I've been thinking about a 'what if' tlk movie starring zazu

[Elton John]

I know he isn't exactly the most popular character in the franchise but he's probably my fav non-lion side character in the franchise. This would be mostly in direct continuity with the first two movies, a little bit of the books and the lion guard as well.

The movie would star rowen atkinson as zazu. In the first movie he mentions having two troublesome family members similar to scar/taka/whteveryouwanttocall him.

The movie would be about him dealing with his two brothers, the his parents and eventually meeting mufasa and becoming the royal families majordomo


A synopsis.

The story would start off with a young zazu. He's constantly being tormented by his older brothers. His parents are even more cruel towards him.

One day his family is being hunted down by Hyenas. Zazu is able to save them but they blame the hyenas chasing them on him. Unable to deal with his family anymore zazu is about to fly off to a far away land when he sees a little lion cub crying by the watering hole.

It's little mufasa. It turns out he's not only tormented by his brother, scar/taka but his betrothed Sarabi thinks he's unworthy of the throne. He recently got a verbal chewing out from his father who also thinks he is unworthy. Zazu, relating to his situation helps him show his father that he is worthy, how to stand up to his brother and while that happens Sarabi realizes how cruel she was to him.

Also Sarafina and her future husband get a subplot where Mufasa earns their respect.

Things are going smoothly until zazu is a young adult. Mufasa and sarabi are now married as are sarafina and ni. Ahadi and Uru fall sick. Scar/taka tells them there's a special herb that can save them in the elephant graveyard. This is obviously a lie, and zazu/mufasa/sarabi/sarafina/ni are being surrounded by hyenas. Sarafina then tells Ni that she is pregnant, and she didn't have the courage to tell him beforehand. They survive the battle, thanks to quick thinking by zazu, except for ni. As he is bleeding to death Ni tells sarafina that their future cub is the most precious gift he will never get to recieve. This is a reference to Nala meaning 'gift' in swahili.

At the end ahadi and uru do not survive. Things are looking fairly bleak for the future of the pride. Zazu then brings word to Mufasa that Sarabi is pregnant too. This gives Mufasa the courage he needs to lead the pride.

Then there's a montage of black and white images in slow motion that are from the first two movies showing off the events of the first two in a coherent manner while a triumphant combination of 'molossus' from hans zimmers batman begins score and his 'king of pride rock' cue from the first movie.

The ending skips to right past tlk2, same song still playing but with a more rapid tempo, with an older but still energetic zazu sweeps down for the presentation of a new prince. We see zazu bowing down to Simba and the ending shot is of the young cub in nalas arms/paws The cub has a little itty bitty tuft of red fur on his head.

So yeah, it's not the most amazing idea ever but I like it. What do you think?

[SimbasGuard]

There are some very good ideas in your story, but there are some ideas I really do not like. This is only my opinion, so please do not take my criticisms too hard. I do not wish to hurt your feelings or in any way discourage you from writing.

I don't like the Idea of Zazu's entire family hating on him please at least portray Zazu's mother Zuzu (if that is the name you go with) as being kind and loving toward him. If Zazu grows up in a family that hates him how could he not turn bitter?

Scar bulling Mufasa makes no sense, as Mufasa is his older sibling.

Portraying Sarabi in a negative way will not work. I think Sarabi would be more likely to comfort Mufasa after Ahadi chews him out.

Please do not call Nala's father Ni. I know that you intend for him to be an entirely different Lion that the Ni in Nala's dare, but I think it is a bad idea to use the same name for two different lion characters in the same universe.

Other than that you have a very interesting concept.

[TheLionPrince]

Zazu is a minor comic relief character. Outside of that, he's not that much dynamic of a character (except in terms of how he accepts Simba as the new king), and he has little impact on the storyline outside of warning Mufasa of the hyenas in the Pride Lands and locating Simba for Mufasa when he falls into danger. Not to mention, in the second half, we find him bound inside a rib cage although we don't know how long he has been trapped in there. In my humble opinion, Zazu would not make that great of a character-centered film.

As for your ideas, it's interesting to see Zazu's humble beginnings, and learn the meaning behind the "two [relatives] in mine" that are a thorn in the side of his family. Zazu being tormented by his family is a bit too much, and would push him to have a psychopathic mindset. Unlike Scar, Zazu shows little sign of that in the films. Sarabi thinking Mufasa is unworthy of the throne is an odd, but interesting idea, and it would make for a sweet love story. Who knows, you could have Zazu be the glue that brings them together? Either way, there has been to a reason behind Sarabi's initial judgment of Mufasa since we know Sarabi and Mufasa grow to have an intimately close relationship.

Mufasa seems to have a high opinion of his father (Ahadi, in my opinion, is just as non-canon as Kopa is so I won't use his name.) given he mentioned him to Simba when he explained the Great Kings of the Past. Most children who have terrible relationships with their parents don't likely mention them to anyone, and try to erase them out of their lives wherever they can. Sure, his father can be a little rough on young Mufasa since he is trusting him to carry a huge responsibility over the kingdom, but their relationship doesn't have to be exaggerated that way. Like Zazu, Mufasa being tormented by everyone is unlikely, and would make his personality more bitter and anger, and not the benevolent king he is portrayed in the first king.

Scar's trap is actually a pretty good idea, but wouldn't everyone find out that Scar was behind it? Mufasa looks rather shocked that Scar betrays him in the gorge hinting he doesn't know the full extent of Scar's inner darkness let alone knows it exists. Like SimbasGuard, I hope Ni in your story is not the same character in the Six New Adventures book given he appeared to be an adolescent lion that is younger than Sarafina. Explaining the absence of Nala's father in the first film is a great idea.

Overall, this story has potential for a great fan fiction story, but you need to dive into details about the evolutions of the characters' personalities given you have two characters that are tormented by everyone, and we know that in the end, they are good, kind-hearted characters. And make sure they align perfectly with their characterizations in the first film.

[Elton John]

1: no it's not the same ni. It's more like a nod to the books.

2: in my story mufasa would gradually get along with his father and love/respect him.

3: not everyone who has a bad upraising turns out to be bad or psychotic, that's what I was doing with zazu.

4: they would find the herb that scar talks about but by the time they get back mufasas parents would be dead and thus they wouldn't know that scar was lying.

5: yes, zazu would be the glue that keeps everyone together. The moral of my story would be sort of like kung fu panda 2 where just because the start of your life is troubled, doesn't mean the rest of it will be.

[SimbasGuard]

[quote="Elton John"]1: no it's not the same ni. It's more like a nod to the books.[/quote]

I thought as much, but since Ni is the name associated with an entirely different character rather that the one you intend to portray. I think paying a nod to the book by using the same name for a different character would just cause confusion.

Other than that is seems like you have things very well thought out so far. Good luck with your story.

[Elton John]

Oh i'm not writing a complete story, I was just thinking of what a 'what-if' movie starring zazu would be like.

I mean if timon and pumbaa can get their own movie and tv series what's the harm in me wanting this? Not like it will ever happen...

[SimbasGuard]

Oh with all the thought you put into this I thought you wanted to write a story.

There is no harm in speculating about possible ideas, I think that is why this forum exists (at least in part).

[Squeely]

I personally would love a film about Zazu, though I'm probably a bigger fan of the character than most. I'd love to see the two "black sheep" relatives he mentions, and maybe the "Zazu-gets-a-girlfriend" concept from early drafts of SP could finally get used.

The unused song "To be King" shows a more fun-loving Zazu, and I had a thought while listening to it: what if the song was given to Ahadi and a younger, less-strict Zazu? It would certainly be interesting to see how Zazu came to live with the pride, and how he was in his younger days.