This is an odd question. At first glance, one can see no particular resemblance between the fierce antagonist of one of Disney’s most successful films and those neckerchiefed individuals who hang around Asda car park trying to wash your car. But pay attention, boys and girls, for I shall lead you through a careful analysis of the evidence both for and against this unusual viewpoint.
When we first meet Scar, Simba is bouncing around enthusiastically and boasting that he will one day be king in a pretty tossy manner. Scar shows remarkable restraint in not simply beating Simba up there and then – frankly, I’d smack him one for being so obnoxious, and I’m not even evil like Scar is. So the first piece of evidence that we have is that Scar doesn’t give in to his rage easily. I’ve done a little bit of research on Wikipedia and have discovered that Article 8 of the Scout Law is that a scout must always smile and whistle under any annoying circumstances (in my opinion, a collective of smiling whistling oiks in scout uniform is a particularly annoying circumstance, so I’d rather they broke this rule), and while Scar doesn’t exactly smile or whistle, he doesn’t swear at Simba, like I might have done. This is possibly because if he had, he’d have had a mug of cold water poured down his sleeves (look it up – this is what Baden-Powell said should happen to swearing scouts).
So there we go. On this evidence, Scar easily could be a scout. One nil to the argument that he is. Next point, though, argues against the possibility. Scar tells Simba that he won’t jump for joy because Simba will be king – “bad back, you see”. Sounds like a complaint to me. Article 8 of the Scout Law states that a scout does not grouse at hardships.
So far, one all.
Right, next – Article 3 of the Scout Law states that a scout “must do a good turn every day”. Scar quite regularly turns round, and he does it very dramatically. There is no way they couldn’t be defined as good turns. So I think we’ve got that one covered. Two one to Scar being a scout.
Article 3 of the Scout Law also states that “a scout’s duty is to be useful and to help others”. Bit of a sticky point, this one. Early in the film, you could argue that Scar is helping the hyenas, and he’s being useful by getting them a place to live other than that hideous elephant graveyard. But we all see how later on, the hyenas still don’t have enough to eat and they’ve made Pride Rock a nasty place to live too. So that wasn’t all that useful or helpful of Scar. But you could defend Scar by saying that he did his best for the hyenas, and it’s their fault they messed it up. I’m not sure what to make of this. Ultimately, I think we’ll argue against Scar fulfilling this article, if only because (and this isn’t all that apparent from the film, but if you watch carefully, you’ll see it’s true) he’s not that helpful or useful to the lions. Two all.
So, next. Article 5 – “A scout is to be courteous ... especially to women and children and old people and invalids, cripples, etc.” I don’t remember Scar having any conversations with invalids or cripples, but he’s always pretty courteous in a slimy sort of way. Three two.
And so on to Article 6. (Don’t worry, I’ve nearly milked this for all it’s worth.) “A scout is a friend to animals ... and should not kill animals unnecessarily.” Well ... difficult. Scar’s certainly a friend to hyenas, so a big tick there. He doesn’t seem overly fond of any other animals, though, unfortunately. There’s also the debate over whether his killing of Mufasa was “necessary” or not. In order to pave the way for Scar to be king, then it was indeed necessary. Otherwise, a little less so. Scar killing Mufasa also sits rather uneasily with Article 2 of the Scout Law – “A scout is loyal to the King”. I think here we’re going to have to award a point to the case against.
So ... here we have it. All the evidence I can be bothered to assemble, and we’re at a dead heat. Will we never settle this debate?
Oh, but how could I overlook the most crucial piece of evidence? That song Scar sings, how does it go? Oh yes – “Be prepared”! Remind you of anyone? Of course it does. The Scout Motto is those two very words.
This absolutely can’t be a coincidence. There’s nothing else for it – Scar is a scout.
Sorry for this drivel.