Daily Dialogue — December 20, 2015

Scar: Ahh, so you haven’t told them your little secret. Well, Simba, now’s your chance to tell them. Tell them who is responsible for Mufasa’s death!
Adult Simba: [pause] I am.
Sarabi: [whispering] It’s not true. Tell me it’s not true.
Adult Simba: It’s true.
Scar: You see? He admits it. Murderer!
Adult Simba: No! It was an accident!
Scar: If it weren’t for you Mufasa would still be alive. It’s your fault he’s dead. Do you deny it?
Adult Simba: No.
Scar: Then you’re guilty.
Adult Simba: No, I’m not a murderer!

— The Lion King (1994), screenplay by Irene Mecchi and Jonathan Roberts and Linda Woolverton, story by Burny Mattinson & Barry Johnson & Lorna Cook & Thom Enriquez & Andy Gaskill & Gary Trousdale & Jim Capobianco & Kevin Harkey & Jorgen Klubien & Chris Sanders & Tom Sito & Larry Leker & Joe Ranft & Rick Maki & Ed Gombert & Francis Glebas & Mark Kausler

The Daily Dialogue theme next week: Denial, suggested by Liz Correal.

Trivia: Besides inspirations from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1990), the story also has elements of the Osirian family myths of Ancient Egyptian mythology. In the Osirian myths, the king (Mufasa/Osiris) is killed by his jealous brother (Scar/Seth) and the rightful heir (Simba/Horus) is sent into exile as a boy. The murdered king visits and mentors his son in ghostly visits and when the heir comes of age, he returns to exact revenge on his father’s murderer.

Dialogue On Dialogue: Here is a case where in denying the accusation, Simba is actually telling the truth.