Simba

Simba is the main protagonist in The Lion King and The Lion King ll:Simba's Pride and the tritagonist ofThe Lion King 1 1/2. He is the son of Mufusa and Sarabi, the mate of Nala, the nephew of Scar, and the father of Kiara.

Appearance
Pumbaa: "I'd say brownish-gold."
 * Timon: "Gee...he looks blue"
 * —Timon and Pumbaa on Simba

As a cub, Simba boasted golden-brown fur, as commented upon by Pumbaa. His eyes are orange, his eyeshades are chestnut, his muzzle, underside, forepaws, and lower eyeshades are light-colored. As an adult, his mane very luxurious, thick and a rich red which looks almost exactly like Mufusa's. His build is very similar to his father's, but facial feature wise, when compared side-by-side, he looks more like Sarabi.

Personality

 * "Danger?Ha! I walk on the wild side.I lagh in the face of danger!"
 * —Simba, at the Elephant Graveyard.

As a child (cub), Simba is curious, adventurous, cocky, and all too ready to become king. He is known to overstep his authority and attempt to order around the other creatures of Pride Rock. He suffers serious emotional trauma when his uncle Scar murders his father Mufusa. But he didn't know this and Scar convinces Simba that he was responsible for his father's death, and tells him to flee from the Pride Lands, never to return. Simba naively shows great trust in his uncle as he runs away from all he's ever known, and he later picks up a happy, carefree lifestyle with Timon and Pumbaa in an idealistic jungle paradise.

As a young adult, he has long since forgotten his old life, and once again acts as over-confident and adventurous as he did as a cub. Later, when Simba learns that Scar is ruling the Pride Lands unjustly, he faces his past and returns to take his place as the rightful king. By having the responsibilities of being a king thrust upon him so suddenly, Simba is forced to mature greatly, and in a short space of time.

As an adult, Simba has grown much more mature and responsible. Yet, he's immensely paranoid, distrusting, and over-protective, in regards to his only daughter and heir Kiara. He always has Timon and Pumbaa, now his royal advisers, to keep an eye on her and even marks a trail when she ventures alone. This doesn't change when Kiara matures into a young adult because Simba breaks a promise to her for the sake of her safety.

The Lion King
Mufasa: "That Hairball is my son and your future king"
 * Scar: "I was first in line, until the little hair ball was born."
 * —Mufasa and Scar, referring to Simba
 * In the beginning of the first film, Simba is an infant curled up in his mother's paws during the royal ceremony, where all cubs of the king and queen are presented from the summit of Pride Rock.For the ceremony,Rafiki cracks open a gourd and makes a red mark on Simba's forehead. He sprinkles sand on the newborn's head, making baby Simba sneeze. After his anointing, Rafiki picks him up and presents Simba to all the animals in the Pride Lands who had gathered to see him.


 * Simba grows into a lively, playful cub. Waking up one morning at dawn, he begs his father to show him the whole kingdom. Simba and his father climb to the top of Pride Rock, where Mufasa explains to his son that everything the light touches is their kingdom, and after his passing, Simba will become the new king. The cub questions the "shadowy place," and Mufasa explains that it is beyond their borders, so he must never go there. As they go on a walk through the Pride Lands, Mufasa tells Simba about the "great Circle of Life": that is, that every living thing "from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope" is connected and exists together in a delicate balance. While they are walking,Zazu, Mufasa's majordomo, gives the king the "Morning Report." Simba, bored, tries to practice pouncing. After some instruction from his father, Simba succeeds in pinning down Zazu. As Zazu is on his back, a gopher pops up and tells Zazu and Mufasa there are dangerous hyenas in the Pride Lands. Mufasa leaves to deal with the threat, forbidding Simba to come with him.


 * Disappointed, Simba returns to Pride Rock to find his uncle Scar. He gleefully informs Scar that he's will one day be King of Pride Rock, irritating Scar, who unenthusiastically replies, "Yes, well, forgive me for not leaping for joy - bad back you know." and his uncle eventually asks him whether his brother showed him what lies beyond the northern border; Simba admits that he didn't, and Scar acts relieved, saying only the bravest of lions go there. Objecting, Simba says he's brave and demands to know what's there. Accidentally on purpose, Scar lets slip that "an elephant graveyard is no place for a young prince," aware that Simba's curiosity will lead him there. Simba is excited at the prospect of an adventure, but promises his uncle that he won't visit the dreadful place.


