History Awesome / TheLionKing1994

* The battle between the lionesses and the hyenas. No words, no quips from anybody but the comic relief characters. If it wasn't for the comic relief characters, it would've been a straight up bloodbath between two eternal, natural enemies (although, with that said, the tone is more optimistic when the battle starts then it had been just a minute before, due to Simba discovering he’s innocent of killing Mufasa), and is nevertheless one of Disney's best, most brutal battles. Just teeth, claws, and roars.

* The battle between the lionesses and the hyenas. No words, no quips from anybody but the comic relief characters. If it wasn't for the comic relief characters, it would've been a straight up bloodbath between two eternal, natural enemies and is nevertheless one of Disney's best, most brutal battles. Just teeth, claws, and roars.

'''Banzai:''' (''as Scar gets an OhCrap expression'') Yeah, that's what I heard.

** She has ''always'' beaten Simba when they fight. The first two times were as cubs, where she easily counters Simba's attempts to pounce her by flipping him over, pinning him, and rubbing it in his face with her famous "pinned ya" taunt. The second time was even better because Simba, being a bit of a SoreLoser, tried getting her while she was distracted but sent them both rolling down a hill. While Simba is shown scared and struggling to stay on top of Nala, Nala's just laughing and having a blast and once again pins Simba as they come to a stop; the smug tone in her voice and smirk she has afterwards is well earned. Also, this all happened when she and Simba were arguing over whose idea of escaping Zazu it was, when Simba [[GladIThoughtOfIt tried to take full credit by calling himself a genius]]. Simba might have been her best friend and prince at the time, but Nala was not going to stand being overlooked and was smart enough and strong enough to do something about it. Then years later, she and Simba end up in a serious fight as adults, although Simba puts up a much better fight this time Nala still pins him the same way as the first two times, and growls at him as she holds him down. She could have possibly killed him if he didn't recognize her. The only time she has ever lost to Simba was during their FallingInLoveMontage when Simba and her stumble down a hill together and he just happens to finally land on top of her, pinning her.

* Nala also unwittingly taught Simba how to defeat Scar. Her signature move is flipping Simba over and pinning him. Simba [[ChekhovsSkill eventually learned this and when fighting Scar]], flips him over the cliff.

** You've got to remember that by this point in the movie, Sarabi has lost her beloved husband, child (or so she thinks), her kingdom has gone to Hell and she's got little reason to keep going...[[TheHighQueen but she carries herself like a proud and noble queen throughout the whole ordeal].

** The moment leading to this is pretty impressive. After a heated argument with Sarabi, Scar snaps and smacks her to the ground for mentioning the name of his brother. Straight afterwards, he notices a very angry looking Simba on an above ledge. As he leaps in front of him, [[OhCrap Scar is naturally ready to shit himself]].

* Real-life example: Creator/JimCummings doing a perfect impersonation of Creator/JeremyIrons towards the end of "Be Prepared" (everything after '''"YOU WON'T GET A SNIFF WITHOUT ME!"'''). You would never know the difference.

* Rafiki managing to convince Simba to return to Pride Rock, by both showing him that Mufusa lives in him and that he can't run from his past, no matter how much it hurts. Rather, he has to learn from it.

* Mufasa's head appearing in the clouds to give Simba confidence.

* [[PapaWolf Mufasa]] telling the hyenas in no uncertain terms that if they mess with his kid again, he will end them (also comes with a little bit of a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}}). His perfectly timed arrival: Simba tries to scare the hyenas off with a roar, but it's a "rather uninspiring thing". The hyenas smirk and dare him to give it another crack. He takes another deep breath-and what seems to come out is the thunder of a very angry adult lion. The hyenas have just enough time to OhCrap before Mufasa's BigDamnHeroes arrival is clear.

* Even if he's the villain, the fact that Scar's plan actually ''succeeds'' is a pretty awesome achievement on his part, and grants him the status of one of the most successful, if not '' the'' most successful Disney villain. It's likely one of the reasons for his [[MisaimedFandom sizable fanbase]].

