The Lion King (Animated Version) was an excellent movie when it came out in 1994. It got rave reviews, and I loved the movie and the story. However, few realize how fantastic this movie is at describing the narcissistic experience. Let’s dive in. I will watch the movie again soon after I order it, so this article will be updated afterward, and this sentence will be removed.

Narcisstic backdrop

At the beginning of the movie, there is a peaceful scene where life is healthy and admired. The ruler, Mufasa, is happy with his son, set to be the next ruler. Scar is a narcissist who stayed close to power, his brother Mufasa. Mufasa unknowingly allowed access to his kingdom to a manipulator and abuser.

Once Scar knows the rules that promote his self-interest, his lack of empathy will carve a path to the deaths of anyone who must be eliminated to serve his interests.

Narcissists hate peace, so you need an antagonizer like Scar to be envious of Mufasa to manufacture chaos. In this story, Mufasa is Scar’s victim and has been living off him until Scar wanted to overthrow and conquer him, since he would eventually become too powerful and no longer be able to act.

Scar had set up Mufasa on multiple occasions and failed as the flying monkeys (hyenas) were too weak to take on a real lion. As Scar learns what his victim values from his failures, he creates the most elaborate setup possible to conquer him. Hyenas are the perfect representation of flying monkeys. Not really a Lion, and laughs strangely at weird times or all the time since they are impostors to Lions. If you watch real-world narcissist flying monkeys (narcissists are also flying monkeys) closely, you’ll see the hyena in them.

Scar sets up the scenario so his victim acts in the best interests of his most prized relationship: his son. This leads to the ultimate betrayal and the life of Mufasa.

The herd (and drama) that Scar manufactures endangers the life of Mufasa’s son, who is set to be the next king. Upon saving his son, Mufasa needs his abuser to help him during the events his abuser set up. However, since Scar is an abuser without empathy, he finalizes his plan and kills his brother.

Then, to take full control of Mufasa’s prior life and completely replace him, he gaslights Simba and tells him that he was the one who killed his father. It was his fault. Scar cannot take on the blame because he is mentally ill, so he projects this feeling onto the vulnerable Simba. This tremendous guilt and shame lead Simba to flee after being sought after for death by the same traitor uncle who killed his father. Simba eventually flees the Pride Lands and runs away forever, filled with too much shame and hoping to die.

Misery Follows the Narcissist

The mentally disabled false king, Scar, was able to replace his brother and victim as king on paper. He then brings his misery to the entire land along with his flying monkeys (hyenas). They came to power through deadly manipulation and therefore do not have the people’s support. The wise one, Rafiki, whom I currently identify with, is the seer of the Pride Lands. 

The zero-empathy abuser, Scar, would have loved it and planned for it that Simba, a child, was killed. How heartless! Simba does not die, and instead wakes up with strange animals (Timon and Pumbaa) hovering over him in a faraway land that doesn’t resemble where he grew up.‍ 

“Your healing journey is like Simba in the wilderness.”

Healing Journey changes everything

Simba disowns his role in the Pride Lands with resentment and anger. He does not realize that the wilderness he is in is part of his healing journey, preparing him for what lies ahead. In your own wilderness, you begin to find yourself and your likes and dislikes without judgment or pressure from the outside world. Later, Nala, his elementary school crush, bumps into him and cannot understand what he’s become. Then at some point, he receives a message from his father that He lives within him. He understands that the journey he was put on and the fate of bumping into Nala again mean he must return and honor his rightful place as King of the Pride Lands.

Oh, wait, did you think the abuser was just gonna give up that easily after realizing their pathetic evil plans didn’t work out? Of course not, it would certainly not be a walk in the park to go back to his abuser and gaslighting uncle, Scar, to re-take the throne that is rightfully his since he is alive.

Overtaking the abuser

The movie ends with a fight to the death with the abuser, Scar. As Scar realizes that his miserable rule of the Pride Lands (how he likes it so he can continue to be the all-powerful) is losing shape, he comes face to face with a prior victim, Simba. And as all inciting abusers do, he makes sure he tells Simba that he was the one who killed Mufasa, only to now reverse the guilt that he placed on him when he was a child.

Conclusion

Simba re-takes the Pride Lands only because of the help he had along the way. The seer, Rafiki, is back to being happy about being a seer, and happiness and peace are brought back to the Pride Lands. Without the journey into the wilderness, the Pride Lands would’ve remained miserable with no one to interfere after evil was able to conquer what Mufasa built. This is a phenomenal story in general, but a perfect example of how narcissism manifests itself in the world.