 * Instead, Simba goes to his best friend Nala being bathed by her mother Sarafina, opposite his own mother Sarabi; Simba tries to get Nala to accompany him somewhere, without giving away the location of their adventure. When asked where they are headed, he lies, "around the waterhole."

Sarabi sends Zazu to accompany them, much to their dismay. On the way to the waterhole, Zazu makes a nostalgic comment on how the two are "betrothed, intended, affianced," meaning they are set to be mates and rule the Pride Lands, but since they are just children, they find it too weird. The duo manage to ditch Zazu by crushing him with a pile of animals set to Simba singing"I Just Can't  Wait to be King".The cubs tumble into the Elephant Graveyard, and after a quick exploration, Zazu catches up with the them before Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed show up. Simba tries to be brave in front of the hyenas, but realizing the danger, the cubs make a frantic effort to escape with the hyenas in hot pursuit. The chase leads to Simba and Nala being cornered in a cave. Simba tries to protect Nala by making a roar to scare the hyenas away, but is unsuccessful.

Just then, Mufasa arrives to the cubs' rescue and pins down the hyenas, who escape in fear.Going back to Pride Rock, Mufasa admonishes Simba, expressing disappointment in him and anger that he has disobeyed him; as Simba says he was trying to be brave like his father, Mufasa explains that even kings get scared, and he was because he almost lost Simba, then Simba jokes that the hyenes were even more scared. After playing together under the sky, Mufasa tells his son something that he once learned from his father, about the "Great Kings of the Past" looking down from the stars, and whenever he feels alone, the stars will always be there to guide him—and so will he.

The next day, Scar, who had been plotting to kill his brother and nephew to become king, takes Simba with him to a large gorge, saying his father has a "surprise" for him. Simba begs his uncle to tell him what it is, but Scar walks away after teasing him about practicing his "little roar." Unknown to Simba, Scar has signaled the hyenas to start a wildebeest stampede to chase the frightened herd down to the gorge below. While the cub practices his roar a little louder than usual, the wildebeest charge down the cliff face in the direction of Simba. Terrified, Simba runs for his life. Meanwhile, Scar runs to Mufasa panting Simba is in the stampede down in the gorge. Immediately, Mufasa rushes to the gorge to save his son, who desperately manages to jump and cling on to a branch while the wildebeests thunder below him. While Mufasa fights through the stampede, one of wildebeests collides with the branch and breaks it, sending Simba flying into the air.

Mufasa leaps to catch his son, but drops him upon impact with one of the wildebeests. Becoming stuck in the stampede again, Simba dodges a few wildebeests before again being picked up by Mufasa, who then gets him to safety.Pulled back into the herd, the alpha lion fights and struggles and throws himself on to the ledge, clinging on for dear life. Seeing this, Simba runs to the top of the cliff. As he reaches the top, all he sees is his father plummet into the stampede below, not knowing he was just thrown by Scar. He cries out and races down to the bottom of the gorge to find his father's body under the branch he was clinging to. Hoping that his father isn't dead, he tries to revive him. Realizing that Mufasa is neither moving nor breathing, he calls for help, but starts to cry and crawls under his father's fore paw.

Scar approaches and manipulates him into believing that he is responsible for the death of his father, since his roar has triggered the stampede, even though Scar really caused it. When asked what his mother would think, Simba doesn't know what to do, so Scar tells him to run away and never return. Scampering away, Scar sends Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed once again to kill Simba. Panicked, scared, and now chased by the hyenas, he runs on some rocks up the gorge and comes out at the top of a steep cliff. With a patch of sharp thorns below, Simba has no choice but to jump down the cliff to escape the predators. He tumbles down and forces himself through, but the hyenas don't follow, thinking Simba is as good as dead out in the barren desert anyway.