* Rafiki managing to convince Simba to return to Pride Rock, by both showing him that Mufusa lives in him and that he can't run from his past, no matter how much it hurts. Rather, he has to learn from it.

** In a subtle, but notable moment, after the hyenas leave, Zazu flies over to Mufasa and nods at him. Mufasa promptly shoots a glare at the bird that causes him to raise his wings out defensively. Mufasa makes it very clear nonverbally that Zazu is not getting out of this unscathed, indicating that while he is mostly disappointed in Simba, Zazu should have been able to prevent them from getting anywhere near the Elephant Graveyard.

** Rafiki, Timon, Pumbaa, and Zazu joining the battle in earnest is awesome in itself, considering they appeared to be just the old fool, the bumbling sidekicks, and the king's major dodo.

** Another one for Sarabi. She's ''not even a second'' behind Nala in leaping into the fray when it's revealed that ''Scar'' killed off Mufasa, and she was '''very''' pissed off.

* Rafiki going Screaming Mandrill Fu on some hyenas, complete with OffhandBackhand. Including ''two'' Hyenas that are ''behind him''.

** It is [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar heavily implied]] that during the FinalBattle she was helping fight hyenas while pregnant with Kiara, making her a PregnantBadass.

** As well as the lionesses responding with roars of their own, while that glorious African chanting kicks in.

* Even if he's the villain, the fact that Scar's plan actually ''[[MagnificentBastard succeeds]]'' is a pretty awesome achievement on his part, and grants him the status of one of the most successful, if not '' the'' most successful Disney villain. It's likely one of the reasons for his [[MisaimedFandom sizable fanbase]].

** Upon hearing this, Sarabi and the lionesses react with fury and attempt to attack Scar.

'''[[TheDragon Shenzi]]:''' ''[[IronicEcho Friends??]]'' [[TheDogBitesBack I thought he said]] [[CallBack we were]] '''''[[BackstabBackfire the enemy]]'''''??\\

** Though Simba did not win, he managed to put up a much better fight than the first two times. His arrival on the scene actually got Nala to pause for a moment and get a [[OhCrap shocked look]] at his sudden arrival as he lunged at her, even if only for a moment, and he actually managed to briefly pin her by fiercely [[DynamicEntry pouncing on her]] before she started to fight back and break free. Also, it is important to remember that this is Simba's first ''real'' fight, instead of playful wrestling like he and Nala did as kids, and unlike Nala, who has spent a majority of her life hunting and trying to survive under a tyrant's rule, he has been lazing around and snacking with his friends, meaning he managed to fight evenly against a trained huntress and actually managed to startle her and knock her down. So in Simba's first real fight, despite facing against a more experienced enemy with more experience, he still managed to [[UnskilledButStrong fight evenly for the most part despite the gap and almost win]]. It is also clear that Nala is taking the fight seriously herself. When they were cubs she could [[CurbStompBattle handle Simba easily]] while hardly even trying, laughing and teasing him the whole time, but now he is pushing her to her limit, giving everything she has just to keep things even.

** And in the moment as the hyenas reveal they heard Scar try to betray them ... the utter look of shock and terror on his face as he knows he is about to face brutal defeat, and the hyenas closing in and blocking all avenues of escape. The hyenas then pounce on Scar and tear him apart as the fire prevents you from seeing anything more. We only see it in shadow but for a Disney movie that takes balls.

** Take a look at [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_animated_films the list of highest-grossing animated films]]. From thirty onwards, all the films were made in the naughties ''except'' for ''The Lion King''. ''And it sits at '''number nine''''' as of 2019. For a traditionally animated movie made in the nineties, '''that is really impressive'''.

[[caption-width-right:350:''[[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic "...It's The Circle of Life"]]]]''

* Bowling for Hyenas.

* Also, [[TheHighQueen Simba's mother Sarabi]] gains one [[http://goquackyourself.tumblr.com/post/15710455979/can-we-just-take-a-moment-to-appreciate-the when she coldly]] and [[UnflinchingWalk proudly walks down the hyena gauntlet, and even their attempt to attack her by snapping at her haunch doesn't scare her one bit]]. The hyenas and Scar were proven that she was ''not'' there as eye candy for the King.