Why did Muffy wait so long?

[Pixie]

I think he waited because IT MADE THE MOVIE LONGER AND CREATED CHARACTER DEPTH

[Panda-chan]

[quote="Nitro"][quote="Tyrant"]
I wonder what other theories there are though, other than the Monkey-On-Crack theory >.>[/quote]

Monkey-On-Weed [/quote]
I second this motion

And gee Pixelicious...why didn't I think of that..lolol

[Pixie]

[quote="Amanda"]And gee Pixelicious...why didn't I think of that..lolol[/quote]
LOLOL I have to say things like that every now and then ^_^

[Nitro]

Although that was some pretty quick character development. It took a little less than a minute, give or take.

[SweetNala]

Simba never believed that he was still with him until Rafiki came along. I think he needed to believe in order to see Mufasa.

[FlipMode]

Thread is kind of old but here is my theory (other than the obvious stated by Pixie =P).
The kings of the past have the power to communicate with current kings (which should technically be Simba at that point). However they can only use it very sparingly, and so Mufasa waited for the opportune moment and planned it with Rafiki to get Simba to return.

[Regulus]

Or because Mufasa's spirit didn't actually exist? I thought it was all a hallucination by Simba, induced by Rafiki's drugs. Rafiki couldn't have used his special powers on Simba if he didn't know he was still alive.

[TheLionPrince]

[quote="Regulus"]Or because Mufasa's spirit didn't actually exist? I thought it was all a hallucination by Simba, induced by Rafiki's drugs. Rafiki couldn't have used his special powers on Simba if he didn't know he was still alive.[/quote]

Trust me, it was no hallucination at all. Mufasa's spirit was there, and Simba and Rafiki (and Timon and Pumbaa in TLK1) noticed it. Also, on the audio commentary track, Roger, Rob, and Don refer to Rafiki as a "crazy shaman character", and shamans are said to summon spirits back from the dead. Also, the filmmakers confirmed on the making-of-documentaries (the "Story Origins" bonus featurette) on the 2003 DVD that "Mufasa arrives in Simba's hour of need", and the ghost scene was Simba's "to be or not to be" moment.

Now, back to the topic, I think Mufasa waited so long because as stated before, Mufasa arrives in Simba's "hour of need", and that hour of need was when Simba felt Mufasa wasn't there for him, so it was the perfect time for Mufasa to enlighten Simba that he never left him, and that he must take his place in the "Circle of Life". Also, as stated by TheLionQueen, Simba would've killed by Scar or the hyenas if he returned as a cub or an adolescent, so being an adult was the right time for Simba to challenge Scar.

And, I also agree with FlipMode's theory.

[Regulus]

But, I mean, if we apply logic to this, it makes no sense. If Mufasa's spirit was capable of being seen by those other than Simba, then why didn't he screw around with Scar? Why didn't he appear to the lionesses to help them? Why didn't he tell Simba his death wasn't his fault, instead of saying "remember?" The way Mufasa talked to Simba seemed more like Simba talking to himself, in my opinion. It is totally plausible (although, as you stated, not intended by the writers) that Rafiki sprinkled some sort of dust, which, when inhaled by Simba, gave him an illusion of his father while seeing his reflection.

[TheLionPrince]

[quote="Regulus"]But, I mean, if we apply logic to this, it makes no sense.?"[/quote]

To be honest with you, I find it very difficult to apply logic to the movie. The Lion King and the official movie universe is not based on the real world, so anything from dancing animals to a lion collabrating with hyenas can happen so I highly assume the filmmakers didn't consider using realism in the story. So, it makes sense for a lion to see a dead father's living spirit because The Lion King isn't meant to be realistic at all.

[quote="Regulus"]If Mufasa's spirit was capable of being seen by those other than Simba, then why didn't he screw around with Scar? Why didn't he appear to the lionesses to help them? Why didn't he tell Simba his death wasn't his fault, instead of saying "remember?".[/quote]

I'm positive it is not in Mufasa's character to use his ghostly visitations for the wrong reasons such as scaring Scar, but to add enlightenment to the living characters when they need guidance and wisdom. If I remember correctly, during the song, "The Madness of King Scar", from TLK musical, Scar was growing more out-of-control when he claims he feels Mufasa's spirit haunting him, so if we could add the extra events in the musical to the original film, Scar is alreadly mentally screwed to begin with.

Now, for the lionesses, I don't he would appear before them because he knew they needed the rightful heir to the throne to govern them as king after they defeat Scar and the hyenas, and because Simba was still alive, it was best for Mufasa to use his ghostly visitation to convince him to go back, and reclaim his title. Anyway, good question, Regulus, and Amanda started a similiar topic on this.

[quote="Regulus"]Why didn't he tell Simba his death wasn't his fault, instead of saying "remember?".[/quote]

I believe it is because Mufasa is a loving father who wanted his son to begin his reign in an identical manner as himself. So, if Mufasa told Simba that Scar killed him, it would have angered Simba, to become the righful king with bitter, hateful heart, instead of a loving, compassionate heart. Also, it would ruin the dramatic "guilt trip" smear-campaign Scar tried to use on Simba, which ignited the final climax.

[quote="Regulus"]The way Mufasa talked to Simba seemed more like Simba talking to himself, in my opinion. It is totally plausible (although, as you stated, not intended by the writers) that Rafiki sprinkled some sort of dust, which, when inhaled by Simba, gave him an illusion of his father while seeing his reflection.[/quote]

Well, Regulus, you can believe what you want, but based on the filmmakers's comments, Mufasa's spirit and reflection was there for Simba to see.