Be Prepared (song)

Not to be confused with the song of the same name by Tom Lehrer about the Scout Motto.

"Be Prepared"
Song by Jeremy Irons with Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin and Jim Cummings from the album The Lion King Soundtrack
Released	1994
Recorded	1994
Label	Walt Disney Records

Scar towers over the hyenas.

"Be Prepared" is a song from the 1994 Disney film and 1997 Broadway musical The Lion King. The song was composed by Tim Rice (lyrics) and Elton John (music) and originally performed by Jeremy Irons, Cheech Marin, Jim Cummings (who took over after Irons' voice gave out), and Whoopi Goldberg in the film and by John Vickery, Kevin Cahoon, Stanley Wayne Mathis, and Tracy Nicole Chapman in the original Broadway cast for the musical.

The song continued what had become a Disney tradition in their newer movies at that time, where the villain had his or her own song in the film. This included Professor Ratigan's "The World's Greatest Criminal Mind" in The Great Mouse Detective, Ursula's "Poor Unfortunate Souls" in The Little Mermaid, Gaston's "The Gaston Song" in Beauty and the Beast. This tradition is continued with Frollo's "Hellfire" in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Dr. Facilier's "Friends on the Other Side" in The Princess and the Frog, and Mother Gothel's "Mother Knows Best" in Tangled.

The Lion King

Before the song begins, Scar is talking to the hyenas about their failed attempt to kill Simba and Nala. After Banzai and Shenzi complain about how they hate lions, Scar suddenly appears on a rocky ledge above them, saying "Oh, surely we lions aren't all that bad". Banzai and Shenzi then reply that he's a pal of theirs and that they were talking about Mufasa. They then whinily request food from Scar, to which he begrudgingly agrees, saying " I don't think you really deserve this-(holding a large piece of zebra meat)- I practically gift wrap those cubs for you, and you couldn't even dispose of them". With this, he tosses the hunk of meat to the scavenging trio below. Consuming the meat ravenously, Shenzi remarks defensively, "Well, you know, it wasn't exactly like they were alone, Scar", to which Banzai adds "Yeah, what were we supposed to do, kill Mufasa?". Scar, with an evil, wolfish grin and one paw under his chin replies "Precisely..." Scar sings about the lack of intelligence displayed by the hyenas and how, if they assist him in his plan of killing Mufasa and Simba, intending on becoming King of Pride Rock as Mufasa's 'successor', but through a coup d'état. He promises the hyenas for their aid that he will make sure that they "never go hungry again". The song gradually intensifies throughout, from Scar's comparatively tame first verse to the louder and more complex final section, in which the hyenas sing in counterpoint to Scar. Also, the lighting also changes as the song gets more intense, starting at a green, then to a yellow as Scar begins rallying the Hyenas, then finally a red at the end during the most intense piece of the song. Set in a geothermically unstable area, the song features stylized earthquakes and geysers throughout.

In the beginning of the second verse, an army of hyenas is shown goose-stepping in front of Scar, who is perched on an overlooking cliff in resemblance of Adolf Hitler with countless beams of light pointing straight-up (resembling the Cathedral of light featured in many of the Nuremberg Rallies). Shadows cast onto the cliff evoke for a brief second monumental columns. This is modeled after footage from the Nazi propaganda movie Triumph of the Will.

Jeremy Irons sings most of the song, but after he threw out his voice singing the line "You won't get a sniff without me!" towards the end, the song is sung by Jim Cummings, who voices Ed the Hyena. Irons provides Scar's evil laugh at the end of the song.

Early production

Originally, the song was about Scar introducing the hyenas to the lionesses after he pronounced himself king and when the lionesses opposed him. This idea was scrapped in favor of the song in the film. It was called "Thanks to Me". A reprise of the song after Mufasa's death was also cut from the film, but is featured in the musical version.

Original recording

On the original soundtrack recording, Scar opens the song with a soliloquy:

“

I never thought hyenas essential. They're crude and unspeakably plain. But maybe they've a glimmer of potential if allied to my vision and brain.

”

In the film this is cut and the song begins immediately. This was due to a plot adjustment. The soliloquy had Scar considering using the hyenas for his plot, but in the final version he had already used the hyenas in his plans before the song.

The Lion King 1½

In DisneyToon's 2004 direct-to-video film The Lion King 1½, the music from the beginning of the song is briefly heard as Timon and Pumbaa tour Scar's lair as a possible new home, commenting on how it is quiet, secluded and with no uninvited visitors. The shadows of the goose-stepping hyena army are then seen marching in front of them, though they haven't started singing yet. Timon and Pumbaa stare at them for a few seconds, and remark that the scene "isn't exactly a revival of riverdance." They then riverdance out of the scene.

The Lion King musical

Like the original soundtrack recording, Scar begins the song with a brief soliloquy. The song is similar to its film counterpart in most respects, including the goose stepping Hyenas, but there is a dance number performed by the hyena ensemble halfway through. Scar later sings a brief reprise while declaring himself king at Mufasa's funeral in which he introduces the Hyenas as his direct and privileged minions. However, the Broadway reprise was not featured in the soundtrack, and is instead replaced with a sinister chord at the end of the song "Rafiki Mourns". In other soundtracks from different productions, the song is not represented at all.

Festival of The Lion King

In Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom's Festival of the Lion King, Scar sings the line "And where do we feature?" (originally sung by Shenzi) and its answer "Just listen to teacher!", turning it into a rhetorical question.