10 Greatest Pre-Kill Movie Lines

It speaks volumes to the inimitable reputation of this line, that despite belonging to a Disney film, it still features amongst the ranks of hardened killers such as John McClane, King Leonidas or Dirty Harry.

Said line appears in the scene that caused every child - and indeed, large swathes of the film's adult audience - to dissolve into tears upon watching 1994 classic The Lion King for the first time; King Mufasa's murder by his dastardly throne-coveting brother Scar.

Scar engineers a trap for Mufasa and his cub Simba, stampeding a herd of wildebeest through a gorge. While Mufasa manages to save Simba, his heroic actions leave him hanging precariously over the rock face edge. As the majestic lion desperately scrabbles at the precipice, begging for his brother to help him, Scar - grinning wickedly from ear to ear - locks eyes with the stricken Mufasa before sarcastically rubbing salt in the wounds with a final evil taunt.

"Long live the King!"

Sinking his claws into his brother's paws, Scar sends the King plummeting to his death in the stampede below.

If audiences weren't howling with grief at that point, Simba trying to nudge his motionless father back to life before curling up with his broken body proves to be the traumatic final straw.

Consummate baddie Jeremy Irons delivery is absolutely impeccable, dripping with spiteful malevolence and helping to establish Scar's final words to Mufasa as an unquestionable staple of pop-culture, as well as a pre-kill soundbite of the highest order.