- For his live-action/CGI counterpart from 2019, see: Simba (2019).
| “ | Danger? Ha, I walk on the wild side. I laugh in the face of danger! | „ |
| ~ Simba |
| “ | Run. Run away, Scar. And never return. | „ |
| ~ Simba right before physically fighting his uncle and arch-nemesis Scar |
King Simba (simply known as Simba) is the titular character of the Disney franchise, The Lion King. He first appeared as the main protagonist of Disney's 32nd full-length 1994 animated feature film The Lion King, its 2019 remake, the tritagonist of The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and of the 2004 parallel The Lion King 1½ , the deuteragonist of 1995-1999 TV series The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa, and a supporting character in the 2016 TV series The Lion Guard.
He is the son and only child of Mufasa and Sarabi, the nephew of Scar, the best friend and later husband of Nala, the father of Kiara and Kion, the father-in-law of Kovu and Rani, the son-in-law of Sarafina and Nala's father and the current King of The Pride Lands.
In The Lion King: Six New Adventures books (which are non-canon to the films and television shows), Simba and Nala are the parents of a son named Kopa. Also in these books, it is said that Simba's grandparents were named Ahadi and Uru.
He was voiced by Jonathan Taylor Thomas (Jason Weaver, singing) as a cub and Matthew Broderick as an adolescent and as an adult, who also played Niko Tatopoulos in Godzilla, Inspector Gadget in the live-action Inspector Gadget films, Despereaux Tilling in The Tale of Despereaux, Adam Flayman in Bee Movie, and Ferris Bueller in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, (Joseph Williams and Cam Clarke who also plays Freddy the Ferret in Back at the Barnyard, and Barnyard, Mac in Clifford the Big Red Dog and Leonardo in the 1987 version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, singing) in the films and Rob Lowe in The Lion Guard. In the Japanese dub, he was voiced by Mitsuru Miyamoto, and Tatsuya Nakazaki and Sota Murakami as a cub.
Background
Physical Appearance
Newborn Simba was very small and slender with a large head. He had light spots on his head and body, as newborn lions usually have. As a cub, Simba was small and slender. He has yellow fur, with a lighter cream color accenting his belly, muzzle and paws. He has large, bright eyes with orange irises (red as an adult) and yellow scleras; his upper lids are a deep tawny. Additionally, he has a light pink nose and four black whiskers on either side of his muzzle, and the insides of his ears are tawny and rimmed with black. Cub Simba has a small tuft of hair on top of his head, and a short bushy tail. He has somewhat stocky proportions.
Teenage Simba retains much of the appearance he had as a child, but is much more skinny. He has a mop of reddish-orange hair growing on the top of his head and partially down his neck; this is the early stage of his mane growing in. Teen Simba also has some noticeable darker colorations on his body, such as a brownish point above his nose.
As a young adult, Simba is much larger and his body is muscular. His russet mane is now fully grown and covers the entirety of his neck and much of his back and his ears are barely seen. His eyes are smaller in relation to his head and are more oval-shaped. In the sequels Simba's Pride and The Lion Guard, now a full grown adult, the colors of Simba's pelt and mane are somewhat duller, and he has a more aged look and a heavier build.
Simba takes after both of his parents. From Mufasa, Simba inherits his gold fur and red mane. From Sarabi, Simba inherits her ear rims (which he loses as an teenager), eye color, and her rounded features.
Personality
As a cub, Simba was fun-loving and lively, as he was always ready for an adventure with his best friend, Nala. He tried to see the best in everybody, even his relative Scar. At times, he could be a brash and cocky show-off and boasted that he’ll be a great king ever, which often got himself and Nala into danger. In spite of this, he came to see the fault in his actions and always admitted his mistakes.
