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The Lion King[]
In The Lion King, Simba was born to Mufasa and Sarabi and, at his birth, was presented to the kingdom of The Pride Lands as the future king. Rafiki, a wise mandrill who was an old friend of Mufasa, headed the ceremony, performing a ritual before presenting Simba.
Simba as a cub
A few months later, Simba grows up into a playful cub, with a rambunctious attitude. He grows excited about being king someday after Mufasa shows him the kingdom. Mufasa explains that Simba will one day rule over everything they can see, but warns Simba not to go to a shadowy area beyond the borders of the Pride Lands. Though Simba, initially believes that being king is about getting to do whatever he wishes, Mufasa teaches him about the responsibilities of royalty, just as Mufasa's majordomo Zazu arrives to give the morning report. Simba spots a bug and attempts to pouncing on it, but keeps missing. Mufasa notices and decides to give Simba a pouncing lesson by using Zazu as a target. Simba manages to pounce on Zazu, who is informed by a mole on hyenas being in the Pride Lands, to which Zazu passes this onto Mufasa, who tells Zazu to take Simba home. Simba asks Mufasa if he can come with him, but Mufasa replies that he can't. As he walks back to Pride Rock, Simba laments how he never gets to go anywhere, to which Zazu tells him that when he is king, he will be able to chase the hyenas from dawn until dusk.
After Simba returns home, he tells his uncle Scar about the trip. Scar questions Simba on if Mufasa showed him the rise upon the northern border, to which Simba says that Mufasa told him that he cannot go there. Scar replies that Mufasa is absolutely right and that only the bravest lions go there. Simba says that he is brave and asks what the place is, to which Scar replies that he can't say, only to let slip that it is an elephant graveyard and it is no place for a young prince. Scar then makes Simba promise not to visit the elephant graveyard. However, Simba wanting to prove himself brave, goes to find his best friend Nala and finds her being cleaned by her mother Sarafina, before Simba himself gets cleaned by Sarabi. Simba tells Nala about going to "a really cool place". Sarabi questions Simba about where the "really cool place" is, to which Simba says is the waterhole. When Nala questions what is so cool about the waterhole, Simba tells her that he will show her when they get there. Sarabi gives the cubs permission to go as long Zazu goes with them, much to their dismay. Unknown to them, Scar had placed his hyena henchmen Shenzi, Banzai and Ed there to kill the cubs, in an attempt to remove Simba from the line of succession so that Scar could become king.
During the trip, the cubs learn from Zazu that they are betrothed and will be married one day, which both of them find disgusting and weird since they are best friends. When Simba vowed that he would remove his engagement to Nala when he was king, he and Zazu began to argue over it and what kind of king Simba would turn out to be, with Simba and Nala mocking the buzzard. They then lose Zazu in several animal herds (while singing I Just Can't Wait To Be King), trapping him underneath a rhinoceros and continue to the graveyard afterwards. After successfully losing Zazu, the two cubs briefly celebrate their success, until Simba arrogantly calls himself a genius for the plan. He argues with Nala when she says it was her idea, saying he pulled it off, and her reminding him he did it with her. After Nala counters every argument he tries to make, Simba just smirks at her deviously and says "Oh yeah?" in a sly tone, before he suddenly pounces at her and lets out a tiny roar, playfully tackling Nala intending to force her admit he deserves credit. But to Simba's surprise, she easily flips him over and with a triumphant "Ha!" slams him down with a small thump and Simba grunting upon impact, pinning him. Simba can only look up at Nala in complete shock at this, with his eyes wide and his jaw dropped unable to say anything, while she stares down at him with a bright smile. Nala chuckles at Simba while she holds him down and playfully teases him "Pinned ya" for his loss. Simba, finally overcoming his shock from this, rudely tells her to let him up and pushes her off him, embarrassed over being easily beaten by her. Simba glares bitterly at her for a moment as she turns away from him holding her head high with a smug victorious smile, before smirking when he sees she's distracted and tries to tackle her again from behind as revenge, but accidentally sends them both over a nearby hill. While rolling down the hill together, Nala laughs in amusement the whole way down while Simba struggles to stay on top of her, holding on to her desperately with a shocked and scared expression. Right as they reach the bottom with Simba seemingly on top, Nala uses the last of their momentum to once again flip and pin Simba in the same position as before, slamming him down on his back with another small thump with a bit more force than previously and him grunting again from the slightly stronger impact. Simba looks up in silence to see Nala smirking down at him, and she smugly rubs her victory in his face, bragging "Pinned ya again" at him in a much more boastful and superior tone than her previously friendly and playful one, with him only able to pout at her in defeat with a glare as she taunts him and holds him down.
Just then, a steam geyser goes off, interrupting the cubs and their squabble as the hiss from it startles them both, and they realize they wrestled right into the Elephant Graveyard and begin to explore, but Zazu arrives and tries to get the two cubs to return to The Pride Lands. However the trio are then ambushed by three hyenas, who capture Zazu and place him in a geyser that sends him flying out of the graveyard. Simba and Nala are then pursued by the hyenas and run up a large pile of bones to escape. However, Nala slips and starts to slide back down the pile towards Shenzi. Nala calls out to Simba, who comes to Nala aid and scratches Shenzi in the face, before fleeing with Nala. The two eventually run into a dead end and are advanced upon by the hyenas. Simba tries to protect Nala by scaring the hyenas away with a roar. However, he is only able to produce a weak roar, much to the hyenas amusement. Simba tries to roar again and appears to make a louder roar, only for him, Nala, and the hyenas to realize that the roar came from Mufasa, who had been alerted to the cubs' peril by Zazu. Mufasa saves the two cubs and gets rid of the hyenas, foiling Scar's plan. Simba approaches Mufasa to apologize for not listening to him, only to be scolded by him. Simba says that he is sorry before Mufasa leads him, Nala, and Zazu out of the Elephant Graveyard. As they leave, Nala whispers to Simba that she thought he was very brave.
After returning to the Pride Lands, Mufasa sends Nala and Zazu back to Pride Rock whilst he lectures Simba over disobeying him and on the danger Simba put himself and Nala in. A remorseful Simba replies that he was trying to be brave like Mufasa to which Mufasa replies that he is only brave when he has to be and that being brave does not mean you go looking for trouble. Simba says that Mufasa is not scared of anything, only for Mufasa to reply that he was scared today because he thought he might lose Simba. The pair then reconcile and play fight. Afterwards, Simba asks if they will always be together. Mufasa responds by telling Simba about the Great Kings of the Past, who look down from the stars. Mufasa tells Simba if he ever feels alone, the Great Kings will always be there to guide him, and so will he.
The next day, Scar tells Simba that his father has a surprise for him. Scar leaves him in a deep gorge, telling the cub to "work on his little roar" and that the surprise is "to die for". Unbeknownst to Simba, the "surprise" was another plot of Scar's, with the goal of killing both Simba and Mufasa. Shenzi, Banzai and Ed drive a herd of wildebeest toward Simba. As Simba waits for Scar to return, he sees a chameleon and roars at it. Seconds later, the wildebeest run down the gorge towards Simba, causing the cub to run for his life. Having been informed by Scar of the situation, Mufasa comes to his son's aid. Mufasa travels through the stampede to rescue Simba and places him on a safe ledge, before being knocked back into the stampede by a wildebeest. Simba worries that his father is dead, before seeing him jump from the stampede and climb up a nearby ledge. Simba starts to climb up the ledge he is on to meet Mufasa at the top, only to look around and see Mufasa fall back into the stampede (unaware that he was thrown off the cliff by Scar). After the stampede is over, Simba finds Mufasa lying lifeless under a tree and tries to wake him only to realize that he is dead. Simba is then joined by Scar who manipulates Simba into believing that Mufasa's death was his own fault (making him believe that his roar caused the stampede) to emotionally spite him. Scar tells Simba to leave the kingdom, and secretly sends the hyenas to kill him. Simba is able to escape by leaping into a bed of thorns. Simba then runs far away from home. In the meantime, the hyenas shout after him that they'll kill him if he comes back, and lie to Scar that Simba is dead, reasoning that he won't survive in the desert anyway. This secures Scar's ascension to the throne.
After being stranded in a desert, he meets Timon a meerkat, and Pumbaa, a warthog. The pair had saved him from death, and offered to let Simba stay with them, as Simba was an outcast like they were. They teach Simba about their life in the jungle, and about their motto "Hakuna Matata", which means "no responsibilities, no worries". Simba takes this to heart, and survives by eating bugs.
