Summary
- Zazu’s role in Mufasa’s kingdom is more vital than previously thought, as he was tasked with watching over Simba and reporting everything back to Mufasa.
- Zazu ran a secret organization of bird informants that provided crucial information to Mufasa, allowing him to keep peace within his kingdom and intervene when necessary.
- Despite being portrayed as an annoying stickler, Zazu’s role as a liaison for the bird informants makes him the most useful servant to the crown and deserves respect from Disney fans. #LionKing
Warning! This article contains spoilers for Disney Villains: Scar #4 The Lion King’s Zazu is one of those Disney characters everyone knows, but no one particularly likes. Sure, he was an ally to the protagonists of the film, but he was also pretty annoying, and only really acted as comedic relief for the audience. However, Zazu’s role in Mufasa’s kingdom was actually much more vital than anyone gave him credit for, and the official prequel to The Lion King proves why fans should actually respect him.
Zazu is a red-billed hornbill who was portrayed as being very uptight, especially in regard to Simba and his continuously rule-breaking nature. Among his other duties (that weren’t made very clear in the film), Zazu was essentially Simba’s caretaker, who was charged with watching over the young prince and reporting everything back to Mufasa. From an audience standpoint (especially considering the target audience was children), this made Zazu come off as an annoying stickler who was just trying to get Simba in trouble all the time. However, acting as Simba’s caretaker was far from Zazu’s only duties, as he and his secret army of bird informants were actually perhaps the main reasons behind the safety of the entire Pride Lands.
The Lion King’s Zazu Ran A Secret Organization Of Bird Informants For Mufasa
In Disney Villains: Scar #4 by Chuck Brown and Trevor Fraley, readers are shown the final moves put into place by Scar and his army of hyenas before the assassination of Mufasa and the successful coup of his kingdom. One vital part of the plan was to feed Zazu misinformation, which the loyal servant of Mufasa would then bring back to his king, and unwittingly set Scar’s entire sinister plan into action. And Scar knew just how to do that: give a false tip to one of Zazu’s little birds.
The Lion King prequel establishes that Zazu is a liaison for a team of birds who watch over the Pride Lands and keep Mufasa informed. This is actually incredibly significant information, as it truly explains how Mufasa – who is just a lion, after all – can keep peace within his kingdom, and know when there’s injustice or conflict that requires his intervention. Zazu’s birds are always patrolling the skies, and divulge everything they see or hear to Zazu himself, who then takes that information directly to the king. So, in a way, Zazu is probably the most useful servant to the crown than anyone else, as he gathers all the information Mufasa would ever need to confidently rule his kingdom.
Zazu is a figure of playful ridicule and comedic annoyance in The Lion King – someone who initially came off as a useless civil servant who is self-important but ineffective – but it turns out that he also fills an essential role that literally no one else could, proving why Zazu actually deserves the respect of Disney fans.
Disney Villains: Scar #4 by Dynamite Entertainment is available now.