Now as an adult, Simba still has his fun-loving and happy-go-lucky demeanor, but he has become guilty of those actions he believed were his fault when he was as a cub. After reuniting with Nala, Simba realizes he needs to grow up and take responsibility, he becomes even more lion-hearted and becomes determined to protect his kingdom and family, regardless of the cost. Simba becomes very strict and takes his job of ruling the kingdom very seriously. Unfortunately, later in life, this defensiveness causes him to become occasionally overprotective and selfish to others, even his family. However, he eventually comes to see the light and becomes successful in rescuing his pride. Simba is marked by his strong sense of justice.
Yet despite this, he is still credulous to his foes, such as when Zira congratulated Kovu for leading Simba into the ambush she set up, he automatically believes her words and distrusts Kovu again, when he openly belives Zira's lies that Kovu was part of the ambush when Kovu had no knowledge of it and therefore, had nothing to do with it. He is also extremely protective of Kiara to the point of keeping her in his eyesight at all times. He is so determined to keep his family safe that he ignores reality. He’s very rude and violent to Kovu when he sees him with his daughter as adolescents. At the trial, due to his injuries, his fury of what happened to his father, his anger and stress gets the better of him. This almost nearly destroys his relationship with his daughter.
When he gets confronted by Kiara at the end of the movie during the last fight, he declines to listen at first, but his daughter convinces him that his foes are their kind. While Simba is looking at everyone, finally realizes that Kiara is correct and begins to trust her more. When Kiara tackles Zira to prevent the irate lioness from slaughtering him, he jumps after her to rescue her. Kiara tells him she tried to rescue Zira and seeing that Kovu belongs with her, gives his blessing for the two of them to marry. He’s more forgiving of his enemies and more trusting of his daughter to her own decisions and having her adventures without worrying about her, indicating he is becoming a much better ruler.
Simba also likes to stick to tradition, which was why at first he rejected his son Kion's decisions for The Lion Guard as they weren’t all lions like previous Lion Guards. However, after seeing Kion and his Guard defeat Janja's clan, Simba realizes Kion was judicious to have chosen who he chose and accepts the new Lion Guard at last.
Relationships
Family
Mufasa
Simba has a strong father-son relationship with Mufasa.
He looked up to him in every way and after being chased by the hyenas, he said he was just trying to be brave like his father. Mufasa tries to teach him the appropriate conduct in times of danger and as a king, and discourages him from taking unwise risks. Simba spent the day with his father all the time, and Mufasa showed him how to be a good ruler. When his father was slaughtered in the wildebeest stampede caused by the hyenas under Scar's signal, he was upset, believing it to be all his fault. It was Mufasa's spiritual guidance that eventually convinced Simba years later to reclaim the throne stolen from him.
In the second film, it is shown that Simba desires to live up to his father's legacy. Several of Simba's actions are based on what he thinks his father would approve of. However, after Simba exiles Kovu believing he was involved in Zira's ambush to kill him in order to avenge Scar, Mufasa was very disappointed in Simba for deliberately disobeying him again, even Simba tries to admit his mistakes to him and Kiara that he only wanted to follow what Mufasa want, which caused Kiara to tell him that he will never be his late father. However, after Zira's demise and Kovu and Kiara reunited, Mufasa congratulates Simba and tells him that "We are one.".
Sarabi
The queen of Pride Rock and the mate to Mufasa, Sarabi and Simba had a loving mother-son relationship. She was enormously proud of her son, and like Mufasa, tried to teach him the appropriate conduct and groomed him for his future as the king. She was also protective of him, ensuring that Simba did not run off to where he might get himself into trouble. When Scar claimed that Simba died with Mufasa in the wildebeest stampede, she was heartbroken. Years later, when Simba arrived to rescue his home, he watched sadly as Scar berated his mother. When Scar struck her down in a fit of rage, Simba came to her defense and comforted her at once. She was in disbelief to see him alive, but she was very elated. After Scar was forced to confess that he killed Mufasa, Sarabi fought the hyenas by Simba's side and they managed to rescue their home. She watched proudly as Simba assumed his throne as intended. Sarabi still supported her son after he became king, as shown in the second film, when she stands by Simba's side along with Nala, Timon, Pumbaa, and the rest of the pride when Simba faces Zira.
