Simba has a wonderful relationship with his father Mufasa. He is shown all the majesty of his kingdom, and is taught the lessons that will one day serve him well as the leader of the pride. So really, it kind of goes without saying that Mufasa is going to die a horrible death. This is Disney, after all. But I don't think anyone quite anticipated just how his death would psychologically affect Simba. His father isn't just killed before his eyes, in the horrific, bloody, and outrageously painful death of being crushed by a stampede. Of course not. That would be too simple. Because you see, Simba is also manipulated into believing that his beloved father's death was his fault. And at that moment, we all threw away our innocence right along with the poor traumatised lion cub. It's just so unbelievably screwed up for this death scene to go down like that. It's every kids' worst nightmare to lose one of their parents, and to have to live with the guilt of it being your fault (whether that's true or not) is so far beyond what I was emotionally able to handle at the age of seven.
Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.
