The Lion King Reborn/Transcript/5

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 * (The next morning, Timon is finally given some fresh air, but he and Pumbaa are still searching for the dream home)
 * Timon: Beyond what you see…beyond what you — Hey! How am I supposed to look beyond what I see…beyond that?!
 * (It reveals Timon looking straight at Pumbaa's butt)
 * Pumbaa: Huh? Oh, sorry.
 * (Pumbaa moves aside to reveal the gorge in all its splendor. Zoom inside the gorge with Simba underneath the tree, with Scar watching him)
 * Scar: Now, you wait here. Your father has a marvelous surprise for you.
 * Simba: What is it?
 * Scar: If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?
 * Simba: If you tell me, I'll still act surprised.
 * Scar: You are such a naughty boy. This is just for you and your daddy. You know, a sort of father-son…thing…I'd better go get him.
 * Simba: I'll go with you.
 * Scar: (regaining composure) No. Just…stay on this rock. You wouldn't want to end up in another mess like you did with the hyenas…Simba, everybody knows about that. Lucky Daddy was there to save you, eh? (puts a paw on Simba's shoulder) Oh…and just between us, you might want to work on that little roar of yours, hmm?
 * Simba: (Scar pats Simba's head roughly, then moves off) Hey, Uncle Scar? Will I like the surprise?
 * Scar: Simba, it's To Die For!
 * (The camera slowly pans up the side of the gorge away from Scar and Simba. After a distance of rock, we reach the edge and view on the plain a very large herd of wildebeest; the size of the herd comes across with a striking computer-generated parallax pan. The camera then focuses in on the hyenas, who are waiting off of the edge of the herd, hidden under a rock arch)
 * Shenzi: (Banzai's stomach growls) Shut up.
 * Banzai: I can't help it. I'm so hungry… (jumping up) I gotta have a wildebeest!!
 * Shenzi: Stay put.
 * Banzai: Well, can't I just pick off one of the little sick ones?
 * Shenzi: NO! Wait for the signal from Scar. (Scar appears mounting a rock viewing in the horizon) There he is. Let's go.
 * (Camera switch back to Simba. A chameleon walks past Simba. He growls at it, although the chameleon has no reaction to this first attempt. Simba then jumps down and tries again. For the third attempt, Simba moves closer again and inhales deeply. The chameleon skitters off-screen and Simba's roar echoes around the canyon. He lifts his ears to relish the echo. The echo is soon eclipsed, however, by a low rumble. He looks down and sees pebbles jumping. The herd comes over the lip of the gorge. Simba gasps in terrify, then takes off in front of the herd, that are being driven by the hyenas, nipping at their heels, down over the edge. Several yards away from the stampede, Timon is trudging along the parched floor of the gorge with Pumbaa)
 * Timon: What this place lacks in water and shade, it makes up for with searing heat and blinding sunshine. Home, sweet home, Pumbaa! (whimpers a little with desperation, just as they feel the ground begins to rumble)
 * Pumbaa: (with a leisurely tone) Shall we run for our lives?
 * Timon: Oh, yes, let's.
 * (The two scream and soon take off in front of the herd of wildebeests. Cut back to Zazu with Mufasa on a short distance from the gorge, witnessing the sound of the wildebeests running)
 * Zazu: Oh, look sire; the herd is on the move.
 * Mufasa: Odd.
 * (Scar then arrives "out of breath")
 * Scar: Mufasa. Quick. Stampede. In the gorge. Simba's down there!
 * Mufasa: Simba?!
 * (Running from the herd, Simba passes through some of the incoming wildebeests, climbs up and then clings to a tree. Zazu flies ahead of Mufasa and Scar, down into the gorge and spots Simba)
 * Zazu: Your father's on the way! Hold on!
