The Pridelands.

Version 1.1 - The 'complete' script, character sketches and notes.

This version incorporates many minor corrections and revisions. It also
introduces possible songs for 'Etiquette'. 'Despair' has been replaced by a
new version 'Faith and Love'. 'Salvation' has been written and added after
the end credits. The way in which a main character is introduced has been 
considerably revised.

Written by:
Chris Boyce, Summer of 1996.
Mayfield, Newport Road, Godshill, Ventnor, Isle of Wight, UK. PO38 3HR

Comments to: boycecj@aol.com


Based on and with acknowledgements to Disney's The Lion King.
All original characters, situations, plot and dialogue (C) Chris Boyce.


*** Introduction ***

	This document is in two parts. The first is in the form of a film 
script, or an approximation to one, the second is this set of notes and 
character sketches. Much of these notes concern the plot development and 
similar background information and are meant to be read in conjunction with 
the script itself. Much visual stylisation is contained in these notes and 
when read with the script, will hopefully allow the Pridelands to come alive.  
All of this was written with no reference to any other official or unofficial 
sources of any kind, it is just a pure extension to The Lion King and so 
characters here will have different names to those others may have used for
similar characters before, with one exception: I have taken up the Ahadi as 
Mufasa and Scar's father. I had called him Simba the elder though he is never
referred to by name. Thus here our Simba's son is called Thembi though he 
plays a very small role - we've had all that prince stuff before. So what is 
The Pridelands? Well, firstly let me state what it is not. It is NOT The Lion 
King reworked. It is however perhaps a more adult story, that's to say its for 
adults from 3 to 103 just as TLK was for kids of all ages from 3 to 103. Simba 
is now a 'responsible' father, he and Nala are the parents of three cubs, who 
can never be replacements for young Simba. Indeed in The Pridelands Simba is 
still very much the lead. The 'adult' content comes in the issues addressed 
and in some of the events that unfold, though 'adult' here implies a degree of
maturity rather than violence or sexuality, this is suitable for general
release and can be watched by all ages safely, though the occasional awkward
question could be raised from the under tens which could probably be answered
in some non-embarrassing way due to ambiguity. The central theme is the ebb 
and flow of the relationship between Simba and Nala and how fate influences 
them. This is observed both directly and through their cubs, the less 'adult' 
adults will, hopefully, identify with them and see that adult relationships 
are not always easy, and certainly not 'happy ever after' and have to be 
worked at. While Simba and Nala love each other deeply, this is not enough to 
keep them together. They are eventually reunited, but not under the 
circumstances we all expect. Nala has to decide to love a lion, not a Lion 
King. Against this serious background are set the cubs and, of course Pumbaa 
and Timon, though one of the more serious plot turns results in the apparent
loss of Timon, indeed it is, in part, this event that sets the main plotline 
in motion. Meerkats can't last forever, but he eventually returns, though 
leaving trouble in his wake. Other events unfold in a most unexpected way
that allow Simba to be at peace with himself at last. Along that way we gain 
a couple of lionesses, Sala and Tana, a double act and no mistake - Tana is a 
'mane chaser'... All this would have given a few technical difficulties, later 
compounded by the dramatic and uplifting spectacle of three generations of 
Priderock lion side by side, as they must all be instantly recognisable. The 
Circle of Life is now seen from a different angle to be, perhaps more of a 
spiral. The sun still rises and sets as before but now on a changed pride of 
lion; the scars of the past literally and metaphorically wiped clean.
Ok, so all this sounds so very serious; but it is not really and through it 
all runs the lightness of touch, inherent to Simba, which was so loved about 
The Lion King, this leads to bitter-sweet moments that are interpretable in 
many ways at the same time. All this is of course played out against the 
breathtaking backdrop of the pridelands, and its surrounding region which we 
find does have a human presence, indeed it is this presence that allows the 
most magical plot turns, though the humans are anonymous and are on for as 
little time as possible, their presence is felt almost throughout. A lot of 
time is spent in the notes explaining the reasoning behind this presence, 
they have a purpose.... The musical tone would have been less heroic, but 
richer and more imitate, but still with moments of pure fun. The opening
song sets this tone as Simba, the king, declares his love for Nala the 
huntress while we see the lionesses hunt for their supper, to support the 
pride, to ensure the continuing survival of The Pridelands....


*** The Characters ***

For all main characters as many details as are known are given where they
have a bearing on the script. It is assumed that all their basic TLK
characteristics are still present, so yes, Timon still has five stripes!
For this story extra markings have been added to allow easier recognition
as to most of us one lioness looks very much like any other. I have enough
difficulty recognising them all in TLK as it is. The character notes were
primarily for my own benefit so that I could keep consistency throughout
the script, I generally wrote them soon after the character was introduced. 
If they do not agree with your personal assessment then ditch my ideas and 
keep your own. Genealogy is a somewhat tricky topic and seems to get purists 
up in arms for the slightest thing. Here I have tried to make sense in 
leonine terms of what is actually an impossible pride. I did not have access 
to any official sources so if my idea is different then, well make up your own 
mind. I have tried to keep these characters as real as possible, thus they 
all have faults of one kind or another. In some cases these faults help to 
allow the relationships to work, judge for yourself. We start, naturally
enough, with Simba, but first a delicately pruned family tree, just for the 
record:


		?              Ahadi           Immue
		|_______+________|_______+________|
			|                |___________________________
			|                |                   |       |
	 Sarabi       Mufasa           Scar        Sarafina  ?       ?
	    |_____+_____|                |______+______|
  ________________|                             |____________________
 |      |         |                             |            |       |
 ?      ?       Simba                         Nala        ?Kovu?     ?
		  |______________+______________| 
		   ______________|______________             
		  |              |              |            
	      Thembekile       Nyala         Zenani

	      
Simba:  (Lion) An 'adult' lion.

Mate:   Nala
Age:    5y 6m
Sire:   Mufasa  Dam:    Sarabi
Offspring:      Thembekile, Nyala and Zenani

Distinctive Physical characteristics:
	Blue, well goldish brown actually with pink nose that has been known
to turn orange. A compact but strong lion with a rich dark brown mane that has
a life of its own and is much more like hair than a true mane, it is a long
time since it last saw a set of combing claws. Simba lacks the stature and 
poise of his father, looking much more casual and spontaneous, for example his
tail follows him as something of an after thought, though it has its uses. He
has passed on this to Nyala, conversely he seemed to have lost the ear rim 
marks that he got from his mother, I feel he would like them back! He always
looks a little uneasy as if life and he were not entirely at ease with one
another. The main differences between him and his father are in bearing and
build - not to mention that nose and mane!

Character notes:
	The supremely confident cub of 'I Just Cant Wait to be King' has gone,
broken in a momentous afternoon that shattered his future. He was going to be
king, now he IS king but its not easy. He feels he is living under the shadow
of his father, trying always to remember what Mufasa would have done. He
relies on his friends and advisors, whilst out there on the Pridelands the 
lionesses wield the real power. Simba is not very happy - he just wait NOT to
be king, which is difficult as few, if any lion have ever ventured on to this
lush, if remote area. A challenge is unlikely, and would result in serious,
possibly fatal injuries - Simba has never been much of a fighter. He is
jealous of his long time friends and advisors, Timon and Pumbaa(!), they come
and go as they wish and are free to be themselves. Simba is in a difficult 
situation, it is even more difficult for a lion king. So how did this happen?
Consider this: one day he was totally confident, he would succeed his father
and be king of the Pridelands, next day he was dying slowly under the desert
sun; a cub, alone and helpless. Then it gets worse! He was befriended by an
unlikely pair who prove to be not so unlikely after all. They bring him up, 
not as a future king but as a fun loving individualist - no one saying do 
this, be there, stop that or even see here, free to run around all day, free
to do it his way - just what he always wanted, and it was great! But even
though he grows into a handsome lion he is not really a lion at all, not
sexually, emotionally or even gastronomically! Nala awakens his latent
sexuality, but it takes time to mature, much to Nala's frustration. Rafiki
probes his senses of responsibility and loyalty, and his reactions. Timon
and Pumbaa rally round as true friends, loyal in the face of grave danger;
well Pumbaa likes that sort of thing! Simba does what a lions got to do, but
he's still not a true adult lion! All this however cannot disguise the fact
that kings are made; trained; not just born and Simba never learned how to
rule and may never learn. If the Pridelands were not so isolated he would
have ruled for a very short time, he couldn't even overcome a lioness at one
time. Though he later learned fighting is not just about brute strength, but
about strategy, balance and timing. He is however much more widely experienced
than most, if not all, lion and has gained a wider vision on life. To him its
not just eat or be eaten, more where shall we have lunch? Yet the cub has not
really gone, with his own cubs the old Simba can return, much to Zazu's 
dismay, though Rafiki loves this. If he had stayed that way he would have
become an arrogant and dictatorial king, no good at all, now he relies on those
around him, not a bad thing for a king. Being king is also rather different
to what he remembers. He always thought his father chased the hyenas out of
the Pridelands, now he finds out it's not that simple! Simba loves Nala, and
only Nala. This is a result of Pumbaa's (a confirmed bachelor) and Timon's 
(ambiguous sexuality - well almost) influence but for a lion pride this is
not appropriate. A number of the lionesses would dearly love to spend a few
days alone with him but he rebuffs all offers. The pride will eventually die
if this continues. Nala is Ok about Simba's expected role as mate to all, she
is a conventional lioness in that sense but she still cannot quite see why
he is not 'the king I know he is'. He has changed, so has she, they are
effectively from different worlds, where the languages are just different
enough to keep them from talking effectively. Simba is misunderstood and
misunderstanding, but all we love him for it. Unknown to all, least of all
Nala, he lives increasingly in a world of his own into which he retreats
at times of stress, this makes it seem as if the real world is no little
importance, as if he didn't care - but he does, passionately. All outlets
for this are blocked by the harsh realities of the world he physically lives
in. It is only by convergence of his worlds that Simba can ever be at peace
and harmony with either of them. This shows by Simba always looking slightly
quizzical or uneasy, never completely at ease. Even at Thembi's presentation
he looked at him as if to say 'Did I really do that? Is he really mine, am
I a father?', more out of self disbelief than from any fear of Nala's
infidelity. Simba is a troubled soul.


Nala:   An adult lioness.

Mate:   Simba
Age:    5y 6m
Sire:   Scar    Dam:    Sarafina
Offspring:      Thembekile, Nyala and Zenani

Distinctive Physical characteristics:
	Beautiful and powerful, a well proportioned, light sandy coloured 
lioness with a creamy underside. Not even a hint of gold about her. She has
powerful forequarters topped off with prominent rear ear marks and a
pronounced brown spinal line that breaks in three on the top of her head. She
has a generally independent and pleasant outlook with bright intelligent eyes.
Most of us males would give her two or three looks if we met her in a bar but
might be put off as she seems to know how to look after herself.

Character notes:
	Nala, well what can be said? Well a lot actually so here goes. She
grew up with few friends once Simba was lost, presumed dead and remained close
to her mother and thus by implication Sarabi. This resulted in her acquiring
a fiercely independent streak combined with a very strong idea of her own
capabilities. She learned everything from the powerful hunting duo, making it,
in time, into to a flexible threesome, capable of hunting in any combination.
All three are experienced and highly capable they can sustain the pride with
ease. But Nala, like her mother, cannot resist the call of motherhood and is
prepared to use any of her considerable talents to get a lion. As her father
was beyond even her wide tastes she leaves the Pridelands, sneaking out by 
daylight to get help, to get a lion to challenge Scar and to impregnate her.
She ended up in finding a suitable lion by accident whilst hunting a 
particularly substantial warthog - she came face to face, claw to claw, with
a young lion who was surprisingly bad at fighting. Despite her 20% weight
disadvantage she had managed to overpower him! He then shocked her by knowing
her name! Once she had recovered she realised that here was the ideal
candidate, the rightful king of the Pridelands and her cubhood best friend -
Simba. Though his combat technique needed urgent work. She quickly decided to
go hunting again, this time her prey would not escape, he would not even 
want to. She tested his interest by a pool, sure he was attracted to her but
something wasn't quite right, he loved water for one thing! Later she allowed
him to overpower her for the first time. As he revelled in these new feelings
she delivered the final blow and licked him. This awakened something in him,
he was no longer a cub but not yet a true lion. She invited him, but he didn't
seem to be sure of what was expected of him, what 'comes naturally' didn't.
Nala, frustrated and disappointed, later argued with him, not revealing the
real reason why. She eventually taught him and some 105-110 days later three
cubs were the result. But who was she mated to? Simba the lion or Simba the
lion king? She still waits for him to become 'the king I know he is' but
somehow he does not, he doesn't make the decisions, he doesn't know how to
act like the king. Nala gets frustrated by this, surely he should act like his
father, but no, Simba remains resolutely the lion she met, though did not mate, 
in the far off forest. What can she do to change him she asks herself? How 
can she make Simba like she feels he ought to be? This is hopeless, the real
problem is that Nala cannot accept that she loves Simba, the lion. She thinks
but doesn't feel that its all his fault. Troubled times lie ahead. The
unthinkable may yet happen - Nala and Simba may go their separate ways,
probably none too quietly. Who will win, the skilled, deadly huntress or the
powerful, individual lion? Or will one, or even both, see what's happening
and do something to save their lives before its too late? This pair are simply
too good together to part, if they do is there any hope for any of us?

Author's note: I find the voicing of adult Nala to be one of the most 
unsatisfactory elements of TLK. She never came across as being very forceful
and independent which I felt, and still feel, she was, or is it is? This may
be heresy; I'm thankful I can't be burnt at the stake - though I can be
flamed and will probably be saying Hail Sarabi's until the rains come; I would
like to have heard Whoopi Goldberg try Nala, poor Shenzi would have been
a problem though. Her 'attitude' would have hardened Nala considerably
making it easier for me to accept she had left the pride to find help. But
then Matthew Broderick would have been eclipsed, though that might 
have shut the 'Disney are so sexist' reviewers up for a while!



Nyala:  (a Rare South African antelope, grey with black and white vertical 
	stripes and buff underside [there is also a closely related mountain 
	nyala]) An cub lioness. Often known as Yali

Mate:   Too young
Age:    7 or 8 months
Sire:   Simba   Dam:    Nala
Offspring:

Distinctive Physical characteristics:
	Rich golden brown like her father with delicate blotching all over,
she retains most of her cub camouflage and will keep it, though lightened up, 
into adulthood. She has a combination of her parents ear markings - black tips
and backs. She has her mothers light underside, giving her a stark, almost 
thin look. She is lively and vivacious and rarely stops moving, except to 
watch other animals. Clearly good training for a huntress. Now, like her 
father she simply loves to 'run around all day'. She is older than young 
Simba was when we saw him (probably around 4-5 months), thus she is now 
around two thirds of her fully grown height.

Character notes:
	Yali is a true daughter of Simba and Nala, bright and confident. She
takes most things in her stride and she refuses help and advice. She 
occasionally refuses to do something in case she can't do it and thus needs
help. Yali is stubborn and single-minded, like a wild dog she will follow
things through to their natural conclusion and gets seriously frustrated if 
she cannot. She longs to hunt with her mother but is too young. Her 
imagination is not inconsiderable and, at times, frighteningly vivid - however
it is not yet matched by her experience, she knows there's life outside the
Pridelands but doesn't know how to reach it. She has inherited, or learned,
some of Simba's wander-lust. Carefully directed Nyala could become an 
attractive, intelligent, loving and highly capable lioness. Left to herself
she could go anywhere, there is simply no telling where. Nyala is a likeable,
friendly character who occasionally shows flashes of something greater, a true
insight but is more often just a cub who any lioness would love to call their
own, many take her under their paw - she is well liked - this makes her a prime
target for Immue... Her confidence can become blind. She can, and often does,
do things without considering the consequences. This can result in inspired
progress or shattering disaster, either way things happen when Yali's
around. A lot of things do indeed happen, she makes them happen for good or
ill. Yali is prone to making a stand on seemingly minor things, but this is
just a part of her (stubborn?) independent nature. She too just can't wait to
be independent. She has an overly idealised view of her kind, she thinks that
all their food is hunted, whereas only half is lion kill, some 25% being taken
from the hyenas alone! She finds such truths come as not entirely pleasant 
surprises.

Author's notes: For a long time I called this cub Yalli, but then realised that
this was likely to be pronounced as in mall in American English, so all
references to Yalli had to become Yali to give the sound I had in mind! The
'a' is short as in 'at', not as in 'all'.

The name Nyala is actually taken from a Tommy: a Thompson... B1 class 4-6-0
British Railways number 61016: Inyala, one of 410 built between 1948 and 1952.

There is a song (oh no, not another one - Yes, such is the potency of cheap music)
which describes Nyala's feelings really well. This one I'm sure you won't have 
heard. It was written in, or around, 1976 for another animated film. Though, 
like Warthog Rhapsody, it never made the final edit. It was written for an 
older, smaller character, who was that film's equivalent of Nala. The song is 
called Run Like the Wind, and is not to be confused with other songs with the 
same titles. It was written by Mike Batt and was sung by a Scottish lass: 
Barbara Dickson. She later went on to do the lead in an acclaimed musical: 
Blood Brothers. It was released a few years later as the lead track on an 
album she recorded: All for a Song. I doubt if this was ever released in the 
States, it has never been available on CD. Nearly all of the songs on this 
album could be used to some effect for this story, some are wonderful for 
Nala, at least for my version of her. Two stand out in this context: Tonight
could so easily have been Nala's version of Can you Feel... the other is
used in the main body of the script. But these would probably narrow the 
audience range considerably, they certainly demand more than I could 
reasonably expect from an audience of kids, though kids are more capable 
of understanding more than I feel Disney gives them credit for. Anyway, 
for (and from) the record, here are the words to Nyala's Run Like the Wind:

	There's an eagle in the Eastern sky,
	turning in the wind,
	out across the evening,
	resting on the wing.
	If I had the wings of an eagle,
	there'd be no holding me:
	I'd be free, sane and free.              { Versions differ here)
{Alt version: I'd be free, sailing free. }

(Chorus)And one day soon I'm gonna run like the wind,
	one day soon.
	Gonna break away from everything,
	one day soon.
	Nothing in the world's gonna hold me down
	and nothing's gonna keep me in.
	I'm gonna run like the wind.

	And if you should tell me
	that you want to hold me down;
	before the glow of morning
	I'll be gone without a sound.
	The more you try to keep me in
	the less you will succeed!
	Sane and free, sane and free.

(Chorus repeats twice to end)

Ok, then, so what was the film? Well it ended with a fight between two 
powerful rivals, a fight that was no holds barred, no punches pulled, a 
fight to the death (almost) with plenty of blood to prove it. Compare that 
to TLK with its highly stylised fight, no blood, no marks, all very Disney. 
TLK was about Lion: big, strong, dangerous. This film, Watership Down, was 
about wild rabbits. Yes, cute cuddly bunnies....
There is no doubt in my mind that this film influenced TLK to some extent. One 
of its unique characteristics was its use of rich orchestral music coupled 
with scenes in which no characters appeared. The 'This land' sequence in TLK 
is just like this, and is remarkably similar to parts of WD's opening title 
sequence, even down to the bends in the river. The quality of WD is well down 
on TLK but its well worth a look if you can find it! The epilogue sequence is
particularly good and would stand it's own against almost any Disney animation.
The song that survived out of three, Bright Eyes, was the most successful 
song in 1979 over here and sold over 1.5m copies, it was all about - death...! 
Even this was very nearly cut, the reason? Because to have songs would have
made WD like a Disney film, such is the linkage between songs and animation.
As an aside, the General, WD's 'baddy' also had sustained an injury to his 
left eye... In 1978 I had a good idea: to arrange for a VDU, yes it was that 
long ago, to display stills from WD when it was not being used (a book had
conveniently been published giving over 250 such stills). They would change on 
a regular basis and provide a background to what ever I was doing. There were 
technical and cost problems which were quite beyond my resources. Those were 
the days when a 80x24 text only terminal would set you back around œ1000. The 
graphics power required to display such images would have been prohibitive. 
18 years later I complain that the Image selection part of LK screen scenes 
doesn't roll over from the end to the beginning and that I'm not keen on the 
one with the hyenas coming out of the gorge. My personal favourite is, without 
doubt, Simba and Nala realising they have reached they elephant's graveyard 
- wonderful stuff!


Zenani: (first daughter of Nelson Mandela) An cub 
	lioness. Generally known as Zeni

Mate:   Too young
Age:    7 or 8 months
Sire:   Simba   Dam:    Nala
Offspring:

Distinctive Physical characteristics:
	A less vibrant gold than Nyala and Simba, she is slowly loosing her
cub markings that now show only on her underside. She has soft brown rear
ear marks and blends well into the dry grasses. She cannot keep still for
anything for any length of time, yet she is slightly less physical than her 
sister. She never listens to anything she's told. Her tail is particularly 
expressive and often gives away her thoughts and feelings, her tail, unlike 
the rest of her, always tells the truth.

Character notes:
	Zeni is not quite as bright as her sister, she is a bit slower on the
uptake but is loving and, on occasion, demanding. Zeni takes her time over
things but is not slow. She is inclined to be quiet with strangers but opens
up once she is confident about someone. She is physically capable but
thankfully lacks the blind confidence of Nyala. Zeni looks before she leaps,
but then generally leaps anyway. She will probably grow into a reliable,
clear thinking lioness, she could even end up like Sarabi if the circumstances
remain right. Likeable and responsive to affection, Zeni is something of the
'cub next door'. She can, after an awkward period of getting to know everyone,
fit in anywhere and be an effective part of any group without dominating, 
unlike her sister who will always tend to rise to the top. Zeni is not boring
or even ordinary, its just that in comparison to Yali she is a bit less of
most things and probably the better for it. She has an annoying habit of
jumping on everyone with claws extended. This is not universally appreciated,
any prospective mate had better have thick skin! Zeni loves the world she
was born into and finds it fascinating and even enjoys watching the bugs her
father once ate. She is aware of her environment but is almost totally
unaware of time and the concept of getting things done. She, like her father,
tells others 'why do today what can be put off until tomorrow?' She has few
illusions about the world and accepts most of her limitations and takes life
as it comes.


Thembekile: (A very common Thembu name, there were two Thembi's in the circle
	of life chorus. First son, who died in a car accident at 25, of Nelson 
	Mandela) An young lion cub. Generally known as Thembi.

