Are the characters more sophisticated than they let on?

[EdtheHyena]

I've noticed some interesting moments in the films, where the cast gives indications that they may not be as normal (for animals) as they let on.

For starters, they seem to know songs from the human world. Zazu sings "It's a small world" in the original, Timon hums it in 1.5, and he and Pumba sing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". A little odd for animals who have lived in the wild their whole life, huh?

They also appear to be familiar with the concept of wearing things; how else can you come up with the idea of "dressing in drag"? The midquel even gives Pumba a chef's hat!!

Here's another one...during "I can't wait 2b king" in the original, Zazu uses an elephant's trunk like a towel...huh? Well, to be fair, Timon used a leaf during that scene in the hot tub in movie 3...waitaminute! How the hell do they know what a hot tub is??!! Seriously, I'm a little surprised at how shocked Simba and Timon were after Pumba left...where else would the bubbles have come from?

Here's another one...Timon points Pumba's tail at the outsiders like a gun in movie 2...just...what??

Well, the TV series seemed to take these ideas put the characters into a cartoony material world. While that is obviously beyond any life the cast of the movies lives in, it's actually understandable...forgiveable, even, when you look at what the original movie and sequels hunted at.

Who knows? Perhaps the hypothetical LK 4 will answer some of these Q's.

[SimbasGuard]

I think the reason for all this is due to all the Lion King characters being anthropomorphized rather than straight up depictions of animals. After all Lion society does not have the right of ascension and a Mandrill wouldn't even know what a shaman was or how to become one. However I think there is definitely a case to be made that Ed is not as stupid as he seems. I also believe that Rafiki's insanity is just an act.