Simba as a young adult
Years later, Simba has grown up into fairly carefree young adult lion but he is reminded of his father's death while he, Pumbaa, and Timon are stargazing. One day, Simba is called upon to save Pumbaa from a mysterious lioness. Simba lunges at the lioness, with her stopping in shock at his sudden appearance, and manages to tackle her to the ground and briefly hold her down before she breaks free from his grasp and they engage in a brief but fierce fight. Both lions circle each other while snarling, grappling, and biting at each other and the lioness clawing at Simba's mane and shoulders, with Timon cheering Simba on against the lioness. Despite his efforts, Simba loses the fight to the lioness when he lunges at her again to tackle her again, but this time she flips him and violently slams him down, pinning him. However, he discovers from this that the lioness is his old friend Nala, recognizing the move she used to pin him from when they were cubs. With that, Simba's anger vanishes, replaced with shock and wonder, but he can only stare up at Nala helplessly. As Nala holds him down and glares angrily, growling at him practically nose to nose, Simba says her name, and her anger turns into shock as well, getting off him and allowing him to stand. When Nala asks who he is, he reveals he is Simba. Though Nala is happy, as Simba being alive means that Simba can become king, Simba is hesitant, as he still feels responsible for Mufasa's death.
Simba asks Timon and Pumbaa to give them some time alone, and he and Nala say they missed each other. Nala surprises Simba by suddenly nuzzling him affectionally, rubbing her head against his chin, but he quickly nuzzles her back with a smile. After Simba and Nala spend time alone, they discover their friendship has blossomed into love. While alone, Simba takes Nala on a romantic tour of the jungle (during "Can You Feel the Love Tonight"). While the two are drinking from a lake together, Nala notices him smiling slyly at her, before he suddenly runs behind her and swings from a vine into the lake. When Nala looks over the lake to find him, he suddenly emerges from right under her, surprising her, grabbing her around the neck, and playfully pulls her into the water. Nala resurfaced immediately, gasping for air as Simba watched her with a smile, and gets out of the water of fast as she can. Nala drags herself out, terrified by the unexpected sudden swim, and Simba comes out next to her with a big goofy smile, both of them soaking wet and Simba's waterlogged mane covering his face. Nala smirks at Simba, amused over his prank and ridiculous appearance, before jokingly shoving him back in as revenge and running off. Simba gets out quickly and playfully chases after Nala, and the two run across an open field and back into the jungle, where Nala allows Simba to catch up to her. The two begin to playfully wrestle together, like when they were cubs, standing up on two legs and grappling with each other happily, and Nala ends up tripping and falling backwards with Simba on top of her. The two roll down a hill together, hanging on to each other as they tumble on top of each other, until they reach the bottom and Simba ends up landing on top of Nala, finally "beating" her and winning their playful little wrestling match. Simba briefly chuckles to himself over finally successfully pinning Nala for the first time in his life, until Nala surprises him with an affectionate lick on the cheek as a reward for winning. Simba glances down at Nala in surprise, only to see her smiling and gazing up at him seductively. Simba quickly returns the smile and the two gaze lovingly at each other and nuzzle together, embracing their new love for each other. However, Nala tries to get Simba to return with her to the Pride Lands. She tells him about Scar's tyrannical rule, but Simba still refuses. Only encounters with both Rafiki and the ghost of Mufasa are able to convince him to return, as Mufasa reminds him that he must accept his role in the Circle of Life and Rafiki demonstrates how you can either run from the past or learn from it by hitting Simba with his staff, and trying again unsuccessfully.
Simba returns to the Pride Lands where he is horrified and angered when he discovers that the land has been destroyed during Scar's reign. As a result the herds have moved on, leaving the pride with no food or water. Simba heads to Pride Rock, followed by Nala, Pumbaa, and Timon who had joined Simba. While Timon and Pumbaa distract the hyenas, Simba goes to find Scar, while Nala rallies the lionesses. Simba reveals himself to his uncle after seeing Scar strike down Sarabi. Scar is fearful at first, but is able to force Simba to admit guilt in Mufasa's death before forcing Simba over the edge of Pride Rock, just at a fire starts and surrounds it. As Simba hangs on for dear life, Scar declares that the scene looks familiar to him and says that this is just the way Mufasa looked before he died. Scar then grabs onto Simba's paws and sinks his claws into them (just like he did to Mufasa) before revealing "his little secret", that he killed Mufasa, not Simba. Before Scar can throw him off Pride Rock and into the fire, an enraged Simba, after experiencing a flashback to Mufasa's death, now realizes that Scar was completely a big liar and jumps back up and pins Scar down, calling him a murderer and demands him to tell the truth to the pride. But Scar tries to weasel out of the situation. Only when Simba starts to choke him, Scar admits his actions. Alongside the lionesses and his friends, Simba leads a battle against Scar. At one point in the battle, Simba is attacked by a small group of hyenas, but is saved by Rafiki, who fights off the hyenas whilst Simba escapes.
