Christopher Vogler The Writers Journey
sometimes find confusing. W h e n I saw the film I heard children in the audience ask
their parents questions like "Wasn't he dead before?" and "Is he back alive again?"
T h e appearance of the ghostly father is dramatic and emotionally moving, but it
plays mostly on the verbal and intellectual level. S i m b a gets encouraging advice, but
the lessons are not dramatized as tests. T h e teaching o f Rafiki is more satisfyingly
concrete and physical — the baboon shaman raps h i m on the head to teach h i m a
lesson about putting his mistakes in the past.
At the time of the storyboard presentation, the details of Simba's return to
Pride Rock had not been worked out. W e discussed many options. S i m b a could
leave the S P E C I A L W O R L D with Nala, Timon, and Pumbaa, agreeing to face Scar
together. Simba and N a l a could go together, after having a parting of the ways with
annaabi.ee 