Mate:   Too young
Age:    7 or 8 months
Sire:   Simba   Dam:    Nala
Offspring:

Distinctive Physical characteristics:
	As a younger cub he was indistinguishable from his father at a similar
age, now he is darker, browner even, and has a slightly mottled appearance but
retains his fathers distinctive ear rings. He is less bouncy than his father
was. Thembi will grow to be a true son of his father visually, probably more
muscular with a buff nose tip. At this stage his mane is just a few tufts, 
giving him an appearance not dissimilar to a domestic Persian cat! He is very
physically capable and strong, well he is the grandson of Mufasa, but this
only shows when really needed, he keeps his growing power hidden.

Character notes:
	Simba's son lives, to an extent, in the shadow of his formidable
sisters. He thus lacks Simba's early confidence and is not really sure that
he want's to be king of the Pridelands. Indeed he often feels Nyala should
be king! He is not downhearted however and is secure enough in his own sense
of self worth to know he will, one day, be out on his own and would cope
quite well thank you - regardless of what Nyala might say. He says relatively
little and is not particularly quick, in many ways he is like Pumbaa to 
Yali's Timon. He often spends time alone, out of choice, working through the
world's mysteries such as where does the sun go at the end of the day? He 
suspects its simply behind the world at night. But this sort of thing will
hardly help him once he's king. Thembi on his own may be seen as possibly
slightly boring, his sense of humour is buried deep thanks to Nyala and Zenani.
He needs to spend sometime out on his own, to wander the savannah for a while
to develop as a lion in his own right rather than be smothered, however well
meant, by lionesses - this is the 'normal' lion pattern, leave the home pride,
develop one's own strength and character then take over another pride 
somewhere else, something his father needs to do to be happy, to be a real 
adult lion.


Sarafina:       An adult lioness. Sometimes known as Saffi, but never by
		Sarabi.

Mate:   Scar(!)
Age:    11 but will only admit to 9
Sire:   Unknown Dam:    Unknown
Offspring: Nala, and a lion cub, possibly others, she's not telling!

Distinctive Physical Characteristics:
	Very lightly coloured with light brown rear ear marks and slight
spinal line, spotted on her forequarters if we look carefully. She generally
displays a cheerful disposition but her heavy forequarters and rugged profile
suggest great power is available when demanded. Sarafina is bright-eyed and
attractive in a shot-putter kind of way! She uses her strength in climbing
trees, this causes some friction with the leopards!

Character notes:
	Nala's mother is bright, friendly and fun to be with. The best friend
of Sarabi, they are often seen together lazing about the Pridelands, 
Sarafina's light hearted nature compliments Sarabi's more serious aspect. As 
a parent she is fine, as a huntress she is formidable. Out there on the 
savannah her cheerful side drops out of sight, she is a professional, a 
natural born killer. She and Sarabi form one of the most ruthlessly efficient hunting
partnerships for many miles around. They work as if they were sisters, which
they are not for Sarafina is one of the very few outsiders ever to come to
the Pridelands, albeit at around three years old, though why remains veiled
in secrecy. She confesses to a moment, well best part of a week really, of
weakness. She and Sarabi came into season more or less together, Sarabi, the
senior lioness took Mufasa; Sarafina, who wanted cubs at any price, took the
only lion available - Scar. 'He had one or two good points' she insists but
this union was a business arrangement, no more. They both got what they paid
for. The product was Nala, who it seems, inherited more than the lionesses
share of Sarafina's genes! She is generous and kind hearted, unless you're
on the dinner menu, and would allow others to take advantage of her if it 
were not for Sarabi (as shown by Sarabi's insistence than Zazu accompany
Simba and Nala to the 'waterhole'). Sarafina would like more cubs but is not
entirely happy with mating her son in law. She did allow Scar to give her a
son, who would now be three or so, but Scar drove him off a short time before
Simba's return. This though is normal lion behaviour. Her son may look a bit
his father but inherited much of Saffi's character.



Immue:  (After a real Ngorongoro crater lioness) An adult lioness.

Mate:   Ahadi
Age:    Uncertain probably 15 or 16, an older lioness
Sire:   Unknown Dam:    Unknown
Offspring: Scar and two lioness still with the pride

Distinctive Physical Characteristics:
	An upland lioness, from a non-native sub-species. She is darkly
coloured with pronounced spotting. She is larger than the locals with a longer,
thinner, nose but a shorter tail. She is an imposing if a little unsettling
sight but her colouration is ill suited to the Pridelands scrub. She is
physically vulnerable to disease as she has little resistance to the strains
picked up on the Pridelands, it is remarkable that she has lived this long.

Character notes:
	Orphaned, rescued and hand-reared by man, Immue was rehabilitated and
released back to the wild at around four years old. However she, being from a
quite different region, never fitted in to the savannah scene and, having
never learned the subtleties of leonine relationships, now lives on the edge
of the pride. She is a sad and lonely shadow of a lioness. However she is not
unintelligent but long years of enforced loneliness have taken their toll, she
is deeply disturbed (the REAL Immue was REALLY disturbed, far worse than any
character here could be, this is considerably toned down from life!). Her one
high spot however was, following a now forgotten incident, when she blackmailed
Ahadi into providing her with cubs; one, a male, being the son of the king,
was brought up as such as the younger brother of two. He, should anything
have happened to the elder brother, would have become king. We all know what
actually happened! Whilst her son had a chance of greatness she was satisfied,
on his death she lapsed deeper into her shadowy world. Now she wants to revenge
her son's death and want's it to happen painfully and slowly, and Simba's 
who's to blame...

Author's note: After all that I have misgivings about including Immue in the 
final version of the script. She's a villain all right but is probably too 
real to be a Disney type. This lioness, if she were human would need our help, 
not our condemnation, she is a sad case of what happens when someone is cut 
off from society and isolated. She never says anything and her influence is 
small, she may well not make the final cut, thus saving Timon. 
May she at last rest in peace with her beloved son.
A late plot reorganisation has saved Timon without requiring Immue to be cut, 
though I still have qualms about her. This, like many ideas, came to me whilst 
doing the washing up. You see, dishwashers can ruin your LK life!
CJB 25/9/86.
Later still she came into her own at last. I knew there was a good reason for
creating her! She now has a good part as the catalyst for the main plotline.
She had to have a vocal style created for her, her catchphrase turned out to
be: 'Simply too easy.{evil smile}' and she repeats words excessively: 'no, no,
no, my dear.' She is undoubtedly the mother of Scar. She eventually discovers
that lions who live in canyons shouldn't roar. All qualms gone now, I like her!
CJB 31/10/96


Sarabi: (Mirage) An adult lioness. Won't allow a familiar name.

Mate:   Mufasa
Age:    12 and proud of it
Sire:   Unknown Dam:    Unknown
Offspring: Simba and other lioness still with the pride

Distinctive Physical Characteristics:
	Darker, almost hazel brown, than the other lionesses, except, perhaps
Immue. She has very distinctive dark brown tipped ears. She always bears
herself as the senior lioness, always upright and proud, though in lions pride
is no sin. Sleek and well proportioned - a fine lioness, bearing her age well.

Character notes:
	Came to the Pridelands as a passenger and was born soon after her
mother arrived with Ahadi. As the first cub to be born on the Pridelands she 
has always been special, always belonged here. For her to suggest leaving the
Pridelands took great personal courage and vision; things must have been 
desperate. As this has been her home for so long she is intimately acquainted
with every detail of the land. She is totally adapted to life here and all
other life on the Pridelands knows it. The three Queens: Sarabi, Sarafina
and Nala, are the true power on the Pridelands, their presence ensures order.
They are respected if seen, feared if smelt without being seen. Simba
cannot command this kind of respect, he's just a figure head by comparison.
Sarabi mated Mufasa, the son of Ahadi and, like Sarafina, would like more
cubs but she is more selective: Scar was totally unacceptable, and Simba, well
he's her son! Often she wishes Mufasa would return but knows he's dead, she
admits this only to Sarafina, though like all the lionesses she never saw
his body. She tends to take out her frustration on the Wildebeest, though this
is nothing personal, its business. Sarabi cannot forget her time as Queen, she
forgets she is STILL the real monarch of the savannah! Sarafina keeps Sarabi 
from becoming stuffy and snobbish, bringing her back to earth - generally
with a remark that would result in a claws unleashed blow if it came from
anyone else! With Saffi, she lets her formal side slip and is transformed
into a cool, sophisticated and friendly lioness and a caring mother. She put
up with no nonsense from Mufasa nor from Simba, it is from Sarabi that Simba
developed his sense of fairness and justice. If you were to meet a human
Sarabi, you would not be sure of what approach to make, certainly anything 
crass would be met with steely indifference, or more likely, a heavy slap!
It would be far worse if she was a real lioness.

Author's note: Madge Sinclair will be sadly missed, her portrayal of Sarabi,
particularly in confrontation with Scar, gave much flesh to this note. It 
wasn't the only time she played an African queen to James Earl-Jones' king, in 
'Coming to America' the pair did much the same, the scene in the cab must 
surely have influenced the casting for TLK. Even Simba drew something from 
Eddie Murphy's Prince Akeem, possibly his taste in lionesses....



Mufasa: An adult lion, secretly known by Sarabi as Fluffy ( Sorry, couldn't
	resist it! CJB 25/9/96 )

Mate:   Sarabi
Age:    Would now have been 11
Sire:   Ahadi   Dam:    Unknown
Offspring:      Simba and other lionesses still with the pride

Distinctive Physical characteristics:
	Richly golden brown like his son, dark mane like his son, generally
much like his son BUT with a dark brown nose tip and an always well cared for
mane and tail tip. Mufasa was generally more generously proportioned than his
son, more heavily built and always looked like a king and always moved like
one. He rarely ran, preferring to proceed at his own stately pace. Mufasa
always acted the part of king to the full. If he were to be alive now then
all this would remain to some extent, he would be older of course, perhaps
less proud and less like a king and more like his son, if we were to be able
to see these two together now it would be difficult to tell them apart, except
for those noses and ears. Mufasa would now move a little awkwardly, due to
injuries long since healed, and would appear to have 'been around a bit' as
we say. With scarring on his forepaws, shoulders and side, his mane possibly
slightly ragged and greying, he would be an older, wiser, lion.

Character notes:
	Why? You may well ask, surely Mufasa is dead? Well, and you'll have to
be sitting down with an exceedingly large scotch and a box of tissues for 
this: He's alive, reasonably well and living as a solitary lion, well away
from the Pridelands, so far away that he doesn't know how to get back, and has
long since given up any hope of return as he knows his son would now be king.
Though he would have had to challenge Scar for control of Priderock. Mufasa
is now rather like Simba the vagabond, whilst Simba is a little more like
Mufasa the king. Mufasa now follows, when they are around, a camp that springs
up from time to time on his patch. This is a convenient source of scraps and,
if he's feeling a little under the weather, forms a good place to recuperate
for a few days or so. He does not regard those that live there as food, they
are his providers. This is a reasonable life for a lonely ex-king, he does
not intend to join a pride, his injuries mean his fighting days are over, he
avoids confrontation, being prepared to humiliate himself rather than stand
and fight. He is no coward of course, merely realistic. He has his own patch,
small though it is, and will defend it if it can be done reasonably safely.
Mufasa is now a hardened character, wiser and more wary than before. He would
see what Scar was up to instead of having blind faith in his brother; but he
has moved on from the intrigue of his younger days and is now at peace with
his unusual yet satisfying lifestyle - Hakuna Matata he might say, if he knew
the words. One thing is certain, he thinks Simba is still alive and one day
he might see him again, somewhere out there under the stars....