Scar
At first, Simba loved his uncle and would constantly tell him of his adventures, but Scar never seemed to be interested; in fact, Scar did not care for Simba from the moment he was born. After Simba tells Scar about his father showing him the whole kingdom, Scar told his nephew about the Elephant Graveyard on purpose, hoping that Simba would go there and get himself slaughtered (even though he covered his mouth and pretended he told him by accident).
Scar sent the hyenas, Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed, after Simba to slaughter him, but this first attempt failed. Later on, Scar led Simba into a deep gorge, and Scar, along with the assistance from the hyenas, caused a stampede of wildebeests in the gorge, intending to kill Simba and his father. He only succeeded in killing Mufasa, his older brother, by throwing him off of a high ledge he was clinging on to and into the stampede. He told Simba a lie about the death of his father, Mufasa was his fault, and that he must run away and never return. Then Scar ordered the hyenas to kill Simba again, but they fail again due to Simba going through a thorn thicket much too dense for them to get through, unbeknownst to Scar.
Years later, Simba is a young adult now, and he went to challenge Scar for the throne. He saw Scar backhand Sarabi (Simba's mother) across the face. Thus, Simba's love for his uncle turned into pure hatred, and he told Scar to either step down or fight. Scar said that he would step down, but he can’t since the hyenas think he's the king. However, Nala tells Scar that she and the other lionesses do not think he's king and Simba is the rightful king. Scar then makes Simba reveal that he's responsible for Mufasa's death, but Simba insisted that it was an accident and that he’s not a murderer. Just as Scar was about to throw Simba off of Pride Rock, he whispered to him and told him that he killed Mufasa. In his rage, Simba jumped back up and pinned Scar to the ground. After Simba forces Scar to reveal the truth to the lionesses, an intense fight between the lionesses, Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki (who all appeared to support Simba), and the hyenas ensued. Simba chased Scar up Pride Rock on his own afterwards and he cornered him in an attempt to overthrow him soon after. Scar, knowing he wasn’t strong enough to defeat Simba, begged for mercy and tries to explain it is the hyenas who are the real enemy (unbeknownst to him, the hyenas were there to assist Scar, only to hear him blaming them for the crime and as a result, back away while growling furiously at him). But Simba declines to believe him, stating that everything Scar ever told him was a lie. Simba, not wishing to be the monster Scar was, spared him instead of killing him, telling him to run away and never return (the same words Scar told Simba when he was a cub). Scar pretended to depart, but he tricked him and threw burning embers at Simba's face, and then a fight between Simba and Scar broke out. Scar eventually gains the upper hand in the fight, but before he can pounce on Simba and kill him, Simba kicks him over himself and over an edge and he lands down at the bottom of the ledge where the hyenas wait, they eliminated Scar by eating him alive after years of his lies, derogatory treatment, and broken promises and as revenge for his blaming them for Mufasa's death. Simba watches the hyenas consume Scar’s flesh and does nothing to save him, knowing Scar does not deserve to live.
Simba has not forgotten how Scar ruined his life, and swore to spare the Pride Lands from another such tragedy. In the second film, it is implied that maybe Simba is trying to forgive his uncle for his actions because when he takes a walk with Kovu, he simply says that Scar couldn't let go of his hate and in the end, it destroyed him.
Kiara
Simba has a loving father-daughter relationship with Kiara. Simba tries his best to protect his daughter, but the headstrong lioness doesn't listen to his instructions, shown to stray from the path that her father marked for her and even entering the Outsider's lands even after Simba warning her about it. When Kiara met the Outsider Kovu, son of Simba's hated enemy Zira, he quickly disapproved of their friendship and became even more determined to protect Kiara.