Simba then spots Scar trying to flee and chases him to the top of Pride Rock. As a vengeful Simba approaches his uncle, Scar begs for mercy, but Simba replies that he doesn't deserve to live. Scar tells Simba that he is family and that it is the hyenas who are the real enemy, stating that everything that had happened was their fault and their idea. Despite not believing his uncle's claims, Simba chooses not to kill Scar and instead orders him to leave the Pride Lands and to never return knowing full well that Scar cant be trusted. At first, Scar appears to submit to Simba, but then throws embers into his nephew's eyes before attacking him. After a short fight, Simba is knocked to the ground by Scar, who dives in for the killing blow. Luckily, Simba acts fast, and using Nala's pinning move that she always used on him, kicks his uncle over the ledge they are on. Simba then watches on as Scar is consumed by his hyena henchmen, who had heard him blame them for his own actions. He watches the Hyenas kill Scar and does nothing to save him, knowing he does not deserve to live.
By the time the land is restored to its former glory, Simba has taken his rightful place as king. He has also married Nala, and the two have their own cub, who is presented to the kingdom by Rafiki.
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride[]
Mature Simba in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
In The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, Simba is now a mature adult and he and Nala have a daughter, Kiara. Though he's shown to be a loving father, he's also concerned and over-protective of Kiara, due to his experiences as a cub. One day, Simba lets his daughter out to play and warns her to stay away from the Outlands, which is home to a pride of lions called the Outsiders, with saying that you cannot turn your back on them. When questioned by Kiara on why that is, Simba sends her on her way and tells her that she will understand one day. As Kiara leaves, Nala playfully teases Simba about Kiara's likeness to Simba when he was young. Simba agrees, stating about the troubles they put themselves in. Nala playfully pins Simba to the ground and says he means the troubles he put them in. Simba chuckles at these words as the pair warmly embrace, with Nala saying that Kiara will be fine. However, Simba decides to send Timon and Pumbaa to watch Kiara. Unknown to Simba, Timon and Pumbaa begin to argue about bugs and Kiara slips away from them unnoticed.
At some point offscreen, Simba is informed by Timon and Pumbaa that Kiara had left them. Simba finds Kiara with a male Outsider cub named Kovu and steps between the two and roars at Kovu. Just then, Kovu's mother and the leader of the Outsiders Zira appears and roars at Simba in her son's defense. Zira prepares to fight Simba, but changes her mind after seeing that he has been accompanied by Nala, Timon, Pumbaa and two lionesses. Simba reminds Zira that he banished her from the Pride Lands and tells her and Kovu to leave. Zira tells Simba that Kovu was hand chosen by Scar to follow in his pawprints and become King. Zira tries to get pity from Simba by telling him of how the Outlands has no food and little water. However, Simba is unmoved and tells Zira that she knows the penalty for returning to the Pride Lands to which Zira replies that Kovu does not know of it and tries to offer him as a sacrifice to Simba. However, Simba is unwilling to harm the cub and instead tells Zira to take Kovu and get out, saying that they are finished here before picking up Kiara. Zira tells Simba that they have barely begun before leaving with Kovu.
After the confrontation, Simba sends the others back to Pride Rock before confronting Kiara about not listening to him and says that she needs to be careful as she is the future queen. When Kiara asks what if she does not want to be queen, Simba replies that it's like saying that she does not want to be a lion. Simba says that it is in her blood as he is and says that they "are one." The two then travel back to Pride Rock.