Author's note: Gulp, what have I done? How have I done it? Well the script
answers those questions. How dare I? Well that's easy - this is Disney (Ok,
pseudo-Disney) and it needs magic of a type no one else can do, this is it.
As far as I know Mufasa was the only main character we ever see actually dead 
in a Disney feature (experts may put me right on this). It was a bold step
and I think the right one. My five and three year olds (Nyala and Zenani...)
took it with tearful eyes and understood a little of what it meant, they felt 
with Simba. There was no blood: visibly at least, Mufasa was practically 
untouched so what had happened, was he really dead? Certainly he was lifeless 
and probably by our standards dying but not actually gone yet. For sure unless 
something happened soon then he would be dead within the hour. He was as good 
as, and as far as Simba could tell, and as far as Scar wanted to tell, dead 
already. By the time Scar had gone back to the pride and some of the lionesses 
had gone to the gorge to see what had happened they found nothing but 
disturbed ground and strange tracks where, presumably, some large animal had 
dragged the body off. That was that, back to the rock and Scar's ascendance 
speech. No Mufasa, no Simba. Scar said Simba had died and no one ever found 
HIS body, but he lived. Now its Mufasa's turn....


Sala:   (Rafiki's daughter, no, not our one! A seasonal tributary of the Tana 
	in the Kora, Kenya) An adult lioness.

Mate:   Zimmale, well almost
Age:    Uncertain, probably 4
Sire:   Unknown Dam:    Rafiki (honest)
Offspring: None yet, have you met Zimmale?

Distinctive Physical Characteristics:
	A small but beautiful and delicate lioness. While she is a skilled
tracker and precision hunter of small game, she lacks the power to reliably
tackle large prey single pawed, her sister, Tana, is not much help here. She
is smaller than her sister, and smaller and less powerful still than Nala and
the other Pridelands lionesses. She is darker, more golden than most lioness,
richly coloured with darker regions around her shoulders, her eyes are a rich
orange-yellow. A temptress who never tempts. (The real Tana and Sala were 
actually the other way round, Tana was the smaller more beautiful one, Sala 
was bigger. They died, shot, before any one had a good chance to assess their 
characters. These are my ideas, the real Tana and Sala should not be judged 
by these descriptions; they certainly did not deserve to die. They were both
probably fathered by the real Zimmale.)

Character notes:
	Sala is quiet and unassuming, self confident, thoughtful and not
without humour. She is a perfect balance to her sister. Sala has the looks
to get any lion if she tried, and has the attractive leonality to match but
her time is yet to come; she is sure of that. Zimmale wasn't right, he was
Tana's lion, though how much good did he do her? It is difficult to know
what the Pridelands lionesses will make of Sala, she is so different 
physically and mentally from Sarabi and the rest that anything could happen.
However her confident, intelligent manner should carry her through any
unpleasantness. In time, even Sarabi will come to value her precision hunting
skills which, eventually, lead in a significant reduction in the time the
Pridelands Queens spend on wasted attacks. And what will Nala think of her,
the lioness who takes her beloved Simba? Well, the answers simple, Nala likes
her from the start, its Nala who 'arranges' for Simba to meet Sala under more
favourable conditions, they become like sisters, bonded by a common love.
Remember they are lionesses, that's for sure!


Tana:   (Furaha, Rafiki's sister's, daughter. A river 
	in the Kora, Kenya) An adult lioness.

Mate:   Zimmale, as often as possible, though she's never conceived
Age:    Uncertain, probably 4
Sire:   Unknown Dam:    Furaha
Offspring: None yet, though not for want of trying.

Distinctive Physical Characteristics:
	A modest sized lioness, of no particular distinction. She is not
particularly attractive, though she shows most of the beautiful colouration
of her sister, Sala. Tana is bigger and more powerful than Sala, though that
power is not evenly distributed, giving her a slightly unbalanced look, not
quite the elegant feline we might expect. She is a bigger more 'rounded'
version of Sala. Despite her size she is a hopeless hunter, as she is prone
to frightening the game. Zimmale, despite his faults, used to help Sala hunt,
indeed it was on a buffalo hunt that he died under less than pleasant 
circumstances.

Character notes:
	Oh dear, what can we say? Tana is a 'mane chaser', her sole desire in
life is to get herself a lion. No, why stop at one? The more the better. As
Sala says she's in season all season. The problem is that Tana overpowers
most lion, Mufasa included! Instead of adopting a more delicate approach she
simply redoubles her efforts when rebuffed. She is not unkind, nor unfriendly,
she is simply one track minded. Her integration into the Pridelands will be
brutal and short, she is not appreciated. It will leave her isolated, a case
of sink or swim. Her other qualities will hopefully come to the fore
otherwise she will end up like Immue. In the meantime the double act of Sala
and Tana rolls on unstoppably. She will one day confess to Pumbaa that no one
likes her and considers leaving altogether. Pumbaa confesses that he often 
felt like that, its a case of 'Hakuna Matata'. She must stop worrying about
the past, its over, and start afresh on the future. If she just stopped
chasing manes then perhaps the manes might just start chasing her. Respect
from the other lionesses would then come in time, if she kept her mouth shut
for once! She takes the hint, much to her credit. As Pumbaa says: 'Naa, they
won't forget, but they might wonder how well they remember.'

Author's note: Whilst filling the washing machine I hummed a tune, I did not
quite know why, until I sang a few of the words. Here are some of those lines:
'woh oh, here she comes, look out boys she'll chew you up, oh ho here she
comes - she's a man(e) eater(chaser)!', Domesticity seems to have its advantages!
I have Jo Brand, a British post-feminist comedienne, in mind as her voice, 
though she might object! For Sala I tentatively suggest Victoria Wood, 
I'm not sure if these two have yet worked together, they certainly wont on 
this project! They are also white and European, so there's bound to be yet 
more speculation about racism and WASP dominance....CJB 26/9/96


Timon:  An adult male Meerkat, has other names but don't ask. 

Mate:   If he can.
Age:    Who's asking? (he's definitely a relatively old Meerkat)
Sire:   Probably...     Dam:    Now look, this is getting kinda personal!
Offspring: Hey, what is this?

Distinctive Physical Characteristics:
	A Meerkat. That's distinctive enough! Estimate of his height vary from
6" to 12", probably closer to the latter but it varies depending on the
situation! He is much more boldly striped than the typical meerkat of Meerkats
United from which he undoubtedly was derived. He is otherwise typical but
likes walking on his hind legs only whereas other meerkats generally prefer
quadrapedal transport. This is probably to avoid him looking even smaller
when in the company of Pumbaa and Simba. His broad colouration is matched
only by his broad, up front character.

Character notes:
	The wise cracking, all singing and dancing Timon is not all that he
appears to be at first sight. His brash, confident exterior is something of
a front and although he's quick it doesn't really reflect his intelligence,
which, if anything, cannot quite match Pumbaa's. As a pair however they get
along just fine, each complimenting the other weaknesses. Timon is 
occasionally(!) over the top and laughs at his own, bad, jokes too often. His
seemingly unshakeable faith in life is irresistible, really though he longs
for a quiet life, family, burrow of his own - that sort of thing. He has 
grown careless, or at least carefree, over the years. He has forgotten the
value of the considerable umbrella of protection that first Pumbaa, and later
Simba, provide. As a friend of Simba and Pumbaa he is safe, as a meerkat he
is vulnerable, VERY vulnerable. His advice to Simba is of variable usefulness:
he reacts - he does not consider; but Simba knows this and uses Pumbaa as a
balance. Simba is also aware that meerkats don't live long and that Timon is
not going to be around for ever. Timon likes to take other's ideas and use
them as his own. He also takes some time to get the thread of events around
him, whilst he always likes to make out he's on top of everything. If he was
serious he would be unbearable but as he is its difficult not to like him, for
all his faults. He is, for all that, intensely loyal and a true friend to 
those he likes. He and Zazu don't get on at all, probably for they are more
similar than either would care to admit!


Pumbaa: (Simpleton) An adult male Warthog. 

Mate:   Why?
Age:    Who knows?
Sire:   Unknown Dam:    Uncertain
Offspring: Not likely, no time for all that.

Distinctive Physical Characteristics:
	A relatively good looking Warthog(!), loves a good wallow, 
especially as he's remarkably short haired for a warthog. Has just two
significant warts, rather than the four of most others. His flowing black
mane is, like Simba's, unkempt and wild. His ears are alert and receptive.
He is best approached from upwind.

Character notes:
	Slow but not unintelligent - surprised? You should be for Pumbaa is
not merely stupid, he's much more than that - he's spent all his life being
put down one way or another and now acts the part. His grip on the world is
however considerable, he's used to watching, considering and waiting for the
right moment to avoid a potentially cruel wise crack. He is inclined towards
self-pity. All Pumbaa really needs is some personal success and assertiveness.
What may happen after Timon is gone is anybody's guess, but he could come
into his own, it could be that his time will come. Until then he remains the
perfect foil to Timon and the perfect meerkat transport system, though Thembi
runs a close second. If there's one thing that Pumbaa likes more than mud, its
food - any food, any time, any where. He really isn't interested in being a
father, life's too good for all that sort of thing. It may have been an 
incident relating to such things that led to him becoming an outcast, but
who knows? He likes Nala and, perhaps surprisingly, spends a fair amount of
time with Rafiki, for Pumbaa is older and more experienced than he seems at
first sight; a bit of a dark horse in fact... He's quite prepared, and capable
of looking after himself in the field, those tusks (actually upper canine
teeth) are well able to inflict severe injuries if well directed.


Rafiki: (Friend) An adult male Mandrill. 

Mate:   Unknown
Age:    Too old to bother to count
Sire:   Unknown Dam:    Unknown
Offspring: None known, probably none.

Distinctive Physical Characteristics:
	A old, thin mandrill, whose, well, how can I put this delicately, 
behind is blue rather than the normal orange/red! This could explain the 
distinct lack of a Mrs and little Rafikis. He is remarkably agile and usually 
carries a long stick topped by hanging gourds. Has been known to use his
stick as an offensive weapon. If approached he might try to sell you 
something and get unpleasant if you don't buy anything! Lives in the bowl 
of a massive baobab tree.
Author's note: The spelling checker in Works didn't like baobab, not
unsurprisingly (it doesn't like nyala either), however it suggested baboon 
as the alternative. Creepy....

Character notes:
	Rafiki's stick marks him out as a sangoma, a medicine 'man', though 
his credentials are of doubtful origin. He lost count of his birthdays years 
ago, it is doubtful that he can even count but as nobody else on the 
Pridelands can this is not widely known. Just how Rafiki came to live in the
Pridelands - he clearly is from another part of Africa - and how he came to be 
in such an position of influence with the kings is not recorded. That 
influence is undoubted and his experience appears to be broad as well as 
deep, clearly he knows some ancient magic but then again... His language is
said to be Swahili, however all the songs he's involved with (He lives in you,
It's time) suggest he's Xhosa. Simba has respect for Rafiki but they are hardly
friends. Rafiki's use of his stick saw to that, however he is friendly and 
approachable. A enigmatic character who never gives anything away about 
himself, perhaps his latest friend Pumbaa can get the juicy details, but we
shall have to wait and see. His sexuality is doubtful, or at least confused,
but that can be said about most of him!