Tired and dehydrated, Simba wanders into the desert; in the burning heat, he eventually faints. Waiting for him to die, vultures circle overhead, but a meerkat named Timon and a warhog Pumbaa scare away the vultures and save the unconscious cub. They revive him and ask him if he's okay. He shakily replies, then starts to wander off; the two ask what he did, but Simba doesn't want to talk about it. Timon and Pumbaa take the cub into a jungle to teach him to forget the past and live by "Hakuna Matata," meaning "no worries." During the song"Hakuna Matata". Timon and Pumbaa have Simba eat bugs, explore his new home, and live without worry. The three walk across a log, which represents time elapse of a few years, during which Simba transitions from a cub to a teenager to an adult.

Teenager Simba
A teenaged Simba appears briefly during the log sequence during the song'Hakuna Matata".Simba is older than his adolescent counterpart seen in Lion King 1 1/2 evident by the mane that begins to run down his neck, and the mane that begins appearing on his chest and lower body.

Adult Simba
Adult Simba: "How can I go back? I'm not who I used to be." Mufasa: "Remember who you are. You are my son, and the one true king."
 * Mufasa: "You have forgotten who you are, and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the Circle of Life."
 * —Mufasa's ghost to adult Simba

Growing up in the jungle, Simba learns to be carefree and forget all about his past and responsibilities. Although happy in the jungle, he feels homesick when stargazing with his friends, recalling what his father told him years ago when they looked up at the stars together. He gets more upset when Timon's comments mock the Great Kings of the Past. Simba leaves to flop down on the rock, wishing his father was still alive.

A few days later, Simba hears Timon and Pumbaa crying for help in the jungle and immediately rushes to their rescue, finding himself face-to-face with a hungry lioness. After wrestling with the lioness, she flips Simba onto his back, a move he recognizes from Nala. When he mentions Nala's name, the lioness becomes surprised and backs away. When she asks who he is, Simba tells her his name, and the lioness is surprised to realize it is him. As they rejoice, Simba introduces Nala to his new friends and Nala tells Simba that he's the rightful king. Simba rejects his responsibility and refuses to go back, still believing that he was guilty of killing his father; still, he comforts Nala as she struggles with the reality of him being alive after all those years. Enjoying a peaceful sunset evening together, playing"Can You Feel the Love Tonight", the two lions realize their childhood friendship has now blossomed into a romantic relationship. However, that evening, Nala tries to explain to Simba the fate of the Pride Lands under Scar's reign and persuade him to go back, but he refuses, which leads to an argument. Simba marches away from Nala and, alone in a grassy field, yells to the sky how his father is not there for him when he said he will, and Simba labels the blame on himself.

Soon, Simba notices Rafiki singing in a tree. Trying to get away from him, Simba goes to lie down away from the mandrill; Rafiki, the same one from Simba's birth ceremony years ago, refuses to leave him alone, so Simba asks who he is. Simba doesn't know anymore, and after Rafiki chants in his ear, he says that Simba is Mufasa's boy. Surprised to hear his father's name, Simba chases the wise baboon and asks if he knew his father, but Rafiki says he knows his father, and explains to Simba that he is still alive. Rafiki leads Simba to the stream, and as Simba remarks that he only sees his reflection, Rafiki tells Simba to look harder as Simba's reflection becomes the face of Mufasa. At the same time, he hears his father calling to him from the sky, and Simba looks up to see him again. Mufasa's spirit appears in the sky, which Simba recognizes, but Mufasa accuses his son of forgetting him, to which Simba denies.

His father says Simba has forgotten his father and his own place in the Circle of Life. He reminds Simba that he is his son and the one true king, before telling him to "remember." Simba chases his father's disappearing form in the sky. Rafiki approaches Simba again and listens to him discussing how he will have to face the past, from which he has ran away from, if he is to return. Rafiki then whacks him on the head with his stick and teaches him the lesson that even though things are in the past, they can still hurt, but he should learn from them. As Rafiki swings his stick again, this time, Simba dodges Rafiki's whack. Simba snatches Rafiki's stick and leaves to take back his place as king of the Pride Lands.

Arriving back at his home land, he is shocked at the dry, barren condition the once green and fertile land has fallen into. As Simba trudges through the Pride Lands, