WARNING: Spoilers are unmarked.
The hyenas; from Plucky Comic Reliefs, to vicious, coldblooded predators!
- While some may view the scene as being Narm, Mufasa's death scene is still terrifying. More so the "Long Live the King" reading. While not as sinister as the original, it almost, for a moment, sounds like Scar is about to pull Mufasa up, before he screams "The King!" and slaps Mufasa off the cliff. Scar also deliberately aims for Mufasa's right eye to match his own scar, which is vindictive beyond words and truly shows how venomous Scar's resentment for his brother was all the way to the end.
- One element of Mufasa's death also is a darker call back to Jon Favreau's Jungle Book film. In that film, as Shere Khan falls to his death to the flames, his body can be seen twisting around, much like most cats, to land on his feet. No doubt he got to witness the flames claiming him. This time around, it's Mufasa's turn as we see his body twist as it falls. His last visions of life is not Scar looking down upon him, but the incoming wildebeests that are about to trample him.
- Scar's death is also significantly more graphic. This time, you actually get to see him swarmed by the hyenas instead of a shadow shot and get to watch him briefly fight for his life before he's overtaken. Though the camera does pan upwards before it gets too bloody, Scar briefly lifts his head back into the frame and screams as they rip him apart. The last we see of him before he completely disappears makes it clear that, despite his last flailing, he's being flipped by the hyenas onto his back so the hyenas can rip into his more vulnerable underside. A hyena's belly is never full indeed...
- Shenzi is far more vicious and sinister than her animated counterpart, thanks in part to Florence Kasumba's well-executed and menacing voice-over work.
- The hyenas in general are far more threatening than their animated counterparts. When they have Simba and Nala cornered in their lair, they don't waste time making food-based jokes; Kamari only quips to distract the cubs and give the pack a chance to surround them. Their large numbers, coupled with their voracious appetites, make them deadly enforcers of Scar's reign and are enough to keep the lionesses in check.
- Heck, one of the positives noted in this version was the scene where hyenas chase down the cubs. The original tries to mitigate it with some humor to keep it from getting too scary. This version had them chased into an underground tunnel and the hyenas trying to dig through the holes to get at them. The poor cubs keep trying to find an exit but keep nearly running into snapping maws instead until they finally reach a clearing and find themselves surrounded. Even Zazu trying to come in and protect the duo offers little help, just buying enough time for Mufasa to show up.
- During the Final Battle, when Shenzi challenges Nala, she gives her a terrifying Death Glare. The animals may be less expressive than in 1994, but in this case, the threatening sneer on her face absolutely works.
- It may be a Big Damn Heroes moment from Mufasa, but his pure rage as he tears his way through the hyenas at the Elephant Graveyard is terrifying nonetheless.
- During the stampede sequence, Mufasa reaches the tree Simba is holding onto for dear life. You can see the panic and fear in Mufasa's eyes as he urges Simba to come to him... only for him and the tree to get smashed by wildebeests.
- Scar hunting down Nala as she tries to escape Pride Rock to search for help.
- This is the first time in the franchise that we see the aftermath of a successful hunt. On top of that, we see some blood dribbling from Scar's jaw.
- Though it's pretty much Played for Laughs as it's supposed to be us seeing Timon from Simba's POV, when he grabs his face and says the line, "When the world turns its back on you, you turn your back on the world", we get a sudden Extreme Closeup of Timon's photo-realistic face staring right into the camera which can kind of be a Jump Scare.
- Scar almost eating Zazu was pretty much Played for Laughs in the original and served to cement the hornbill's position as a Butt-Monkey. Here, it is way more disturbing and serious, as Scar attempts to pin Zazu down while he tries to fly away desperately, like a real lion catching his prey.
- Nala's encounter with Simba in this version is scarier in this version than the original film. Where Nala is just as fierce when she's trying to chase Pumbaa, we see her as more of a Jump Scare after Timon and Pumbaa sing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". It's also very sudden instead of a pounce.
- Rather than play off Simba pointing out that one day he'll be giving Scar orders with the "monkey's uncle" line, Scar just gives a devastating Death Glare from behind his nephew's back. It can very much come off like this is the moment that pushes him over the edge to murdering his brother and nephew.
- The framing of the shot in this sequence is also chilling, as Scar is motionless behind the talking Simba and stares at him like he's about to spring an ambush. Scar's hatred is palpable once you notice it.
- The confrontation with Sarabi and Scar is far more disturbing in this version thanks to Scar trying to persuade her to become his queen... with everything that entails. The fact they are talking animals doesn't do much to negate the creepiness of him trying to get with his late brother's (who he murdered) widow. While he doesn't knock Sarabi to the ground in this version, the scuffle between them is quite a bit more violent.
- The scene in which Scar sics the hyenas on Simba. While the original was almost silent, the remake adds a musical score that builds ominously until Chiwetel Ejiofor's utterly chilling delivery of "Kill him."