Author's note: I shall never be able to sing 'Zadok the priest' with a 
straight face again! For me, Zadok will always have a blue.... It is clear 
that Circle of Life drew, possibly unconsciously, from British coronation 
imagery. 'Zadok' is one of the most famous coronation anthems and its musical 
structure: chant like pattern in the strings, building by steady variations 
to the most wonderful, fortissimo, choral opening: Zadok the priest and Nathan 
the prophet anointed Solomon king. And all the people rejoiced and sang: God 
save the king, long live the king, the king shall reign for ever and ever, 
hallelujah, Amen; sounds familiar. Time it right and this works as the music 
to the opening of TLK. Try it, the choral opening should coincide with Rafiki 
holding Simba up, to do this you will probably have to run the video after 
the start of the introduction of Zadok, depending on the conductor! It seems 
that the 18th C was good for film music as Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus, Requiem 
and Handel's Zadok (1727 for George II) all date from this century....


Zazu:   An adult male Hornbill. 
Mate:   Said to exist, name unknown
Age:    Unknown
Sire:   Unknown Dam:    Unknown
Offspring: Probably, he likes to talk non-specifically about his family.

Distinctive Physical Characteristics:
	Reportedly a hornbill, but which species I haven't yet discovered. He
is a brightly coloured bird with long tail feathers and is given to dramatic
aerial swoops at crucial moments, very pretty. His feathers must be quick
growing for he's forever loosing them. He makes the perfect pouncing target.
His eyes are excessively large, which accounts for his role as savannah info-
junkie. A bright splash of colour, not just visual, on the Pridelands.

Character notes:
	Zazu is a formal bird who takes his role seriously, much to Simba's
annoyance. He always tells the same jokes and gives the daily report in 
exactly the same manner each and every day. This can be used to good effect
as you know where he'll be! He acts as personal assistant and social 
secretary to the Pridelands kings. It is possible that he's always lived
here and took up this role when Ahadi and the Pride moved in, as the resident
filofax he was naturally found to be indispensable. His loyalty is to the
kingdom not to the king, what he will think of Mufasa's return is unknown. I
suspect Simba may well find a lot of the flak he has sent Zazu's way will 
come back with interest. He's spent such a lot of time around (and even in)
lions that he's beginning to forget that he's a bird. He is known to have
many anonymous relatives, though where these might be is not well established.


*** The notes ***

You'll have to wait for these. There aren't so many as I expected as so much
has stayed in the script. But first the answer to a simple question:

	Why a script? The answer is simple: because The Lion King was a film,
or, if you're from over the pond, a movie. TLK has never, as far as I am 
aware, been 'novelised'. The two media are quite different. In a book the
author has more freedom to manipulate time, to convolute the plot, to expose
different angles, to develop characters in depth. In a film script there is
less opportunity to do these, though a writer still has to address all of
these issues. A script must usually stress one thing: to tell the story 
through the dialogue of the characters, there are many notable exceptions to
this of course, especially in 'art' cinema, but in general a 'mainstream' 
movie must concentrate on the plot via the characters. In animation this is
even more true as the visual stylisation is less capable of displaying subtle
emotions and states of mind, what happens is critical, it is the animation
itself that gives life to the characters. TLK is notable for it's portrayal
of really quite complex emotion for animation. I doubt if any male in the
audience did not understand Nala when she looked at Simba during Can you 
Feel the Love... Yet no words were used. Animation characters can have only
a limited range of expression compared to a live action actor so what they
say becomes even more important. If we are writing for a mixed age audience
then the problems become even more difficult as we have to keep as wide a
range of the audience as involved as possible. TLK was a superb example of 
this. It's as if the younger and older viewers saw different films at the
same time. If we consider the needs of our younger audience then further
constraints appear, The narrative must be clear and flow linearly. Thus Timon
is used as a 'rustic' to help explain to those who weren't really following 
the dialogue: 'Time out...Lemme get this straight. You know...'. We must
also avoid adding confusion by overly manipulating time. Even so we accept
the stampede happening at midday (brilliant sun, shadows cast directly below)
we then see Mufasa dead on the gorge floor, also at midday, though through
the haze of the dust. Yet by the time Simba has scrambled to the top of the
gorge it is sunset. We accept this and it looks great and it fits our 
emotional expectations as Mufasa once said : 'One day, Simba, the sun will set
on my time here and will rise with you as the new king.' Indeed it does but
we see the new king lying dying on the desert. In a script we must be careful
to get the timing right, at least right enough to allow suspension of 
disbelief.
	A script is a quite different animal to a novel. The constraints are
greater and the challenge rather different. To have done this as a novel would
have required an altogether different approach and probably a different plot.
That's why so many people complain about films: 'Well, it's Ok but it's 
nothing like the book.'. It cannot be, very often the book is concerned with
thoughts and emotions and reactions to situations, books often give only broad
sketches of locations, or otherwise super-accurate descriptions of precise
detail thus we may be told exactly what is on a table at a dinner, even down
to how low the candles are burning yet we may be told nothing about the walls
of the room in which the dinner takes place. It is the intimacy of the table
that matters not the location. In a film we see both the table and the room
and most likely the house as well, all elements must be present, a book thus
has to be 'opened out' for the film, sometimes loosing those qualities that 
made the story work as a book. With all this in mind I decided to write this 
story as a script and add as much visual imagery as I reasonably could. I
was fortunate that as you all had seen The Lion King you could add the
background and much of the visual detail for yourself, though a real
production would have had to find its own visual style and voice. This would
have come through the wider range of terrain than was found in TLK.  The
rocky areas were inspired by a region bordering the Namib desert, however
I am sure there is nowhere where such a wide range of terrain can be found in
such close proximity. This is not Africa, this is my world, my own Pridelands.
	I found that I had to have a clear concept of the characters before
I could write for them effectively, this is where the character sketches came
in. They were not intended to include every detail, they are just sketches,
instead they were meant to include useful traits and historical details that
would allow them to act and interact consistently and clearly. It is thus
only Sarafina who can get away with calling Sarabi 'Too old' to be interested 
in lions. Sarabi isn't of course, Sarafina is just being 'catty'! Immue was 
interesting in this respect. I had originally thought that she would be simply
lurking in the background and would be talked about by others. She was to have
been thought to have killed Timon to get at Simba who would then have been
forced to do something about her. Then it became clear that there was to be
too much introductory material at the start and that the main plotline needed
to get going as fast as reasonably possible. To do this I decided to bring
Immue out of the shadows and onto centre stage. She now had a talking part so
a voice was needed for her, she, being Scar's mother, must have clearly 
influenced him so she must sound closely related though not simply a female
version of Scar. This in turn allowed Timon to be kept alive.... The sequence 
where the dogs are introduced by Zazu was originally to have been part of a 
second morning report. Again this would have elongated the start, so the vital 
part was integrated into the first morning report. The remnants of the old 
scene were then recycled and placed at the end to explain Timon's absence! If 
this were to have been used in a real film then this would most likely have 
been scrapped altogether as the end would probably have been cut tighter. 
However as I am working on my own and don't have the feedback of others I 
have kept it in as I like it! Also this would have been merely the first 
draft as had it been produced, much hacking, tuning, replotting and rewriting 
would have been needed before it was ready to be animated, I have been spared 
that! Likewise the music and design would have been done by others, My ideas 
would have just been starting points and definitely of little more than 
passing significance. Disney animated films have always used only original 
music, such use of existing material would not have been acceptable.
	Plotting is tricky and, for me at least, evolutionary. My original
idea involved Simba's daughter, as yet unnamed, running away from home for 
unclear reasons and Simba going after her. He was to have been shot by 
poachers and nursed back to health by humans. He would have eventually 
returned to Priderock to find that his son had taken over during his lengthy 
absence. He would have left with Nala into the sunset. The problems with this 
were primarily motivational. Why did it happen? Why would we care? I realised 
that a spot of true magic was needed. I wondered what was the one thing that 
all those who had seen TLK would most like to see but would have never dared 
hope for? What would Simba have most wanted but never dared hope for? What 
would make this film memorable? I knew what I wanted. It was however 
impossible to achieve, unless... What, I thought, if those who helped Simba 
had done this some years before? If so, why? The reason for their presence was 
given to me on a plate. They were releasing wild dogs back into the wild, and 
it gave a useful set of hooks as such reintroductions are rarely successful as 
dogs do not behave as a viable pack by instinct, they do it by learning from 
the pack around them as they grow. This allowed a running(!) joke to be 
developed which gave a role for our fearsome threesome, the hyenas. Now, as 
this is the second attempt to release dogs, I had a reason for the human 
presence and an opportunity for them to come across a dying lion in a 
gorge.... Still I had this vision of Simba and Nala leaving the Pridelands to 
form another pride elsewhere. The problem was Thembi, as this would leave the 
pride in even greater difficulties than before, requiring either a lengthy 
tailpiece or another sequel! No, this was too messy, and I could see no way 
out. Mufasa and Simba together would not have worked if all Simba had was 
Nala. I had other problems, the return to Priderock was turning into a long 
'buddy' sequence, thick with dialogue but lacking in action. I planned a 
dramatic river crossing scene in which Simba, who is happy in water, would 
have to save his father from drowning in a swollen river. Fine in principle 
but just didn't seem to work right. Perhaps a hunt might be better, we've 
already seen how it should be done, the contrast with Simba and Mufasa would 
have allowed a few humorous moments. I outlined it on paper and put it to one 
side. Then the pieces started to fall into place. What if Simba and Mufasa 
were to encounter another lion? Yes, but Simba was no good at fighting and 
both were somewhat the worse for wear, the result could only be death of one 
or both. Ah but, what if they were to encounter some lionesses? So Sala and 
Tana were born, they could provide the genetic balance the pride desperately 
needed. Simba could stay, we now had a two (related) lion, nine lioness (or 
thereabouts) pride with genuine breeding potential. Not perfect but workable! 
As I wrote Sala's approach to Simba I thought what I needed was a contrast, 
so Tana barged past her half sister and the rest flowed naturally. The plot
problems and motivation had now been mostly resolved. The structure was more
balanced and the end wrapped up reasonably well. Time to sort out a few 
indulgent details, mostly funnies, and that was that. Well almost, as less 
than one third was at anything other than outline stage I had to embark on a 
crash writing program which continues still... In this process the buffalo 
hunt took on new significance as it was now the key moment in Simba becoming
the true king of Priderock as he makes the final step to being an adult as
he takes his destined place in the Circle of Life.
	All this had to have a background based on reality, Simba had, I felt,
to be a lion, not merely a human in a lion suit. Thus his attitude, and that
of Nala and all the others, had to be based to some extent on what a lion 
might think. Simba thus is perhaps a little quick to resort to a swipe when
Ed hangs about; Nala expects Simba to mate with other lionesses and the cubs
don't always get treated as though they were the most important things around.
The hyenas are shown to be vital providers of lion food, if anything it is the
lions who are the 'scavengers', though they much prefer fresh meat and disdain 
carrion. As much as 25% of many a lion's diet comes from hyena kill. This also
allowed Simba's early memories to be shown as being somewhat selective. The
'classic' scene of lion feeding off a kill with hyenas lurking restlessly in
the background is generally not because the hyena are waiting to take the
kill from the lions, it is because they are waiting to take what's left of
their kill back! All very unlike Disney, but there again I am not writing a 
real Disney film, just a fantasy one, my version of Disney is allowed to have 
a sharper edge and treat it's audiences with the kid gloves left on the 
cutting room floor. To achieve this I have borrowed from many sources. For 
instance, Elsa's favourite method of controlling her cubs, apart from a sharp 
cuff, was to sit on them! Her son, Jespah, could not always be relied on to 
withdraw his claws. Whilst Timon's adventures were derived from those of a 
meerkat in 'Meerkats Divided' called Bandit who really did take advantage of
Nkosi's mate while his back was turned.
	What about Timon and Pumbaa? Indeed what about them, they don't
really have a scene together. There are good reasons for this. Firstly I
can't easily write for them! I'm not a gag writer and wise cracks are not my
scene. Anyway I thought that Pumbaa on his own would make a refreshing change
as the pair have been seen quite a lot recently! It turned out that there
were no scenes in which they were together for any length of time, remember
that originally I was going to bring Timon's short life to an end! The cubs
would not have been pleased! Likewise Rafiki, whilst being useful in providing
motivation, does not play such a pivotal role as he did in TLK, he certainly
has no need of any special powers. This is part a consequence of using an
emotionally based plot, rather than a action based plot. In this story things
happen because of what characters think not just because of what they do. It's
less accessible to children however so I had to strike a balance by careful
use of humour (I can't write gags so humour it has to be) and the familiar
supporting characters; thus Pumbaa had to go after Simba, just to avoid the
return to Priderock from becoming too heavy!
	Did I succeed? Well, I don't think I'll give up the day job just yet.
Although I set out to write a film that could conceivably have been produced
by Disney, I feel that I strayed early on from that path into areas which,
understandably, the Walt Disney company would fear to tread. The concept of an
animated, mainstream, film for adults which children could also enjoy is not 
a new one, though it is a rare one. This is NOT it and by some margin. One
of the messages that could be given by this script is that a lion must be
prepared to kill to maintain it's place in the Circle of Life. Fine for a lion
and a message I would be quite happy to spread around here in quiet Godshill,
but I know this would be seen as incitement to riot and worse in Miami or 
Los Angeles! And what about portrayal of a children's hero as a confused kid
in a lion's body? One who breaks down in front of his father? Well, I'm Ok
with this, why can't males be shown as human? But others might read this as
an attack on the role of the father. I feel strongly that it can strengthen
that role, I AM a father of REAL children. Ok, so what about Nyala, a female 
cub who behaves as you might expect a son to behave? Well, why not? Do you 
have a problem with that? If so, perhaps you might examine your own ideas 
first. Nyala is based on one of my own daughters, Nyala is a little older 
perhaps but my daughter is no tomboy, just an ordinary young girl who's slowly 
finding her own place in the great circle. I also noticed that, over time, the 
tone became significantly darker. 'Chase' in particular as this deals with 
transition from the tranquillity of the Pridelands(cubhood) to the danger of 
the other savannah region(adulthood) with its frightened animals and ever 
present feared pride, even though they turn out to be just Sala and Tana! We 
never get to meet the really dangerous male, Zimmale, and perhaps that's just 
as well. In this and surrounding scenes Simba's illness plays a strong part. 
I originally conceived this as a device to help explain his (in)actions at
certain critical parts of the plot. However later it's role was unconsciously
extended so that it mirrored Simba's decline into what had become depression,
though I never intended it to be like this. As his illness gets worse so he
pulls back into his private world and away from the real one, his self-doubts
grow and he more and more convinces himself that he's no longer wanted. His
body is healed but he is not, if it wasn't for the fact that he thinks he's
already dead as he sits in the stockade he would probably be suicidal! This
is not a Disney character. Even after he finds his father his depression does 
not lift entirely, this is not the Simba I had intended to create though I 
feel he retains most of his dignity throughout. Perhaps this is all too heavy 
for kids under, say, 10. There again, perhaps I've just lived with him for 
too long!
	This was my first serious attempt at anything approaching 'creative'
writing. Apart from being an engineer I suffer from one other major 
disadvantage, I have never been to Africa. I have only ever seen lion lazing 
about in zoos, not surprising Simba takes time to be a lion, and never becomes 
the king Nala knows he is. Oh, well it was fun - while it lasted.

