WARNING: Spoilers are unmarked.
The stage musical
- Although a great deal of The Lion King is deeply emotional and affecting (as is the film it was based on), there's one particular addition that hits you right in the heart: Simba's B So D Song, "Endless Night". In particular, these lyrics from the chorus: "You promised you'd be there/Whenever I needed you/Whenever I call your name/You're not anywhere/I'm trying to hold on/Just waiting to hear your voice/One word, just a word will do/To end this nightmare." Also, from the second verse: "Sleepless, I dream of the day/When you were by my side/Guiding my path/Father, I can't find the way." By the time the end of the song comes, Simba sings such a stirring, heartfelt testimonial to hope for the future, but the way the song uses actual lines from the movie and builds upon them to reference both the deep love Simba and Mufasa shared (and how he was such a perfect father) and the guilt, despair, and suffering that Simba went through as mentioned above is just so overpowering and gut-wrenching.
- "Rafiki Mourns."
Just listen to the anguish in Rafiki's voice.- Also, the lionesses mourning Mufasa's death with tears streaming from their eyes is enough to make anyone's eyes watery.
- When we next see Sarabi, she still has those tears visible on her mask, not removing them until she calls out Scar on his callousness. She never stopped mourning.
- "Shadowland" is sung by Nala and the lionesses as she prepares to leave the Pride Lands in search of help. The mournful tone sets the despair of everyone as Nala is about to leave the home she has known all her life. The last chorus of the lionesses asking her to always remember her pride and Nala promising she will return is completely heartbreaking.
- The beginning of the song, about how dire the situation is, also counts as you remember she has had to grow up and see her home be desecrated by over-hunting and drought.
- Nala (or any of the lionesses, for all we know) has no experience of living as a rogue, without a pride. She might have the greatest chances of survival due to still being young, but think about it: There is no guarantee Nala will survive being alone in the wilderness, let alone find help.
- This song is even more tearjerking on a real-world level; Lebo M, who penned the song, based its lyrics on his experiences in apartheid-era South Africa and being forced to leave his country.
- The beginning of the song, about how dire the situation is, also counts as you remember she has had to grow up and see her home be desecrated by over-hunting and drought.
- Seeing Mufasa's death live.
- Simba having a flashback to his father's death while Timon is dangling from a branch over a waterfall.
