actual name to help. It was still "Scar! Brother! Help me!". Hits hard if you think about the fact he couldn't call him by his real name in this moment either.
Writers Note: To be honest, it sounds like a valid villain arc to me, without condoning the actions he has in the original. A villain is still a villain in the end and even if they could be redeemed, the damage they've done, cannot be undone.
Conclusion
We all know that the Disney Life Action movies aren't the best, but what I do like about this movie, is that the movie doesn't have a good ending for one at least one of the main characters. It is more of a bittersweet ending.
No comments:
Post a Comment