Appearances
The Lion King
In The Lion King, Simba was born to Mufasa and Sarabi, and, at his birth, was presented to the kingdom as their 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
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. Suddenly, Mufasa is called to handle an emergency, and Simba is sent home, much to his disappointment.
After Simba returns home, he tells Scar, his uncle, about the trip. Taking advantage of the cub's naive nature, Scar tells Simba what the forbidden place is in fact the elephant's graveyard, where only the bravest lions travel. Simba wants to prove himself brave, and so he along with his best friend Nala travel to the graveyard. 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. They then lose Zazu in several animal herds (while singing "I Just Can't Wait To Be King") and continue to the graveyard. Simba calls himself a genius for the plan, and argues with Nala when she says it was her idea. Simba playfully tackles Nala, but she easily flips and pins him down, and teases him. Simba pushes her off him and tries to tackle her again while she's distracted, but sends them both over a hill and Nala once again pins him, smirking down at him and smugly teasing him "pinned ya again". They then 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 are eventually run into a dead end. Having been found by Zazu, Mufasa saves the two cubs, foiling Scar's plan. Mufasa takes Simba home, lecturing him on the danger he put himself and Nala in and he forgives and forgets. 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.
Simba as a young adult
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". In fact the "surprise" was another plot of Scar's, with the goal of killing both Simba and Mufasa. Scar's hyenas 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. Scar warns Mufasa (who was patrolling nearby) about Simba being trapped in the stampede. Though Mufasa was able to save Simba, Mufasa did not survive. Mufasa had attempted to climb a sheer cliff to safety after dropping Simba on a safe ledge. Near the top, Mufasa called to Scar for help. Instead, Scar threw him off after saying with an evil grin, "Long live the king". However, this was unknown to Simba, who only saw his father fall to his death. Simba is later manipulated by Scar into believing that Mufasa's death was his own fault (making him believe that his roar caused the stampede). 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.
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.
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 saving Pumbaa from a mysterious lioness, he discovers that the lioness is his old friend Nala after she flips and pins him just like when they were cubs. Though Nala is happy, as Simba being alive means that Simba can become king, Simba is hesitant, as he still feels guilt about Mufasa. After Simba and Nala spend time alone, they discover their friendship has blossomed into love. 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.
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. Scar forces Simba over the edge of Pride Rock and grabs his nephew's paws and sinks his claws into them (just like he did to Mufasa) before revealing that he killed Mufasa, not Simba. Simba is angered now realizing Scar was completely a big liar and he jumps back up and pins Scar down and demands him to tell the truth to the pride. But Scar tries to weasel out of the situation, but when Simba starts to choke him, Scar admits his actions. Alongside the lionesses and his friends, Simba leads a battle against Scar.
Simba manages to get Scar on his own on top of Pride Rock, where the latter pleads for his life by claiming that the hyenas are the real enemy and it was their fault that Mufasa died. Despite not believing his uncle's claims, Simba choose not to kill Scar and instead orders him to leave the Pride Lands and to never return. 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 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.
By the time the land is restored to its former glory, Simba has taken his rightful place as king. He married Nala, and the two have their own cub, who is presented to the kingdom in a similar manner to the beginning of the film.
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 with Timon and Pumbaa to watch her. Unknown to Simba, Timon and Pumbaa begin to argue about bugs and Kiara slips away from them unnoticed.
Kiara ends up crossing over into the Outlands where she meets Kovu, an Outsider cub whose pride was exiled by Simba because of their loyalty to Scar. The two befriend each other until Simba leaps in to confront Zira, Kovu’s mother, who was watching the two cubs. After the confrontation, Simba talks with Kiara and explains to her that they "are one."
When Kiara is an adolescent, she heads out into the Pride Lands alone for her first hunt. Simba is worried for her safety and sends Timon and Pumbaa out to keep a close watch on her again. While Kiara is hunting, Simba paces nervously at Pride Rock. He notices smoke from a wildfire, and rallies the pride to go find Kiara. Kovu rescues her, and asks to join the pride. Simba at first tries to send him away, citing his banishment alongside the other Outsiders. Nala and Rafiki convinces him to accept Kovu into the pride, as Pride Lands law states that debts must be repaid, and they owe Kovu for rescuing Kiara. Simba agrees to these laws but says he will place judgement on Kovu and when the pride returns to Pride Rock, he makes Kovu sleep outside the cave out of distrust.
That night, Simba has a nightmare about trying to save Mufasa from falling into the stampede, but 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 throwns Simba off the cliff. Unknown to Simba, Zira has secretly trained Kovu to infiltrate Simba's pride and kill Simba. Simba gradually begins to trust Kovu, and Kiara and Kovu begin to fall in love. Soon Kovu begins to question his loyalty to the Outsiders.
