Everything the Light Touches

Mufasa explains the duties of a king to Simba.

Characters


Mufasa	Sarabi	Simba	Zazu

(Simba goes into Pride Rock's cave and leaps over a few lionesses.)

Dad! Daad! Come on, dad. We gotta go! Wake up! (Steps on a lioness.)

Lioness: Oomph! (Turns over.)

Sorry! (Steps on another lioness.)

Lioness: Ooh!

(Nala can be seen in the foreground, sleeping in the paws of her mother. Mufasa begins to wake.)

Dad? Daad. Dad, dad, dad, dad, dad, dad, dad.

(Sleepily) Your son...is awake...

(Eyes closed, sleepily) Before sunrise, he's your son.

Dad? Daad! Come on, dad! (Tugs on Mufasa's ear.) Daa-whoa! (Simba loses his grip and falls backwards. He runs back and headbutts Mufasa. His father looks at him sleepily.) You promised!

Okay, okay. I'm up, I'm up.

Yeah!

(Mufasa yawns. He and Sarabi follow Simba to the top of Pride Rock. Simba rubs up against Sarabi's foreleg. She nudges his rear with her head and stays behind, looking at him lovingly. Simba and Mufasa sit on the top of Pride Rock.)

Look, Simba. Everything the light touches is our kingdom.

Wow!

A king's time as ruler rises and falls like the sun. One day, Simba, the sun will set on my time here and will rise with you as the new king.

And this'll all be mine?

Everything.

Everything the light touches... What about that shadowy place?

That's beyond our borders. You must never go there, Simba.

But I thought a king can do whatever he wants.

Oh, there's more to being king than...getting your way all the time. (Starts to go down the rock.)

(Awed) There's more?

(Chuckles.) Simba.

(Shot of Mufasa and Simba walking on the savannah.)

Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance and respect all the creatures from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope.

But, dad, don't we eat the antelope?

Yes, Simba, but let me explain. When we die, our bodies become the grass. And the antelope eat the grass. And so we are all connected in the great Circle of Life.

(Flies over and lands on a rock.) Good morning, sire!

Good morning, Zazu!

Checking in with the morning report.

Fire away!

Well! The buzz from the bees is that the leapords are in a bit of a spot.

Oh, really?

(Simba pounces at a grasshopper but misses.)

And the baboons are going ape over this. Of course, the giraffes are acting like they're above it all...

(To Simba) What are you doing, son?

Pouncing.

...The tick birds are pecking on the elephants. I told the elephants to forget it, but they can't!...

Zazu, would you turn around?

Yes, sire. (Turns around.) The cheetahs are hard up, but as I always say, "Cheetahs never prosper..."

(Whispering to Simba) Stay low to the ground.

(Whispering) Okay, stay low to the ground. Right. Yeah.

What's going on?

A pouncing lesson.

Oh, very good. Pouncing. (Shocked) Pouncing?! Oh, no, sire! You can't be serious...

(Mufasa motions Zazu to turn back around.)

This is so humiliating...

(Whispering to Simba) Try not to make a sound.

What are you telling him, Mufasa? (Looks back, but doesn't see Simba or his father.) Mufasa? (Timid) ...Simba?

(Simba pounces heavily on Zazu, leaving him winded on the ground.)

(Laughs heartily.) That's very good! Ha, ha, ha!

(A gopher pops up underneath Zazu's head.)

Gopher: Zazu.

Yes.

Gopher: (Salutes.) Sir. News from the underground.

(To Simba) Now, this time-

(Urgently) Sire! Hyenas! In the Pridelands!

(Seriously) Zazu, take Simba home.

Oh, dad, can't I come?

No, son. (Runs off.)

Puh! I never get to go anywhere!

Oh, young master, one day you will be king. Then you can chase those slobbering, mangy, stupid poachers from dawn until dusk.

(Zazu and Simba head home.)