When Kiara is an adolescent, Simba promised to let her go on her first hunt by herself. And yet, he secretly sent Pumbaa and Timon to keep a close watch on her like he did when she was a cub. Kiara discovered this and becomes frustrated with her father, and ran off to the outskirts of the Pride Lands. Outraged and troubled, Simba forbids her to go on anymore hunts when Kiara nearly passed on in a brush fire set by Vitani and Nuka, Kovu's siblings. When Kovu returned, he kept a close eye on the two friends, but eventually warmed up to Kovu when he proved himself trustworthy. Unfortunately, Zira ambushed Simba in a trap supposedly set by Kovu, when he did it unknowingly and unwillingly which almost ended up in Simba's demise actually. After this incident, Simba forbade Kiara from so much as leaving his sight, and coldly exiled Kovu. Heartbroken, Kiara said her father would never be Mufasa, hurting her father deeply. Kiara ran off to find Kovu afterwards.
When Simba fought the attacking Outsiders, Kiara stopped him, with Kovu's guidance. She made him realize that he and the Outsiders were one and the same, finally ending the feud, and he and his daughter nuzzle at long last. When Zira attacked Simba in rage, Kiara tackles her, and Simba assisted her after Zira fell to her demise in the raging river below. Simba was finally able to reconcile with his daughter and accepts that she's old enough to become self-reliant and make her own decisions.
In The Lion Guard, Simba and Kiara have a close father-daughter relationship, with Simba teaching his daughter about being future queen.
Kion
Simba has a fairly good father-son relationship with Kion. In The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar, Simba becomes aggravated with Kion when he and Bunga disrupt his lecture with Kiara and ends up having to separate his two children when they quarrel on purpose. When Rafiki declares that Kion is ready to lead The Lion Guard, Simba is troubled about this, thinking that due to Kion being a cub, he's not ready in the first place. However, he changes his mind when Nala encourages him to listen to Rafiki.
After seeing that Kion has chosen Bunga, Beshte, Fuli, and Ono to be part of The Lion Guard, Simba is most displeased. He tells his son The Lion Guard has always been made up of lions and reprimands Kion for treating his role of leader as a game and tells him to take his responsibilities seriously like Kiara is with hers.
However, after Kion and The Lion Guard rescue Kiara from a gazelle stampede and chase away Janja and his clan, Simba realizes that Kion was judicious to have chosen who he chose and expresses pride in his son and accepts The Lion Guard.
Kovu
Since Kovu was the son of Zira, his enemy in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, and since Kovu was also Scar's chosen heir, he saw Kovu as traitorous and and a foe. And yet, when an adolescent Kovu saved his daughter, Simba was forced to reserve any judgement. Later, when Simba took Kovu out and talked to him about Scar, it seems Simba has accepted him, but when the Outsiders attack him and Zira implies that Kovu was the one to lure him, all trust Simba had for him vanished, and now saw Kovu as a double-crosser all over again. When Kovu tried to ask for forgiveness, despite Kiara's protests, Simba coldly exiled him. In the end, when he sees Kiara and Kovu together, he owes Kovu an apology for pridefully exiling him and accepts him, along with the other Outsiders, to the Pridelands. He watches Kovu and Kiara as Rafiki blesses the two of them in addition, roaring with him on the top of Pride Rock, alongside Nala and Kiara.
Friends
Timon & Pumbaa
Timon and Pumbaa have been Simba's best friends ever since he ran away after his father's death. Though it is shown in the third film that Simba had a habit of waking Timon up in the middle of the night (this happened 4 times in the film: 1st was to go to the restroom, 2nd was to get a drink of water, the 3rd was presumably going to the restroom again, and the 4th time being that he had a bad dream and ends up sleeping with them). He was also, according to Timon, holds the record of the world's "longest bug belch", as well as beating both of them in various bug-eating contests (Slug Swallowing, Cricket Crunching, Grub Gulping, Maggot Munching, and the shown Snail Slurping). As a cub, Simba thought of Timon as a surrogate father figure and looked up to him a lot while he saw Pumbaa merely as the uncle he never had.
