A review of TLK mentioning a big problem.

[SimbaKovu]

I have always wondered that about Zazu. My best guess is that he was in such a panic in that moment that he didn't even notice that Scar hit him. Once he woke up, he could have just assumed that he got in too much of a hurry and flew into the side of the cliff.

That never bothered me because Zazu was facing away from Scar when he smacked him. It seemed very obvious to me, but I guess you have to really be watching the movie to notice it.

It never bothered me that much, either. Although I never thought he would have just written off him being knocked out as him flying into the side of the cliff, I always thought he may have simply had amnesia upon waking up, at least forgetting that Scar swatted him into the cliff.

[SimbasGuard]

Actually, Sarabi did question Simba's confession.

Sarabi:"It's not true...Tell me it's not true."

Simba: "It's true."

Now before Sarabi or any of the other Lionesses have a chance to ask any further questions Scar Jumps in.

Scar: "You see he admits it...Murderer!"

Scar then starts interrogating Simba and Simba barely has a chance to say anything in his own defense. How were any of the Lionesses suppose to interject themselves into what was happening, none of them could have gotten in between Simba and Scar without having to fight through the Hyenas. (as they were between Scar and the lionesses). and it is obvious none of the Lionesses gave up on Simba as none of them walked away from what was going on. Nala in particular voiced her concern when Simba slipped from Pride Rock.

[Flowertall]

I don`t think it can be called a flaw, because it only shows how manipulating and mean Scar is. It`s when he tells Simba that if it hadn`t been for him, the king would still be alive. "Can you deny that"? Simba: "No". "Then you are guilty". Guilty for murder, that is.

I don`t blame Simba either for not disagreeing with that, because he was very stressed and probably couldn`t think straight. But there`s no way that makes Simba a murderer. Mufasa voluntarily went into the gorge and rescued Simba. He wouldn`t have blamed Simba for one second for his death.

That would be like if a mother died from complications during birth, the baby is a murderer because if it weren`t for the baby, the mother would still be alive. Very bad reasoning from Scar`s side, but not a flaw on the movie`s part. It just shows how mean Scar is, I think.

[hotCoco21]

As for Scar "putting words in Simba's mouth" and that whole part not being entirely believable, here's some support for our little cub who just lost his father:
-Obviously, Simba was in a very emotionally unstable place. When Scar told him that the death was his fault, he was too unstable to see otherwise, and blindly trusted his advice. Of, course, we all know that Scar was out to get Simba, but Simba didn't know that.
-Keep in mind Simba is only about a month old when this happened. When your little, adults always seem right, even if they're trying to kill you/put you into exile. This coupled with the reason above almost explains why little Simba did what Scar said and believed him when he said the stampede was Simba's fault. So just one more thing.
-I'm not sure how strong this part of the theory is, but you know when Simba's practicing his roar and the roar is loud enough to echo off the gorge walls? Almost immediately after, the ground starts shaking, and you could see realization and terror on his face. He might have made the connection that his roar could have potentially started the stampede, therefore coming to the conclusion that the whole thing was his fault after a little nudge from Scar.

[BlitzRogue]

Basically, what the last few posters have said are my feelings on this.

It honestly more shows that cunning and devious side of Scar that Doug complained about him losing for the latter half of the film. From my perspective, that interrogation scene showed everyone that though he's a terrible ruler, Scar was still very much an intellectual force to be reckoned with. He danced circles around Simba (both metaphorically and literally), and never really gave anyone a chance to question his motives because he knew that if he gave them the time to do that, he'd be found out.

The speed at which he was hurling questions at Simba very quickly overwhelmed him, and the way that he worded those questions ensured the the lionesses would hear from Simba precisely what Scar wanted them to hear, and nothing more. Instead of saying, "YOU killed Mufasa; it's YOUR fault he's dead. Do you deny it?", he said, "If it weren't for you, Mufasa would still be alive; it's YOUR fault he's dead. Do you deny it?"

In the former case, Simba (while unlikely) could have tried to argue his innocence because he didn't directly kill Mufasa, but (in Simba's mind anyway) he was the reason that Mufasa was no longer alive, so he really couldn't deny Scar's claim. That little twisting of words always showed to me that there was really no other way that the scene could have played out. It was going precisely according to Scar's plan (made up on the spot, no doubt), right up until Simba's adrenaline-filled leap back onto the promontory.

So yeah, the reason the lionesses didn't pursue things further is because Scar never really gave them a chance to. That both strengthens Scar as a villain and eliminates any "moral flaw" in the film, as far as I'm concerned.

[We1rdRaptor]

In my mind, the only reason the lionesses weren't rushing to Simba's aid that instant was because they were in shock at what they were hearing.

Yeah, I'm a big Doug Walker fan, and I'll be the first to admit that he can be a bit thick on certain issues. He's nice, but also very opinionated, and once he's gotten into a certain mind-frame, he'll come up with some odd ideas either for or against a movie that frankly don't entirely work. In general, he's usually very good about being fair when genuinely looking a work over as himself, but every once in a while he'll come up with "no one will support you if you killed Mufasa, however accidentally". However, at least he still called it a good movie and gave it due praise unlike He Who Shall Not Be Named.

[Biomac]

Well I didn't thought the problem he was mentionning was so big, it's more little. Second the message is that Simba (and us at the same time) has to face his responsibilities, there is just a little about friendship and love but that's it. I don't agree with him about the songs, myself I think they are all freaking awesome. And I think that TLK is really a movie for children as adults (a little bit more for adult I think), everyone can like it.