And now for some real notes. These could have been inserted in the script and
often give additional detail or related information. They are not essential
to the script but just help to provide background. First some notes to 
illustrate my reading of certain vital scenes from TLK:

The scene where Mufasa's 'ghost' appears to Simba is possibly the one that may 
be seen as the biggest problem. Just what did Simba see? In this critical 
scene Rafiki says:

Correction - I know your father.
 ...
Nope. Wrong again!....He's alive! and I'll show him to you.
...
No. Look harder....You see, he lives in you.

{ Mufasa then appears to Simba, momentarily in the pool and then in the 
clouds. }

What was that? The weather - Pahpph Very peculiar. Don't you think?
...

I have taken this to mean that Rafiki shows Simba his own memories of his 
father. The pool is a metaphor for Simba's mind. First he sees his reflection: 
his familiar outward appearance. Rafiki then tells Simba to look harder: 
harder, that is, at himself who he sees in the water. When Simba does so he 
sees the image of his father. Then, in a rumble of thunder, he hears his 
father call to him from the clouds, and not from the stars as we have been led 
to expect had he been dead. At no time in this sequence does Rafiki 
acknowledge that Mufasa is dead, indeed he states categorically that he's 
alive. Rafiki also does not say he saw Mufasa in the clouds, all he admits he 
saw was 'very peculiar weather'. True, it was Rafiki that led Simba to the 
water's edge, to Simba's own memories, but it was Simba that looked in and 
saw his father in himself. The key word of this scene, and indeed the key word 
until the end of the film is 'remember'. This is not to say that Simba has 
forgotten his father, it's just that he has selectively suppressed some 
memories that Rafiki has brought back to the surface now that Simba's time has 
come. So all that Simba saw came from within himself. If Mufasa is alive and 
well then that's no real problem in this scenario. He can be somewhere else 
whilst Simba remembers him. The same can of course be said if we assume he is 
dead. Mufasa is not required to be present in 'person' in this interpretation 
of this scene. It seems likely to me that the writers carefully arranged this 
so that they could possibly bring Mufasa back at some later stage if required. 
I took this somewhat literal interpretation of these events as one of my aims 
when writing The Pridelands was to have a less 'mystical' approach to the TLK 
story. There is still some room for divine intervention - the hand of fate is 
strong in this script. 

Scar, as far as I am concerned, died at the end of TLK. The hyenas were seen 
to be in an unforgiving mood at the end and there were quite enough to deal 
with Scar. Indeed we saw his shadow as he was smothered by hyena. Consequently 
he finds no place in The Pridelands. However I do have a problem with Scar 
which did have some bearing on this script: that is why was he so different 
in appearance from his brother, Mufasa? The character difference is also a 
problem but that is possible within families. I decided, lacking any 
'official' evidence of any kind, that they were actually half-brothers with 
different mothers, Scar being born after Mufasa. Both were sired by the same 
father, presumably the previous king. This solved most of my problems and gave 
me a valuable asset in Immue, Scar's mother. She, I decided, would be the 
genetic source of Scar's differences from his 'brother'. African culture 
(specifically Thembu culture from Nelson Mandela's autobiography 'Long Walk 
to Freedom') gave me the reason why Mufasa treated him as a full brother. Now 
all I needed to do was to explain why Immue looked so different. So Immue 
became a re-introduced lioness from a different sub-species who had not 
properly integrated into lion society.
	
We all saw a cub being presented to the all the animals at the end of TLK. We 
do not know it's name. It occurred to me that it might be female but as we saw 
Simba being presented I assumed that the cub was almost definitely male as he 
was the new future king, as Nala put it. I needed cubs for The Pridelands and 
wanted the one I was to use most to be female. Why? Because we had all seen 
what future kings get up to so I felt it was time for a story to centre around 
a female cub. Now I needed Simba to have two cubs, not a problem as lions 
usually have from two to four cubs. Five is not uncommon as indeed is one, 
such as Simba himself. I had another motive for giving him and Nala three 
cubs, simply that as I was basing the female, at that time called Inyala, on 
my eldest daughter it would be unfair of me not to give her a sister based on 
my other daughter. These cubs had to have names so once more Nelson Mandela 
helped me out, even down to the familiar versions: Thembi and Zeni were taken 
from his first born son and daughter. If, in the extremely unlikely event that 
he ever reads this: Thank you for showing us the way and for enduring the 
longest walk.
 

*** The One ***

As if I haven't already said enough about this scene...anyway here are a few 
background notes regarding how this scene was planned, in terms, that is, of 
how it might have been filmed: To prevent the hunt from becoming too 
frightening to the younger audience it is important that it is kept realistic, 
avoiding the cliched snarls and bared teeth that are assumed to accompany a 
lion attack, as indeed accompanied Nala's attack on Pumbaa. These lionesses 
are professional - this is how they live. To announce their intentions by 
snarling and growling would not help them and would warn their target of their 
approach, preventing a clean kill. Lions do not hunt particularly 
aggressively, this is a job to them, just part of everyday living like going 
shopping. The presence of Another is to indicate the ever present danger 
facing the lionesses. They do not always have it their way. Related to this is 
the series of probing and failed attacks which characterise real hunts. We 
have all seen film of lionesses in action, it must be remembered that the 
films are invariably cut from edited highlights from many weeks of hunting 
and rely on the fact that we find it difficult to distinguish one real lion 
from any other. Thus what appears to be a one minute hunt by two lioness may 
well be from ten hunts by six lioness over a period of two months! We simply 
do not see the joins nor the failures. We, however can tell our Pridelands 
lionesses apart, they have exaggerated markings and have been introduced one 
by one (except Another, who it would be best if we don't get to know by name). 
Thus this hunt must be coherent, linear, progressive and choreographed 
carefully. The long continuous moving camera shots would be practically 
impossible in live action, requiring ultra-precise and highspeed helicopter 
flying dangerously close to deadly obstacles such as Priderock itself. The 
down-draught would blow Simba's mane the wrong way in any case!. The 
'Zebra-cam' that ends the sequence would also be difficult in live action and 
impossible in a natural history documentary. Lion generally don't go for the 
head, they often strike the neck, just behind our 'zebra-cam' view line. The 
aim is to knock the target over or at least unbalancing it with the power of 
the attack. The aim is not to kill at first touch but to kill the prey on the 
ground. Heavy prey may need two or three lioness to bring it down if the first 
strike is not clean. Nala is precise and knocks us down first time, though 
Sarabi and Sarafina take no chances and strike again, unseen, from the side 
and behind to ensure the prey stays down. Death would probably occur by 
asphyxiation but this should not be made clear! The sunset is symbolic of the 
kill's death (if that's not a tautology) and give us an excuse for not showing 
the dead kill or it's subsequent consumption. The final roars, firstly by a 
lioness, probably Nala, then Simba, are just a means, for them, of announcing 
a successful conclusion to the hunt, a leonine dinner gong and the cue for 
the main titles for us! To actually see a lion strike from the prey's angle 
would be of real value in terms of natural history if this is a reasonably 
accurate and realistic hunt. It also draws the audience into participation. 
Hopefully, with the 'dead-pan' handling of our lionesses, they would not have 
been drawn in too personally; they must never feel Nala is after them in 
particular. We never get to see the kill from the 'outside', even before 
Nala's strike. To do so would be to invite identification with the zebra as 
an individual. To see the target would make it more personally involving - 
this is not likely to be acceptable in a family film. The kill must thus be 
unidentified, as indeed to a lesser extent is the injured Another. Our 
audience must not feel as if they should be afraid of a lion attacking them 
as they leave the cinema as part of a 'herd'. Luckily they hopefully have 90 
minutes or so in which to forget this! Another part of this is Simba. He is 
handled deliberately theatrically, this is a 'show', to remind all that this 
is just a film, honest. It is the music that bridges the two, it is an 
intense love song with powerful accompaniment, needing a powerful character 
to 'sing' it. Simba is ideal for this.


