Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed are a trio of hysterical hyenas that are Scar's personal lackeys, and made their first appearance in The Lion King.
Despite being perceived as villains in the film, the trio became some of the film's most popular characters, and are greatly appreciated for their humor; a trend that was continued into Kingdom Hearts II when they appear in the Pride Lands.
Personality[]
Shenzi is the female of the trio. She appears as the dominant one, seeming to be the most intelligent of the hyenas. She is constantly insulting the two males and resents the bumbling ones, although signs of friendship are shown. Her full name is Shenzi Marie Predatora Veldetta Jacquelina Hyena. Her name means "savage", "pagan", "uncouth", or "barbarous". In Kingdom Hearts II, Shenzi is voiced by Tress MacNeille. In the original movie, she was voiced by Academy Award-winner Whoopi Goldberg.
Banzai is the sliest of the group. Constantly hungry and moaning for food, he scuttles round the place for food. His name means 'skulk' or 'lurk'. In the movie and Kingdom Hearts II, he is voiced by Cheech Marin.
Ed appears as the least intelligent of the group. He is always smiling and laughs uncontrollably at anything. He never speaks at all. He is always the butt of jokes within the trio. He is voiced by Jim Cummings in the movie and the game.
Physical appearance[]
The hyena trio all have a similar basic appearance. They all seem to be rather mangy, with mostly grey fur over their bodies, save for their bellies and paws, which are tan and dark brown, respectively. They all have hunched backs and dark purple speckles on their backs, as well as rings of the same color around their eyes. They have short, black tails and a crest of long, black hair lining their spines. All three have large, dark brown ears and noses, as well as yellow eyes and sharp, slightly yellowed teeth.
Shenzi sports five long, dark brown "bangs" on the top of her head, and the patches around her eyes are shaped to resemble heavily applied eyeshadow. She seems to have a larger upper lip than her two companions, and her eyes are usually half-shut. She also lacks the dark grey 'stubble' mark that the males possess.
Banzai's most distinguishing feature is his unusually heavy, dark brown eyebrows. He has two very short strands of dark brown hair on top of his head. The fur on Banzai's chin is slightly longer than either Shenzi's or Ed's, making him appear as if he has a short beard.
In a sharp contrast to Shenzi, Ed's eyes are always wide open and rarely focus on anything. His mouth is also frequently seen hanging open with his tongue lolling. Ed has three strands of dark brown hair on the top of his head. His mane is also slightly more mangy than the other two.
History[]
Kingdom Hearts II[]
First Visit[]
In the game, the trio are desperate for food and they tried to eat Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Banzai almost killed Sora but was stopped when they heard Scar roar. The hyena trio ran to Scar to see what he wanted with other hyenas.
The hyena trio was seen again at Pride Rock and they were about to attack Sora, Donald and Goofy. However, they heard Scar roar, and they looked up and saw Scar and Pete, When Nala knocked down Scar and told Sora, Donald, and Goofy to run.The three heroes ran, with Shenzi, Banzai, Ed and other hyenas in pursuit. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Nala managed to get away from the hyenas.
The hyena trio is later seen again at Pride Rock preventing Simba from getting to Scar. Sora then told Simba to go after Scar while his friends handle the hyenas. Timon and Pumbaa knocked the hyenas into the air but they were chased into Pride Rock by the hyenas. Sora, Donald, and Goofy battled the hyena trio inside Pride Rock. The trio was easily defeated and ran away out of Pride Rock.
Second Visit[]
Later on in the game, the trio of hyenas are fought again for information on the source of Scar's ghost. They know nothing of the ghost, and taunt Simba about it.
Origin[]
Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed's first appearance was in the 1994 film The Lion King. In the movie, they tried to kill Simba and Nala in the Elephant Graveyard under Scar's orders, but they fled when Mufasa arrived to rescue the young lions. Later, they helped Scar with his plan to kill Mufasa by making the wildebeests run in Simba's direction. When Scar and the hyenas find Simba after the stampede and Scar tells him to run away and never come back, he commands the hyenas to chase and kill Simba. Simba manages to escape and the hyenas return to Scar.
Years later, when Simba returns to Pride Rock, he and Scar start a fight. The hyenas also join in the fight, but most of them are defeated by the lionesses, and Shenzi and Banzai are beaten up by Pumbaa. When Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed hear Scar say that all the events that happened were the idea of the hyenas, they get angry with him, and when Scar is thrown off Pride Rock by Simba, they kill Scar.
Gallery[]