 * (Mufasa and Scar are on the lower ledges of the gorge. Zazu flies back and points to where Simba is)
 * Mufasa: Hold on, Simba! (runs out into the herd, joining the stampede)
 * Zazu: Oh, Scar, this is awful. I'll go back for help, that's what I'll do! I'll go back for he —
 * (Scar backhands Zazu into a rock wall, knocking him out. Mufasa runs with the herd until slightly past the tree. He whips around the front of some wildebeest and runs into the herd towards Simba's tree. He gets rammed head-first once, throwing him to the ground. A wildebeest hits a branch of the tree, throwing a shrieking Simba into the air. Mufasa gets up in time to catch Simba in the air with his mouth. Scar then follows Mufasa's progress from the lip of the gorge, his shadow cast mysteriously from the bottom of the gorge. Mufasa gets hit again and accidentally throws Simba; he dodges a few oncoming wildebeest. Mufasa runs by with the herd and grabs Simba. He jumps up to a near rock ledge and sets Simba down, but is immediately struck by a wildebeest and carried off into the stampede. Simba watches in horror as he cannot find his father in the swirling mass of wildebeest below him. At the last second, Mufasa leaps out of the herd and starts to climb with great difficulty up the sheer rock slope. Simba turns and starts to climb up to the top of the gorge. Out of Simba's sight, Mufasa reaches a point right below a ledge where he can't climb due to the steepness. His claws are scraping and his back paws have no traction. Above him on the ledge is Scar)
 * Mufasa: Scar! Brother! HELP ME!
 * (Scar looks disdainfully down, and then suddenly latches onto Mufasa's forepaws with claws extended. Mufasa roars, primarily from the sudden pain of Scar's claws, but no doubt also due to the sudden flash of realization. His expression slowly changes to one of horror as he recognizes Scar's intent)
 * Scar: Long live the King.
 * (Scar throws his brother backwards. Mufasa free-falls, back first. The camera follows Mufasa down from under him, then from above him, showing the stampede raging below. No view of Mufasa being hit by the herd. Camera suddenly focuses in on Simba, who is watching his father hit the ground. On the other side of the gorge, Timon and Pumbaa hold onto a wildebeest's head for dear life, then see the herd separate to reveal a cliff's edge)
 * Pumbaa: Hang on, Timon!
 * Timon: This is it! Good-bye, cruel world!
 * (The wildebeest screeches to a halt at the edge of the cliff, pitching Timon and Pumbaa off in slow motion, low-pitched screaming. After a few midair tumbles, however, now back at normal speed, they land lightly in a slow-moving river. Timon lands before standing on Pumbaa's belly)
 * Timon: That wasn't so bad. You can't knock old Timon down that easy. Yeah! Bring it on!
 * (The duo then notice an increasing roar of rushing water)
 * Timon: Pumbaa? Question: is it possible to fall off the edge of the Earth?
 * Pumbaa: Technically, no. The earth is round like a sphere, Timon; so it doesn't actually have an edge.
 * (The camera pulls back once, twice, three times to reveal…an absurdly high 500 feet waterfall. The duo hurtle over the edge and plummet down. Timon falls unconsciously and suddenly suffers a flashback)
 * (Timon is 15 in meerkat years. He was following Pa out to a ledge overlooking their fraction of the veldt)
 * 15-year-old Timon: Look Dad. I know we're pretty low on the food-chain and all, but why do we have to dig tunnels all of the time? (as Pa starts to scurry, sniff, and flinch, Timon gets into a boxing pose) Where's our pride? Where's our — [Pa holds Timon back as if there was a predator. A small bunyoro rabbit hops by] — dignity?
 * Pa: (letting go of his son) Timon, lemme tell you something about dignity. [gestures at the grasslands] Son, look out to the horizon. (music swells louder) Everything the light touches…belongs to someone else. (Timon's smile drops to a frown as light shines brightly on a big pointy rock in the distance) I'm sorry, pal. That's just the way it is. Dignity has nothing to do with it! (holding onto Timon's shoulders) It's nature's designs — we are what we are. And what we are is food for other animals. A consummate prey. A movable feast. Feared by no one and eaten by all! (clutches Timon as if he was a security blanket)
 * 15-year-old Timon: But when they die, they become the grass. And we eat the grass…right?
 * Pa: Not exactly; we can't digest grass. We have sensitive stomachs. (forces out a smile)
 * 15-year-old Timon: See Dad, that's what I'm talkin' about. Why not find a better life? A place out there with no hyenas. A place where we don't have to run or dig tunnels!