When Kiara is an adolescent, she heads out into the Pride Lands for her first hunt. Simba, despite promising Kiara that he would let her hunt alone, sends Timon and Pumbaa out to keep a close watch on her again. While Kiara is hunting, Simba paces nervously at Pride Rock as Zazu assures him that Kiara will be fine. He then notices smoke from a wildfire, and sends Zazu ahead to find Kiara as he rallies the pride. Zazu sees Kiara being pulled out of a lake by a young male lion and goes to tell Simba this. Simba and Nala reach Kiara and the lion, who Simba roars at. Kiara is annoyed at Simba for not keeping his word, but Simba states that it was a good thing he did as he had almost lost her. Out of fear of losing Kiara again, Simba tells her that she will not be hunting again. When Kiara reveals that the other lion is Kovu, Simba reacts in anger, which Nala calls him out for. Simba is then informed by Rafiki that Kovu saved Kiara by sarcastically saying "How dare you save the king's daughter?". When Simba questions Kovu on why he saved Kiara, Kovu states that he wishes to join the Pridelanders. Simba ungratefully refuses as Kovu was banished along with the other Outsiders. Kovu replies that he has left the Outsiders and is now a rogue, before telling Simba to judge him now for who he is or blame him for a crime he did not commit. As Simba ponders, Nala says that he owes Kovu Kiara's life. Zazu agrees as The Pride Lands law states that debts must be repaid (but also tells Simba that in this case, he might want to make an exception). Simba agrees to these laws and grants Kovu temporary membership in the Pride, but says he will reserve judgement on Kovu until he sees who he really is. As darkness falls, Simba leads the pride back to Pride Rock but makes Kovu sleep outside the pride's den out of distrust. Soon after as Kiara and Kovu talk, Simba calls for Kiara to come inside, to which she does, but not before arranging with Kovu to have a hunting lesson in the morning. Unknown to Simba, Kovu has been sent by Zira to infiltrate the pride in order to kill Simba and replace him as king in order to avenge Scar's death.
That night, Simba has a nightmare about where he runs to a cliff edge and looks over and sees Mufasa clinging onto the edge with a stampede below calling for Simba's help. Just as Simba begins to reach out to his father, he hears laughter and looks up and sees Scar on a higher ledge walking towards him. Panicking, Simba leans further over the cliff and stretches his right paw out to Mufasa, telling him to reach out a little further. Just as the two lions' paws are within inches of each other, Scar appears and stops Simba from saving his father by grabbing hold of his left paw, which is clinging onto the cliff and tells Simba to trust him. After Mufasa falls off the cliff, Simba lets out a cry of sadness before angrily turning to face Scar, who morphs into Kovu and throws Simba off the cliff. Simba wakes up in shock and looks around for Kovu, but does not see him and goes back to sleep.
The next morning, Simba leaves Pride Rock and goes to a waterhole to drink, unaware that Kovu is watching him and prepares to attack him, only to be interrupted by Kiara, who has come for the hunting lesson. Kovu looks back at the waterhole, only to find that Simba has left. Later that night, Simba watches as Kiara and Kovu stargaze and grow close. He then looks up at the sky and asks Mufasa for guidance. Just then, Nala arrives and convinces him to get to known Kovu. After Kiara and Kovu return to Pride Rock, Simba decides to take Nala's advice and allows Kovu to sleep inside with the rest of the pride.
Sometime later, Simba sees Kovu about to talk to Kiara and says that he does not want Kiara to talk to Kovu, but he does. Kiara smiles that this, to which Simba winks back at her. Simba and Kovu walk through the Pride Lands and reach the area damaged by the fire. Simba tells Kovu the real story about Scar and says that what's left behind can grow better than the generation before, if given a chance. Suddenly, Zira and the other Outsiders arrive with Zira congratulates Kovu for leading Simba to them, automatically reigniting Simba's distrust in Kovu. Kovu truthfully denies having anything to do with the ambush, and even tries to protect Simba, but is knocked down by his sister Vitani. Simba is injured but climbs up a log dam to safety, causing a few of the logs to fall on Kovu's brother Nuka, who tried to stop him from getting away and he dies from his injuries. Simba limps back to the Pride Lands and is spotted by Kiara, Timon, Pumbaa and Zazu. Kiara sends Zazu to get help as she and Timon and Pumbaa approach Simba. When questioned on what happened, Simba spurts out "Kovu" and "Ambush", before collapsing. Kiara exclaims disbelief at what Simba said. Simba then helped back to Pride Rock by Timon and Pumbaa.