*** Gossip ***

The point that I was trying to get across here was that Simba hasn't changed, 
he's still the lion cub of 'Hakuna Matata' and even of the graveyard. He 
hasn't really grown up at all yet he's a lion, his cubs prove that. Yes, he's 
the king but he still thinks like an overgrown cub. It's not that he's 
selfish, he isn't; nor inconsiderate or immature, it's just that he cannot 
resist being spontaneous and has a short attention span. He flits from one 
thing to the next and avoids making decisions that would result in him having 
to pay attention to any thing for very long. He live for the moment and enjoys 
life as it comes, rarely thinking about the consequences of his actions, 
except when doing so helps him to find excuses for not doing something he 
would prefer not to do.

*** Revelations ***

In this scene we see a lot of communication going on. Nyala is feeling 
insecure and in need of a display of love and protection. We might say: 
'There now, it's all right, I'll look after you.' But Simba is a lion and a 
carefully aimed lick is all that's required, it speaks volumes. That, 
combined with close physical intimacy is how he reassures his daughter. It 
give us a fair dose of the feel good factor. It also allows us to have two 
dialogues, one in spoken words, one in body language. They are lions, a very 
physical and sensual species, paws and tongues speak louder than words, but 
hey, don't shout - claws aren't needed here!

*** Stockade ***

This is a possible spot for a song. We have had a few so far and this may
be the last chance before the pace and mood changes. This is only a suggestion
but I rather think Simba would like to sing 'Lord is it Mine', from 'Breakfast
in America' by Supertramp, a great song from a great album, one of those
'concept' albums that were so much a part of the 70's music scene. This
needs a slight modification to the words, the third repeats of the title 
could use 'Lord is it Time'. The problem with this song is that it is very 
close to the mood and style of 'Sorry seems...', but Simba is just great at
this sort of thing, introspective, reflective and emotive. But it does get the 
point across about Simba thinking he's already dead. At the end he should 
simply run on to the next lines, we will then understand why the vet can get 
any sleep! 

....                                              

What are you waiting for? 

Eh, you want the words? Oh, very well then, but you could find the album, 
it is available on CD, at least it is over here. These, by the way, are my
interpretation of what I think was sung (except the change of mine into time, 
the words given on the CD, if there are any, may not quite agree. But I should
be thankful Elton John didn't sing it.

	I know that there's a reason why I need to be alone
	and show me there's a silent place that I can call my own.
	Is it mine?
	Oh lord, is it mine?
	
	You know I get so weary from the battles in this life,
	and there's many times it seems you're the only hope in sight,
	Is it mine?
	Oh lord, is it mine?

	When everything's dark
	and nothing seems right
	there's nothing to win
	and there's no need to fight.

	I never cease to wonder at the cruelty of this land,
	but it seems a time of sadness is a time to understand.
	Is it time?
	Oh lord, is it time?
	
	When everything's dark
	and nothing seems right
	you don't have to win
	and there's no need to fight.

	If only I could find a way 
	to feel your sweetness through the day
	the love that shines around me could be mine!

	So give us an answer won't you?
	We know what we have to do.
	There must be a thousand voices trying to get through.
	Oh lord. 
	Oh lord.        
	
	
Ok, so why do I put these songs in here? Well, it's just that these songs 
encapsulate the mood I am trying to portray. They are musical descriptions
of a state of emotion. I can't write them myself so I have to use songs
written by others. I have known these songs for years but have, until now,
never been able to find the right imagery and situation for them to mean
something more than the words and music alone could do. The One is great but,
for me at least, add the hunt and it becomes somehow even greater. Of course
Disney would never have gone for this, they would have used original songs,
but I don't have Elton John and Tim Rice on my payroll. 


*** Through Faith and Love ***

Before this scene had Sacrifice added to it it was called 'Despair'. The
following was it's final version before 'Sacrifice' was added:

{ It is evening back at Priderock which we see with one of this film's 
trademark flying shots. Nala is approaching the cave entrance with three cubs. 
Yes, Nyala's back home. As we approach we see that she is physically unmarked 
from her experience but she is subdued and quite unlike the Nyala we saw 
before her departure from the Pridelands. Nala shoos the cubs into the cave 
with her nose gently. Zeni protests: }

Zenani: Come on Mum, I'm not tired.

Thembi: Me too, can't we stay outside and play?

{ Nyala walks quietly into the shadow of the cave. }

Nala: Now then you two, can't you see your sister is tired?

Zenani: Yali, tell us what happened, come on, come on.

{ Nyala stops, turns and looks out to the plains, the light is almost gone. }

Nyala: I don't want to talk about it.

Zenani: {excitedly} Come on, it must have been great!

Nala: Now then, stop all this. If Yali doesn't want to talk, that's Ok.

Nyala: {Still looking out} Dad's never coming back, Pumbaa's never coming
back, Timon's never coming back and it's all my fault. He told me to say he
was sorry.

{ Zenani and Thembi sit and stare at Nyala intently. Nala gently pushes them
away into the cave. }

Nala: {almost silently to Zenani and Thembi} Go inside, settle down and get 
ready to sleep. Zeni, you had better wash properly tonight, you hear?

Zenani: But Mum...

Nala: {shortly but quietly} No buts, get inside. Your sister will be along in
a minute.

{ Zenani and Thembi get up and walk into the darkness, heads low. Nala watches 
them leave (if only my kids were as well behaved!) then, when she is sure they 
have gone she moves to Nyala's side and sits by her silently. After a few 
moments Nyala breaks the silence. }

Nyala: If only I hadn't run away, they'd all be still here wouldn't they. It 
is my fault, isn't it?

{ Nala moves her head closer to her daughter's and licks the side and top of
her head. }

Nala: You mustn't think like that. You can't change what's happened. If I had
bothered to listen to Simba he wouldn't have run away too. He was sick, I 
could see that but I thought kings couldn't get sick. I know he was sorry.
I'm sorry too. You shouldn't be sorry, you couldn't change anything. Immue
was going to get to you no matter what, she didn't care who she took down
with her.

{ Zenani and Thembi have crept back out and lurk in the deep shadows behind
Nyala and Nala. }

Nyala: Mum, who'll be the king now?

Nala: Stop worrying about kings. {with a catch in her voice} You've lost your 
father.

Nyala: {sadly} And who have you lost?

Nala: I've lost...{pauses to think exactly what she has lost, she thinks of
the pool, the long days after the return to Pride rock, the birth of three
cubs, the presentation of Thembi, the evenings together on the plain, the
mornings on the rock}...the best lion and...{she remembers trying to wake 
Simba in the mornings, trying to get him to do anything just for her, the 
arguments, the long times alone while he was with his friends}...the worst
king I ever knew. {she remembers his look as he set off, sick and alone, to
find Nyala} But he cared about you {turning to the other two behind her} and
you two as well, though he didn't always look like it. Even his friends loved
you in their own way. Now they're gone the Pridelands seem so empty, so quiet.
Come here you two, come close to your mother.

{ The lurking cubs move gingerly out of the shadow and up to their mother. In
the growing darkness they can now see the first of the night's stars between
the clouds. One seems brighter than the rest, one dead ahead in the sky. They
all look in silence for while. The camera rotates round them (this is 
difficult to animate but it's great when it's done well) starting behind,
finishing looking at the foursome from dead ahead. All have similar, sad,
expressions suggesting their loss is indeed great and heartfelt. This is
the cue for a song. This one is one that I mentioned in the notes to version
1.0. However I realised that it made a lot more sense to put it in here for 
Nala to sing to help explain her feelings. It is called 'Surrender to the Sun',
written by Mike Batt in the late seventies and despite the marshall references
is actually a rich and powerful slow love song touched by regret for past 
events. Here is to be sung by Nala to the stars as her cubs sit by her side:

	I have been out manoeuvered.
	I have been invaded.
	I have been overrun and infiltrated.
	I have offered strong resistance,
	but you brought me to my knees.
	
	You can lock me in your dungeon.
	You can throw away the key.
	
	Ooo, it's easy to surrender 
	when your time has come.
	Ooo, don't leave me - 
	when the night surrenders to the sun.

	Oh we have cried the tears,
	we have sustained the bruises,
	and though I say you win, nobody looses.
	I have tried to turn around 
	and I have tried to walk away.

	But the love that flows between us
	is growing stronger every day.

	Ooo, it's easy to surrender 
	when your time has come.
	Ooo, don't leave me - 
	when the night surrenders to the sun.

	Ooo, it's easy to surrender 
	when your time has come.
	Ooo, don't leave me - 
	when the night surrenders to the sun.


After the song has ended suddenly and for no obvious reason their expressions 
change, first to shock then to surprise and finally, for the cubs at least, 
joy. The camera pulls back to reveal the reason for this: standing, somewhat 
out of breath, forelegs stretched out to either side. }

Timon: Hey, what kind of a welcome is that? You look like you've seen a ghost.

{ Nala looks sternly at the meerkat as the cubs rush towards him. }

Nala: Where have you got to? Why did Immue say she'd eaten you.

Timon: Yeeeagh! {pulling back in distaste for a moment before the cubs pile 
upon him}

Cubs: Uncle Timon, where have you been?

Timon: Come on you lot, {as they all turn and run off} let's all go and...

Nala: Hey, Timon! {but the cubs have run off, she tails off to herself}
It's bed time...

{ Nala sits alone for a while. She shakes her head and looks back to the sky. }

Nala: Come back Simba, we need you - I need you. {she drops her head and 
continues sadly} We love you - I love you.

{ From a high viewpoint we see Nala on the rock, just below we see Timon and
the cubs engaged in some kind of pouncing game, Thembi is the target. To the
otherside we see Sarabi and Sarafina approach and climb the rock to join 
Nala. Elsewhere we catch glimpses of most of the Pridelands life, including
other lionesses deep in the grass. }


*** Tonight ***

A short Pridelands story.
The evening of 31st October 1996.
      