As gratitude for saving him out in the desert, Simba decided to repay them by protecting them from danger. When Simba went back to Pride Rock to save the Pride Lands from Scar's tyranny, Timon and Pumbaa fought with Simba and he was very grateful to them for helping him again (in the third film, when they bowed respectfully to him, he hugged them, and claimed that he couldn't have done it without them). While Simba is king, Timon and Pumbaa are his bodyguards and are often tasked by him to look after Kiara.
Zazu
Not much is known about Simba's relationship with Zazu, apart from the fact that as a cub, he was never pleased when Zazu had to watch him and Nala and the fact that Simba liked to tease the bird at every chance he got, even calling him Banana Beak, much to Zazu's chagrin. Despite this, Simba had at least some degree of respect for Zazu, as he willingly goes with Zazu when Mufasa tells him to take Simba home while he takes care of some trespassing hyenas, though Simba was a little disappointed that he could not go with him. After Simba voiced his frustrations, Zazu boosts Simba's morale by reminding him that he’ll be king one day. When Simba grew up and became king, he let Zazu retain his job as majordomo and had a more respectful and professional relationship with him.
Rafiki
When he first interacted with Rafiki, Simba found him to be extremely irritating, most likely due to not remembering that Rafiki was the same baboon that anointed him at his birth ceremony. After he helped Simba with his identity crisis and helping him in the fight against the hyenas, Simba began to respect Rafiki as a friend and ally. When Simba coldly exiles Kovu believing he was involved in Zira's ambush to kill him, Rafiki was very saddened and not happy at Simba for not believing Kovu and unknowingly ruin his late father's goals and breaking the still incomplete Circle of Life.
Romance
Nala
Simba's best friend since they were cubs, the two of them were nearly inseparable. Unknown to them, they were betrothed at an early age and both concurred that friends marrying each other was too weird once they discovered this fact. They appeared to have a small rivalry between them as well, fighting over who deserved the credit for getting away from Zazu. When they fought, Nala would easily beat Simba with her special pin move and tease Simba by smugly saying "Pinned ya." They got into many adventures, but when they were being chased by the hyenas, Shenzi was about to slaughter Nala and Simba rescued her. Simba and Nala nearly died when the hyenas were after them and they were trapped. Simba let out a feeble roar, but then, Simba and Nala were rescued by Mufasa. Nala was heartbroken when Scar claimed that Simba died with Mufasa in the wildebeest stampede. As young adults, Nala was the lioness who brought Simba back to Pride Rock, to save the pride and kingdom from Scar's tyranny. Simba fought her to protect Timon and Pumbaa from her for a very short time, but he recognized her immediately after she used her pin move on him one more time. In the midst of all this, they finally realized their friendship grew into love and they eventually married as intended in the first place. As Queen of Pride Rock, Nala often acts as a voice of reason for Simba, trying to get him to see the light when his protective judgment gets the best of him.
In The Lion Guard, Simba and Nala continue to have a loving relationship and together raise their two children Kiara and Kion.
Enemies
Shenzi, Banzai and Ed
Simba and the hyena trio are enemies. They made attempts on his life as a cub; however, all of them have ended in failure. After Simba defeated Scar, who was killed by the hyenas, even though then they have quitted being steadfast to Scar, it is assumed that the hyenas remained foes with Simba as they’re not shown together in the sequel, implying that much like the Outsiders, Simba exiled them from Pride Rock after overthrowing Scar. This theory is further supported in The Lion Guard where the young descendants of the hyena clan battle Simba's son years after the original clan's defeat.
Zira
Zira is another one of Simba's greatest enemies. He banished her and her pride to the Outlands due to their worship for Scar, threatening a harsh punishment must they return. When the outsiders came to the Pride Lands for an attack, Simba gave Zira a last chance to surrender and return to the Outlands, however, Zira declined and attacked anyways. The two lions were fixing to engage in a potentially bloody battle, when Kiara and Kovu intervened. While Simba was prepared to call off the war and permit the outsiders to return to the Pride Lands, Zira still wanted to murder Simba to avenge Scar. Simba tried reasoning with her, but Zira declines, which, like Scar, ultimately leads to her demise.