Simba is next seen back at Pride Rock with Nala and Kiara at his side. Kiara tells Simba that what he said about Kovu cannot be true, just as Kovu (now bearing a scar after Zira scratched him and blamed him for Nuka's death) returns. Kiara goes to greet him, but is stopped by Simba, who confronts Kovu for returning. Kovu tells Simba that he had nothing to do with the ambush, but Simba doesn't believe him and states that Kovu doesn't belong in the Pride Lands. Kovu begs Simba to forgive him and Kiara pleads with Simba to listen to Kovu, but he yells at her to be silent. Simba then says that when Kovu first came here, he asked for judgement and Simba says he will pass it now and exiles Kovu. A distraught Kiara tries to intervene, but is stopped by four lionesses whilst Simba (either ignoring or not noticing Kiara's actions) watches Kovu being chased out of The Pride Lands by the other animals, following the King's lead as they've learned their lesson after what happened with Scar. Rafiki can only moan in disappointment at how Simba has gone against his late father's intentions as he watches Kovu leave the Pride Lands, knowing the young lion had nothing to do with Zira's ambush.
After Kovu is gone, Kiara approaches Simba and pleads with him to reconsider, only for Simba to sternly reply that she will not go anywhere without an escort from now on. Kiara protests at this, but Simba cuts her off and claims that Kovu had used her just to get to him. Kiara denies this, stating that Kovu loves her for herself, but Simba angrily claims that it is because she is his daughter. Simba sternly tells Kiara that she will not leave Pride Rock so he can keep an eye on her and keep her away from Kovu. Kiara tells Simba that he does not know Kovu to which Simba turns his back on Kiara and walks to the peak of Pride Rock and looks across The Pride Lands, stating that he knowns that Kovu is following Scar's paw prints (despite Kovu having already rejected Scar's legacy) and Simba himself must follow in his father's (unaware that Mufasa had wanted Kiara and Kovu to be together in order to unite the Pridelanders and Outsiders, and Simba's actions have ironically violated Mufasa's will and broken the Circle of Life). Kiara, having had enough of her father's obstinate attitude, tells him that he will never be Mufasa, causing Simba to be hurt immensely in shock and disbelief and looks away from Kiara as she runs into Pride Rock in tears watched on in shock by the lionesses. (A scene from the film's making of reveals that Mufasa himself would have also reprimanded Simba for his actions and voiced his disappointment in his son, stating "You have let your family break apart, and in doing so, you have broken the Circle of Life!")
That night as it starts to rain, Simba goes into Pride Rock and sees Timon and Pumbaa arguing and asks what they doing, to which they nervously let slip that Kiara has ran away (having left to find Kovu), much to Simba's anger at the fact that Kiara had once again went against his orders. Before Simba can do anything about the situation, Zazu arrives and announces that the Outsiders have initiated a war. Simba heads out to fight with his lionesses and Timon and Pumbaa and sends Zazu to find Kiara. Before the battle begins in earnest Simba offers Zira a chance to surrender and leave peacefully which Zira, determined to see her goals to fruition, refuses and orders her lionesses to attack. At this point, Simba leads his pride against the Outsiders.
After a lengthy battle, Simba and Zira confront each other directly. Before the two can deliver the first blow to each other, Kiara and Kovu leap into the middle of the confrontation. Simba tells Kiara to stand aside, but she tells him that the fighting has to stop and reminds him about what he told her as a cub about being one. Simba, after taking a moment to let Kiara's words sink in and, coming to his senses, understands his daughter's wisdom and they nuzzle in reconciliation as Mufasa shines a beacon of sunlight upon him, pleased to see Simba had realized his error and repaired the Circle of Life. The Outsiders, after learning of their leader's true nature when she threatens to kill a defecting Vitani, abandon Zira entirely and join the Pridelanders. Simba says to Zira to let go of her hatred much as he has so peace may come between them, though she is too overcome with hate to accept his understanding. An enraged Zira, in one last attempt to avenge Scar, tries to leap at Simba when the clamoring from the log dam distracts him, only to be knocked aside by Kiara. The two lionesses tumble into the gorge, which is now full of raging water from the damaged log dam. Simba climbs down the cliff to reach Kiara and is alerted by Nala of the water bursting from the dam. Zira, despite Kiara's offers of aid, slips and falls to her death in the swollen river below. Simba finally reaches Kiara and takes her paw and pulls her up.