      Simba and Mufasa ambled easily across the plain below Priderock in the 
shimmering steely blue of the early night's full moon. Just fourteen short 
days and nights had passed since the two kings had returned to their birth 
place. The tips of the grasses waved and shone in the moonlight like the 
surface of the river they had so recently crossed though all that seemed so 
long ago. Mufasa was home to his Sarabi, who, it now seemed certain, was to 
give Simba at least one brother or sister in a few months time. Thembi had not 
yet been told of this, though it seemed likely that he would soon find out for 
himself, especially if Nyala was to hear of it first. But who would be the 
one to tell him that he might not be the next king? His father or his 
grandfather? Mufasa favoured consulting Rafiki; Simba favoured insulting 
Rafiki and telling Thembi himself. Anyway, he thought, the cubs might all be 
female, though they might not, in the fullness of time, be the only ones
his mother and father were to provide for the pride, and what was he to 
provide? Only Sala could tell, and she was, as ever, keeping herself very much
to herself of late. She secretly felt herself to be highly honoured to be a
mate of a king of the Pridelands, though Timon had told her just a few days 
ago: 
      "Never confuse love with pheromones.". 
Nala had surprised Simba by her change of attitude. Now Simba felt she was too 
accepting and too understanding of his free and easy ways. Though it was as 
clear as the moonlight that she really did love him after all that he had, and 
had not, done for her. He could not stop thinking about her, about the way her 
eyes shone in the setting sun, about the curve of her tail, about the softness 
of her fur and the touch of her pads. He stopped and sat back as once more 
Nala came back into his mind. She was worth coming back for, worth all the 
pain and suffering. Yes, he thought, it had been no sacrifice at all. Then he 
thought of the suffering he had endured and particularly of the days and 
nights in the place he couldn't name. There he had had no thought of Nala, nor 
of Nyala, Zenani or Thembi. There he had had time only for the memory of his 
father. Simba closed his eyes and let his head drop as he realised just how 
close he had come to giving up on everything that had ever been important to 
him. He remembered that he had felt sure that everything had given up on him. 
With that much pain how could he forget? His mind wandered on through the 
wilderness that he had escaped into, so alien to him that he would not have 
cared if he had been taken there and then to join his father. Simba smiled 
broadly as he remembered that he had joined his father, and, perhaps not quite 
as fondly remembered, Pumbaa. It still seemed a dream; those short hours 
before his first kill. For those hours he had been a cub again, so small and 
dependant with only his father to protect him and only his mother to provide 
for him. As he watched the buffalo he had grown into a lion at last and found 
he could protect his father and even provide for him. Though even now, beside 
the still great bulk of his father, he still felt a little like the cub he had 
once been. How could he feel otherwise, he would always be Mufasa's son, this 
did not displease him. Mufasa? A moment's flash of panic shot through Simba, 
his mind raced as his body tensed for action. His eyes flew wide open, his 
pupils glowing bright green with the bathing light of the moon. Where was 
Mufasa? Simba knew he had been in himself for some time, much too much time. 
Where was his father?
      Mufasa sat staring at Priderock which towered blue-white against the 
mile-deep blackness of the night. Some twenty metres in front of him sat his 
only son, clearly engrossed in some thought as deep as that night. Mufasa too 
remembered the past as he and Sarabi had sat, somewhere near this spot, just 
a few days before Simba's birth. They had chosen names for any cubs that may 
have been born. In the end it had all been of little use, as soon as he was 
born Sarabi had said that he was such a beautiful little lion that he had to 
be a Simba, so Chaka was abandoned in the instant and Simba it was to be, even 
so Sarabi had had to say it twice to Rafiki on the dawn of his presentation 
just six weeks later. No one managed to hear Rafiki shout "I give you this son 
of the king: Simba" over all the enthusiastic calls, shouts, trumpets, 
whinnies, roars, growls, hoots, chirps and yelps of the Pridelands residents. 
Suddenly his son, now fully adult, rushed towards him, clearly in much 
distress.
      "Dad, are you all right?  I couldn't see you. What were you looking at?"
      "I'm fine, I was just thinking."
      "About what? I thought I was the only one to do much of that."
      "Hey, watch it son. That sounded like cheek to me."
      "Sorry Dad, I didn't mean any..." But Mufasa had raised a paw to 
stop Simba, who immediately noticed his father's stare had widened, his rough
patch of fur on his back bristled up, his shoulders felt tense and his ears
were held fully forward to catch any sound that may come from the rock. Simba
looked round from his father and caught sight of what he could only describe
as a creature of shadow, a fearsome apparition of darkness that crept over
the rock. It appeared to Simba to have a massive bulbous horn growing from the 
top of it's hair covered head, it's spindly arms were held high, hair hung 
from them like decaying flesh. Horror gripped Simba and Mufasa as the shadow 
monster shock its arms noiselessly, for as it was of shadow and death how 
could it make any sound? Mufasa could stand it no longer, perhaps it had come
to take him. He jumped up and ran as fast as he could, headlong across the 
plain. Simba ran after him, though where he knew not. He dared not look back, 
though had he done so he would have seen a puzzled Rafiki standing atop an 
acacia tree, his stick held between his knees, his arms held aloft against the 
disc of the moon shouting:
      "Trick or treat? Eh you two, where you off to? Eh? Come back!"


*** Footnote ****

The Pridelands: My Virtual Reality.
27th September 1996.

	I first came into contact with The Lion King in September 1994. I was
staying at a magnificent beach house at Corolla, North Carolina whilst working
with some radar equipment. It was superbly equipped, just outside my bedroom,
on the deck, was the hot tub, bubbling away. It seemed as if the whole beach
was mine, I would often stand on the upstairs deck over looking the Atlantic
thinking of home, thousands of miles out there over the water. The radio 
would be on, tuned to the same station all the time, though I don't know what
was, and every half an hour one of two songs would be played. When I had left
home I had heard neither of them but somehow they had the power to carry me
back across the vastness of ocean. I was instantly drawn to one in particular,
I could sing it! Though to find out exactly what the words were I would have 
to wait a further year or so. The other song I couldn't quite get to grips
with. They were both obviously by Elton John and stood out by virtue of their
sophistication relative to all the other fare churned out by the station. I
had heard that a new Disney film was out and that Elton had done some of the
songs, but I couldn't believe that both of these were from the film. The 
better one was just too, well, physical, to be a Disney song surely. The other
I could accept as being from the film, though there was no announcement to
confirm this. It was to be over a year before I found out the truth. One thing
puzzled me, why would Elton have two songs out simultaneously unless they were
from different sources, surely this would 'split the vote' and make both less
successful. Clearly this was the case here in the UK where neither quite made
the top ten. The weeks passed pleasantly enough, the radar worked most of the
time!
	The months passed as they normally do, the daily round of work and life
continued as before. The Lion King was released in the UK for the summer of 1995
and everybody seemed to be going to see it, except us. For endless weeks I
kept on seeing the adverts in the local paper and each week we said we would
take the kids to see it, every week we somehow failed. To be fair I wasn't
particularly keen, the trailer I had seen on other Disney videos, was dark
and seemed to be all about hyenas chasing cubs down hills. It left me with
a rather negative feeling, it had none of the brightness, warmth and 
irrepressible bounce of the film. To be fair this was in part a technical
problem. For those of you who don't come across the pond UK tv is made to
a different system to US tv, our frame has 625 lines compared to the 525 of
US tv, the frame rate is 25Hz compared to 30Hz, the horizontal bandwidth is
some 0.5MHz greater, these all give visibly better resolution, films transfer
to UK tv better by the simple expedient of running them at 25fps thus avoiding
the frame to frame interpolation required for US tv. This avoids the 'smearing'
effects. I get perfect still frames and can examine The Lion King frame by
frame from a VHS tape. Laser disk never stood a chance here. The colour system
is different and is much more robust allowing better saturation and colour
accuracy. Our tv has a fresh, live quality that particularly suits natural
history, drama and current affairs - things for which UK broadcasters are
justifiably proud. The trailer was probably standards converted from a US
trailer with re-dubbed commentary, this further reduced the picture quality, 
no wonder it seemed dark and foreboding!
	I was surprised when I heard that The Lion King was to be released on
video that October, it was barely a month since it had left the cinemas. What
I did not know was that my wife had ordered a copy to be collected on release
day....
	In that November we held a small, and rare, cheese and wine evening for
a couple of friends. I was able to enjoy most of a bottle of Chianti whilst
crunching on Stilton crackers, a wood fire burned in the grate to push back
the cold of winter. Someone suggested we put on a video, someone mentioned
The Lion King, someone else agreed, none of them were me and there were only
four of us there. Through my bottle I could see that here was something rather
better than the typical American centred Disney film, I quickly found out what
that other song was and loved it as I now understood what it was all about. I
found I seemed to know the plot: I knew it was Simba's cubhood friend in the
grass about to attack Pumbaa, though I couldn't remember her name. It clearly
had a much more international appeal, the songs flowed from the narrative in
a way they had not in any recent Disney production, they seemed at least as
much aimed at the parents as the children, at least until it came to the other
song with which I was familiar. This was not for kids, this was, and I was
embarrassed to say it, bordering on erotic. It was Can you Feel the love...
and it was sublime, though it had been mangled somewhat awkwardly for the 
film, its quality shone out over Priderock. That's all I really remember of
that evening. I found the bottle was empty the following day.
	It was to be Christmas day that I next encountered Simba and friends
as the kids were introduced to The Lion King, they were enthralled, they were
just four and barely three. They loved Simba and Nala and played out their
adventures over and over again (just like Nyala and Zenani...) and quite
readily accepted Mufasa's death, without fear but with a few tears. I felt
that the Disney company were too delicate about such basic truths of life and
that they, perhaps, might treat their audience a little more robustly in 
future. I, totally sober, loved it too and instantly resolved to be more like
Mufasa to my children, though I did not succeed, the real world is not like
The Lion King and Simba never said 'No!' fifteen times on the trot. From that
day I was hooked and very soon came to think of Simba as more than a
two dimensional drawing, he had somehow, to live, to become real, if only in
his peculiar private world of the Pridelands. It was to be the release of
Elton John's Love Songs album that was to provide the starting point. It seems
that this album was released as a vehicle to get Can you feel and Circle of
Life on to an Elton John Album rather than just a just Soundtrack, over here
soundtracks do not command much respect in the music business nor from the
public, Disney soundtracks are regarded with a certain element of disdain,
'Oh, that's just for kids...'. On this CD is another song, written within a
year or so of the Lion King songs, which immediately struck me as being, 
conceptually at least, appropriate to Simba - The One. The words were almost 
perfectly suited to be sung by an adult Simba, just a few minor changes and I 
had, for me at least, a near perfect song for him. Then, one day as I used 
the CD to test a player I had repaired, it struck me: it would make a 
powerful opening song for a sequel, but what kind of imagery would I need to 
make it work? The accompaniment was attacking and powerful, sharp and, now I 
saw it all plain, just like lion hunting. Within minutes the whole concept 
had become clear. In my mind at least a new Lion King film had opened. 
The One would have worked, or so I thought, the problem was what to follow it 
with, how to make Simba come alive again? That turned out to be difficult. It 
has been said that one should always write about what one knows, but I did not 
know about lion. I DID know about my children and my personal experience of 
relationships. Simba 'lives' in a virtual world far removed from anything 
real. In his world there is no colour, no race, no religion, no nationalities, 
no prejudice, no poverty, no politics, no technology, no weapons, no drugs, 
no alcohol, no money, no taxes - none of the harsh 'realities' that plague 
our world. It could be anything I wanted, anything could happen, and I wanted 
Mufasa back - I got him! The plot is very personal, not that anything like 
this has actually happened to me. I share Simba's difficulties, the Pridelands 
is to a large extent my attempt to work through and resolve my two worlds, by 
putting it into some kind of physical reality, a script, I can play out those 
difficulties, allowing my two worlds to converge. I always saw it as a film, 
in that it could be seen and watched and believed, and for a while at least, 
to be somehow 'real'. I shall probably avoid Simba's Pride at all costs as I 
will find it extremely difficult to reconcile someone else's view of what has 
become my intensely personal world.
	I not yet seen The Lion King at the cinema, I keep toying with buying
the widescreen version on video, but cash is tight and my wife would shout
at me for wasting the money (she hates widescreen videos!), she's probably
got a point.
	In my mind I see another video of Can you feel the love... A lone man
stands against the rail of a high deck on a wooden beach house overlooking an 
ocean at sunset. He looks out across the waves that break foamily over the 
clean white sands. He sings (probably badly...) and as he does so we see, in 
the flickering light of an open coal fire, sitting on a red and blue Turkish 
rug, two young girls watching The Lion King on video. Their mother sits behind
waiting anxiously for the telephone to ring. He does not call, he does not
dare to call...He left under less than happy circumstances.