Why Mufasa's Death In The Lion King Makes No Sense

Disney's "The Lion King" remains a perennial favorite among adults and children alike. With catchy songs, beautiful visuals, and an epic, relatable story, the animated film has a little something for everyone. It's for these reasons and more the movie has continued to resonate nearly three decades after its release. 

For a children's film, "The Lion King" is surprisingly deep. Dialogue like "The past can hurt, but from the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it" is powerful for kids to accept. On top of that, Mufasa's death scene remains one of the most impactful death scenes in cinematic history. Whether you're watching the movie for the first or 100th time, you can't help but feel a tear form in the corner of your eye when Simba's father bites the dust. 

The immense sadness felt in that moment is compelling, which is likely why many people don't notice the massive plot hole staring them right in the face. And yes, this inconsistency exists in both the original and the 2019 remake. 

Everyone should know how Mufasa's death plays out. Scar tricks Mufasa and Simba into a gorge, resulting in Mufasa getting trampled to death by a stampede of wildebeest. Simba survives and spends his upbringing with Timon and Pumbaa, but Scar sees it as a job well done and goes to take over as ruler of the Pride Land. Everyone's cool with him taking over the reins, even though it's awfully suspicious Scar knows what supposedly happened to Mufasa and Simba and did nothing about it. 

But okay, let's assume the lionesses believe there was nothing Scar could do to save them. Wouldn't they at least want to see their bodies? They may be animals, but there's clearly a semblance of society here, and they would all probably want to see the two for closure. Scar could lead them to Mufasa's body, but Simba ran off. There's no way for him to prove Simba's dead, which would likely entail an extensive search and rescue. After all, Simba couldn't have gotten too far if Nala could find him all those years later. 

Mufasa was the king, with Simba as his prince. Their deaths should be major scandals requiring in-depth investigations. By all accounts, nothing of the sort occurs. Granted, Scar has a hyena army at his beck and call, but it's weird not a single question comes up. Apparently, no one taught them five W's of journalism at lion school.