After Simba and Kiara climb back up to safety, Kovu goes to Kiara and nuzzles her in relief. Simba watches on before approaching Kovu and admitting that he was wrong about him and that he did belong with the Pridelanders, apologizing for letting his own prejudice and hatred of his uncle cloud his judgement. He then calls for both the Pridelanders and Outsiders to return to Pride Rock together. The united pride heads back to Pride Rock where Kiara and Kovu are married. In celebration, Simba, Nala, Kiara and Kovu walk up to the promontory of Pride Rock and roar out across the kingdom, along with the rest of the pride, and the rest of the animals of the Pridelands celebrate. In the sky, Mufasa congratulates his son, "Well done, my son. We are one."
The Lion King 1½[]
In the 2004 direct-to-video interquel The Lion King 1½, Simba appears as a supporting protagonist. He briefly appears in the movie's opening with the unveiling ceremony where the animals are bowing, although unknown to Mufasa or Rafiki, the real reason they were bowing is because Timon forced Pumbaa to fart in order to clear the crowd, and they were trying as best as they could to block out the stench. More is revealed about Simba's life in the jungle with Timon and Pumbaa after his exile.
Simba proves to be a handful, as he scales tall and dangerous trees and swims over waterfalls, not caring about the danger he's in and Timon's frantic efforts to discipline him. As a teenager, he has beaten Timon in every kind of bug eating contest, along with a snail slurping contest that is shown. He also has a tendency to wake up at night, thirsty or "needing to go" and in one scene, he mentions that he had a "bad dream", either about his father's death or getting killed in the stampede trying to get to safety, leading to him sleeping beside Timon and Pumbaa.
Later on Simba has become a teen and is challenged by Timon to a snail slurping contest which Simba walks away from victoriously. Soon enough he reunites with Nala and while they're having a date, Timon and Pumbaa lie in the background attempting to break them up. Simba then leaves the next day to reclaim the throne and get help from Timon and Pumbaa. Before he reclaims the throne he thanks Timon and Pumbaa stating "I couldn't have done it without you guys."
Timon & Pumbaa[]
Simba makes occasional appearances in the Timon & Pumbaa animated TV series. This includes one episode in which Timon drags him out to try to revive Pumbaa's lost memory. In the episode "Congo on Like This", Timon and Pumbaa suspect that Simba may have reverted to his carnivorous nature. The episode "Shake Your Djibouti" features Simba again where Timon and Pumbaa are forced to train Simba to protect them from a laboratory monster. In another episode, he appears only as a cardboard cutout. Another episode entitled "Rome Alone" sees Simba being captured by Romans, who force him into gladiatorial battle with another lion named Claudius. In the episode "Once Upon a Timon", Simba arrives during the episode's climax and persuades Rafiki to finish telling the story of how Timon became an outcast. Simba also appears in a music video of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" starring Timon and Pumbaa, which appeared at the end of one episode.
The Lion Guard[]
Simba in The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar
Simba appears as a supporting character in the 2016 Disney Junior series The Lion Guard (which takes place in the middle of the second film). The series features Simba and Nala having a second cub together, a son named Kion who due to being second born, becomes leader of The Lion Guard, who protect The Circle of Life.
He is voiced by Rob Lowe.
Simba first appears in the series's 2015 pilot film "The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar". He's first at the start of the film at Pride Rock teaching Kiara about being future Queen, only to be disrupted by Kion and his honey badger friend Bunga who are playing Baobab Ball, but an annoyed Simba stops the two of them briefly. Simba says that he needs to talk to Kiara and that she's going to be tracking gazelles with her friends today. Then, he breaks up a squabbling Kion and Kiara, before sending his son and Bunga to play their game someplace else while he continues his talk with Kiara. As he watches Kion leave, Simba expresses hope that his son will grow up and become more serious.
Later, Simba, Nala, and Rafiki hear Kion's Roar of the Elders (which he did to save Bunga from two hyenas named Cheezi and Chungu to which Rafiki declares that it is time for Kion to become leader of The Lion Guard. Simba at first believes that Kion is not ready for that responsibility as he's just a cub, but Nala encourages him to listen to Rafiki.
