However, some commentators had more mixed to negative responses; some felt uncertain about the decision to add new material not found in the film to the musical, while others disagreed with the song's explicit content.
[5][6] Smosh's Mikey McCollor wrote that it was removed from the film for being "so creepy", primarily due to Scar's sexual comments toward Nala.
[7] Echoing McCollor's comments, io9's Lauren Davis described Scar's interactions with Nala as creepy,[5] and Moviepilot's Olivia van der Will attributed the exclusion of the song to its lyrics' reference to sexuality.
[17] During the song, the hyenas express their discontent with Scar for his inability to deal with a drought affecting the Pride Lands,[2] begging for him to give them a "fix of flesh" to satisfy their "needs".
In their book The Disney Song Encyclopedia, Thomas S. Hischak and Mark A. Robinson described the composition as a "stream-of-consciousness number alternat[ing] between buffoonish comedy and cold-blooded evil".
[2] Alfredo Michel Modenessi wrote, in his article "Disney's 'War Efforts': The Lion King and Education for Death; or Shakespeare Made Easy for Your Apocalyptic Convenience" that the song drew close parallels between Scar and a Shakespearean character, and further develops his relationship with the hyenas following his assumption of power.
Connecting Scar's behaviour with the Argentine tango, Modenessi described his attempts to approach Nala as occurring to "the beat of that stereotyped 'music of seduction'".
Ben Hewis of WhatsOnStage.com included the song in his list of his top five favourite show tunes, writing that it "shin[ed] a humanising light on the thought process of Scar is brilliantly effective storytelling".
[10] Featuring it as an example of why Scar was one of the "15 most terrifying musical theater villains", Backstage's KC Wright described it as a "snarling signature song".
[15] Megan Green of Australian Stage wrote that "The Madness of King Scar" was an example of one of the "new, and equally memorable, songs" created for the musicals.
Brandon Jones of The Global Dispatch criticised "The Madness of King Scar" and "Chow Down" as "a bit too tedious", and felt that the beginning of the second act was too long.
[21] Heather Violanti was critical of the song's content, writing that its "disgusting jokes about intestinal worms may drive you mad yourself", and negatively compared it to the Lebo M-written "One by One".