 * Pa: Timon. This is our home. And I'm proud of those tunnels! Your mother and I dig those tunnels to keep you safe. We dig those tunnels because we love you!
 * 15-year-old Timon: You dig tunnels, because you're afraid of everything!
 * (Pa gives Timon a pouty face. Ma then arrives with a leaf tray of termites)
 * Ma: Oh, there you boys are! I've got some nice fresh termites all ready for you.
 * Pa: Termites again!?
 * Ma: Oh, feeling braver now, aren't we? (cracks a termite queen along the thorax)
 * Pa: (having no response) I'll be home late…I've got a tunnel to repair…
 * (Pa sulks off. Reflective music then starts playing)
 * 15-year-old Timon: (sits down on a rock, then turns to Ma) Was I adopted?
 * Ma: Timmy! You two are as different as dawn and dusk!
 * 15-year-old Timon: I'm tired of doing everything his way.
 * Ma: Oh, Timmy, you've almost grown now. And whether Dad likes it or not…you'll be making your own way soon. (frizzles Timon's hair and gives him a reassuring hug) Oh, whatever you do, I know you're going to make me proud.
 * 15-year-old Timon: You think so?
 * Ma: Even Dad.
 * Pa: (a loud thud shakes the air. Pa has stubbed his toe) See! It's a jungle out here!
 * Ma: (miserably to Timon) If he lives that long!
 * (Dissolve back to the present where Simba finally finds Mufasa, laying on his side. He is not moving or breathing. Simba approaches the deceased body of his father)
 * Simba: Dad? Dad, come on. (rubs up against Mufasa's cheek. The head merely rolls back in place after the rub) You gotta get up. (he places both forepaws on his father's cheek and pushes) Dad, we gotta go home. (he tugs at Mufasa's ear. Again, the head limply moves back in place. Simba runs off a bit, obviously very scared) HEEEEELP!!! SOMEBODY! Anybody! Help.
 * (Simba turns back to the body. He nuzzles up under the limp paw so that his father is embracing him. The "This Land" theme gives way to a series of ominous chords as the image of Scar advancing appears through the dust)
 * Scar: What have you done?
 * Simba: There were wildebeests and he tried to save me…it was an accident, I…I didn't mean for it to happen.
 * (Simba sobs even harder, and Scar embraces him, fainting consolation. Simba hides his face on Scar's foreleg)
 * Scar: (yet still distant) Of course you didn't. No one…ever means for these things to happen…but the king is dead. And if it weren't for you, he'd still be alive. Oh! What will your mother think?
 * Simba: (sniffing) What am I going to do?
 * Scar: Run…run away and never return.
 * (Simba runs for the edge of the gorge blindly, obviously broken as the sun begins to set. The hyenas approach Scar from behind, who is standing motionless. Scar now speaks to the hyenas)
 * Scar: Kill him.
 * (The hyenas race after Simba, who reaches the end of the gorge, looks back and sees the hyenas. He climbs up the cliff, and Banzai swipes at him, but misses. Simba then reaches the edge of the plateau, looks back again and sees the hyenas chasing him. With no other choice, Simba jumps off the plateau, and into a thicket of thorns. Noticing them, Banzai skids extensively, managing to stop just above the brambles. Shenzi and Ed suddenly ram into Banzai, which sends him flying into the thicket. He comes out with thorns on his backside, and Shenzi and Ed laugh at Banzai, while he comes back up on the gorge)
 * Shenzi: (teasing) There ain't no way I'm goin' in there. What, you want me to come out lookin' like you, Cactus-Butt?
 * Banzai: (plucks several thorns from his skin and spits them onto Ed's nose) But we gotta finish the job.
 * Shenzi: Well, he's as good as dead out there anyway. And if he comes back, we'll kill him.
 * Banzai: (to Simba) Yeah! You hear that? If you ever come back, we'll kill ya.
 * (As Simba is still running into the desert, the hyenas laugh before making their way back to the Pride Lands)

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