Kion returns with Bunga to Pride Rock and asks Simba what he and Rafiki are talking about to which Simba says that he and Kion need to talk. Simba and Rafiki then take Kion and Bunga to a part of Pride Rock called The Lair of The Lion Guard and reveal to Kion that he is the leader of the new Lion Guard. Simba tells his son about how Scar used to lead The Lion Guard until he used his powers for evil, before sending Kion off to find members for The Lion Guard.
Later, Simba's informed by Kiara that Kion put Bunga in The Lion Guard and proves this when Zazu leads them to Kion who's with Bunga and the other picked members Beshte, Fuli, and Ono. Simba thanks Kiara for letting him know before sending her and her friend Tiifu to track gazelles while he has a word with Kion. Simba, after seeing the animals Kion has picked, says that The Lion Guard has always been made up of lions and scolds Kion for treating his role as leader as a game for him and his friends to play and says that Kion must take his new responsibility seriously like Kiara is with hers.
When tracking gazelles, Kiara notices Janja and his clan in the herd and sends Tiifu to get Simba. However, by the time Tiifu returns with Simba along with Nala, Janja and his clan have started a stampede in the herd and Kiara gets trapped in it. And yet, Kion and The Lion Guard come to Kiara's rescue and uses The Roar of the Elders to drive the hyenas away, making Simba realize that Kion was wise to chose whom he chosen and congratulates his son and accepts the new Lion Guard.
Simba makes recurring appearances in the series where he is seen carrying out his royal duties, teaching Kiara to become Queen and supporting Kion and giving him advice. In the show's second season, Simba discovers that Scar has returned from the dead.
In the third season opener "Battle for the Pride Lands", which takes place a few years after Season 2, Simba tells a now adolescent Kion that it is time for Scar to be defeated once and for all. Kion's hyena friend Jasiri tells Simba that her clan will help. Simba tasks Kion with leading the animals of the Pride Lands against Scar's army. Later Pride Rock is set on fire by Scar's army, but luckily, Simba, Nala and Kiara are rescued by two eagles named Anga and Hadithi. Afterwards, The Lion Guard defeat Scar whilst his army reform go under Jasiri's leadership. However, Kion is scarred in battle (after being bitten in the face by Scar's snake ally Ushari) and Ono begins to lose his eyesight (after saving Bunga from falling into the Outlands volcano). Because of this, The Lion Guard (with new member Anga, who replaces Ono as Keenest of Sight) and Makini leave the Pride Lands to look for the Tree of Life in order to heal Kion and Ono. Simba wishes his son good luck on his journey.
In the Season 3 finale "Return to the Pride Lands" (which takes place sometime after The Lion King II: Simba's Pride) Simba along with Nala greets Kion and The Lion Guard after they return to the Pride Lands and tells them what had happened whilst they were away and says that Kiara and Kovu will one day be the Queen and King of the Pride Lands, respectively. Simba later watches The Lion Guard and Vitani's Lion Guard (which had been set up whilst Kion and his Lion Guard were away) compete against each other to see which one will be the Lion Guard of the Pride Lands. When it comes to Kion competing with Vitani, Kion, after seeing that Vitani believes that she is fierce enough to lead the Lion Guard, willingly disbands his Lion Guard and makes Vitani his successor with her Lion Guard. Simba later goes to the Tree of Life with Nala, Kiara and Kovu and witnesses the wedding and coronation of Kion and Rani.
Other Media[]
The Lion King (2019)[]
- Main article: Simba (2019)
House of Mouse[]
Simba has made numerous appearances in the House of Mouse television series as a minor character. He is sometimes seen as a cub or as an adult. In "Timon and Pumbaa", he complains about Timon and Pumbaa's popularity, saying "Those guys always get all the attention!" In "King Larry Swings In", a cub Simba was seen in a flashback and fell from the cliff of Pride Rock after Donald accidentally dropped him. He also appears in the finale advertisement with Nala being scolded by a babysitting Donald Duck in "Mickey vs. Shelby".
He makes brief appearances in Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse. He also has a cameo as a cub at the beginning of Mickey's House of Villains.
Hotel Transylvania[]
Simba, along with Nala, is mentioned in the film Hotel Transylvania by Jonathan Loughran during "The Zing" song in the end of the film.
The Lion King: Six New Adventures[]
In 1994 six books called The Lion King: Six New Adventures (which are non-canon to the films and TV shows) where released which where set after the events of the first film showing Simba and Nala having a son named Kopa.