Shenzi, Banzai, Ed… they may not be the wisest of Disney characters, but they sure are delightful. Sure, Timon and Pumbaa get all the credit for their sidekick skills, but this trio of hyenas bring their own special brand of hilarity to the table. We’ll have to set aside our misgivings for their evil henchmen status, but we wanted to take a moment and appreciate their wisecracks and silliness.
When we first meet the hyenas we thought they were really scary. Can’t you just feel the intimidation from their circling formation?
But in reality, these hyenas aren’t as terrifying as they seem. In fact, they’re actually pretty hilarious.
Like when they were in the midst of their evil plan, they cracked puns like it was nobody’s business.
Even when they let Simba, Nala, and Zazu get away they still kept the puns rolling.
And you can’t help but laugh when they tried to play dumb to Mufasa. Look at those faces, pure comedic gold.
Their outlook on lions is also comical and extremely quotable.
Or when Shenzi shuddered at the word Mufasa. “Oooh, do it again!”
Ed didn’t have much to say, but his laughter always amused us.
And they gave us great names to call our siblings or anyone who annoyed us.
In addition to their pun skills, they were exceptional at turning names like Mufasa into other words.
While their story doesn’t have the happiest of endings, (we don’t recommend a career as henchmen) we will always remember our favorite trio of hyenas for their hijinks on the savannah.