Songs Performed by Simba
- "The Morning Report" (The Lion King)
- "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" (The Lion King)
- "Hakuna Matata" (The Lion King and The Lion Guard)
- "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" (The Lion King)
- "We Are One" (The Lion King II: Simba's Pride)
- "Duties of the King" (The Lion Guard)
- "Welcome to the Summit" (The Lion Guard)
- "The Path of Honor" (The Lion Guard)
Audio Samples
Trivia
- In an earlier draft of The Lion King, Simba was going to tell Nala that the reason he did not want to return to Pride Rock was because he felt responsible for Mufasa's death. Afterwards, Nala would have assured Simba that Mufasa's death was an accident and that he should not blame himself.
- After meeting Timon and Pumbaa, Simba was originally going to tell them that he left the Pride Lands because of his belief that he caused Mufasa's death. Timon would of seen Simba as "a wanted criminal" (though shortly after, warmed up to Simba) whilst Pumbaa took pity on Simba. This scene would then have led to "Hakuna Matata".
- Simba, alongside with Timon and Pumbaa, is one of the most popular characters in the movie.
- Simba has influences from William Shakespeare's Hamlet as well as Bambi and Littlefoot from Don Bluth's The Land Before Time.
- In the original script to The Lion King, Simba had three maternal aunts; Naanda, Diku, and Dwala and would have been Nala's cousin (due to her being Naanda's daughter). However their relationship would have been incest, so they were changed to friends and Naanda became Sarabi's friend Sarafina and Diku and Dwala were dropped.
- Simba has never been able to beat Nala in a fight. She beat him twice while play fighting as cubs and again in a real fight as adults. He has only been able to accidentally pin her once, while they were rolling down a hill together in "Can You Feel The Love Tonight."
- Simba was originally going to have dark fur like Sarabi. However, it was later decided that he should take after Mufasa instead.
- Simba's name literally means "lion" in Swahili.
- In The Lion King comic "An Unusual Choir," reveals that Scar isn't the only relative Simba has besides his parents, as in the comic, he is shown that he has another uncle (who has a resemblance to Mufasa), an aunt (who resembles Sarabi) and two young cousins.
- In the early drafts of The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, Simba was meant to have two cubs: a son named Chaka (who was meant to be the cub seen at the end of the first film) and a daughter named Shani (who would eventually become Kiara). However, Chaka (along with his betrothed Timira) was cut from the film as he made it too complicated.
- Though not outright mentioned, it is revealed in The Lion Guard episode "Paintings and Predictions" that Simba had a great-uncle who led The Lion Guard that saved Nala's father after he fell from a tree as a cub.
- In the sequel, Simba rapidly turns from a tragic figure into the secondary antagonist. He repeatedly sends Timon and Pumbaa to spy on Kiara, even when he explicitly promises to let her do her hunt on her own. He briefly considers killing Kovu when he is a child, despite the fact that Kovu is an orphan and has no biological relation to Scar. He also possesses an extremely violent temper as shown when he violently refuses Kovu's offer to join his pride, and repeatedly humiliates him, as shown when he forcibly makes Kovu sleep outside the den. At the trial, Simba spitefully exiles Kovu while completely ignoring that Kovu refused to attack him during the ambush and tried to save him during the ambush, showing severe ungratitude. Simba similarly violently snaps at Kiara over this, calling her naïve and trying to keep her in his sight at all times. During the final confrontation with Zira, Simba directly implies that he will tear Zira to bloody shreds. Had Simba not been persuaded by Kiara to see reason, he would have completely turned into a villain, and presumably judging from his many villainous actions, potentially could have become Pure Evil.
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