After a while, Simba takes Kovu out for a walk and tells him the real story about Scar. Zira and the other Outsiders ambush Kovu and Simba while they are walking, automatically reigniting Simba's distrust in Kovu after Zira congratulates Kovu for leading him into the ambush "just like they always planned". Kovu tries to convince Simba that he had nothing to do with the attack, and even tries to protect Simba, but is knocked down by his sister Vitani. Simba is injured but leaps up a log dam to safety, causing a few logs to fall on Kovu's brother Nuka, who tried to stop him from getting away and he dies from his injuries. Kovu is blamed for the death and Zira strikes Kovu with her paw and gives him a mark over his eye that resembles Scar's, he then flees to the Pride Lands in shame and Zira tells her pride to let Kovu go.
Simba, realizing/believing Kovu had dark motives when he saved Kiara, exiles the lion, after refusing to accept his apologies and harshly silences Kiara when she orders him to listen to Kovu. Kiara is distraught at this decision, and pleads with her father to reconsider but Simba claims that Kovu used her just to get to him and he's following Scar's paw prints and Simba himself must follow his father's. Kiara angrily defies her father saying to him, "You will never be Mufasa!" causing Simba to hurt immensely, and Kiara then runs into Pride Rock in tears. That night, Simba goes into Pride Rock and is informed by Timon and Pumbaa that Kiara is gone (having left to find Kovu). Just then, Zazu arrives and announces that the Outsiders have initiated a war. Simba heads out to fight with his lionesses and Timon and Pumbaa and send Zazu to find Kiara. Before the battle begins in earnest Simba offers Zira a chance to surrender and leave peacefully which the lioness, determined to see her goals to fruition, rejects. At this point Simba leads the charge against the Outsiders.
After a lengthy battle, Simba and Zira confront each other directly. Kiara and Kovu leap into the middle of the confrontation, and Kiara tells Simba that both sides "are one". Simba understands his daughter's wisdom and they nuzzle as his father shines a beacon of sunlight upon him. 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 ofher hatred much as he has so peace may come between them though she is too overcome with hate to accept his understanding. Zira, enraged, 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, Simba finally reconciles with his daughter and accepts Kovu and the other Outsiders into his pride. The two united prides head back to Pride Rock where Kiara and Kovu are married. In celebration, Kovu, Kiara, Simba and Nala 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.
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.
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.
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.
Kingdom Hearts Series
Simba is a recurring character in the Kingdom Hearts series. He is voiced by Cam Clarke (adult) and Jonathan Taylor Thomas (child) in English and Japanese voice is done by Mitsuru Miyamoto (adult) and Tatsuya Nakazaki (child).
Simba, as he appears in the Kingdom Hearts series
In Kingdom Hearts and Chain of Memories, he featured as the first obtained summon. In Kingdom Hearts II, he took on a much larger role since he was an ally and party member. This was largely due to the fact that his homeworld, the Pride Lands, was visited by Sora, Donald and Goofy. His role was similar to that of the film: Nala, along with the trio, encouraged Simba to return to Pride Rock and overthrow the tyrant king, Scar. Simba agreed to this after his father's spirit, Mufasa, rebuilt his confidence. He returned to his kingdom to find out that Scar had turned into a Heartless so after a battle, Scar was defeated and the hyenas were expelled, allowing Simba to take his rightful place as king. However, Simba's confidence in his leadership capabilities dabbled when Scar's ghost returned to haunt and torment Simba. Sora eased his worries and helped him defeat Scar's ghost so that there was nothing holding Simba back any more.
The Lion King (musical)
Following the success of The Lion King, Julie Taymor created the musical The Lion King.
In this production, we have an insight into events that weren't explored in the original film, as Simba, young and old, is in nearly all the musical numbers. But in the Broadway production, we see a slightly extended role, which includes scenes like Timon being trapped above a lake full of crocodiles, which was Simba's fault; as the situation reminded him of the day his father was killed by his uncle Scar, and sings an additional song called "Endless Night".
Jason Raize plays Simba while Scott Irby-Ranniar plays young Simba in the original Broadway cast of The Lion King. However, after Raize committed suicide in 2004, a new actor had to take his place as Simba in future showings.
Disney Parks
Like most characters from The Lion King, Simba does not appear for meet-and-greets. Instead, he appears in certain shows. He makes cameos in It's a Small World, Fantasmic!, and Mickey's PhilharMagic where he sings "I Just Can't Wait to Be King". In Disneyland, Simba is seen atop a float for Mickey's Soundsational Parade.
Simba has his own spell card known as "Simba's Roar" in the attraction Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. Simba, and other characters from The Lion King are also featured in Disney's Art of Animation Resort in Walt Disney World.
Simba is also a prominent character for Disney's Animal Kingdom merchandise and promotional material. Also in the park, Simba stars in Festival of the Lion King, hosted by Timon. In the former Magic Kingdom attraction The Legend of the Lion King, the story of the film was retold using animatronic puppets and scenes from the film, and of course, Simba appears in it.
In Disney California Adventure, Simba makes an appearance in a segment of World of Color. He is seen reliving the wildebeest stampede from the film, and can also be seen during the finale.
Simba also makes an appearance on a floatin Paris Disneyland with Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki, and Scar hiding at the back.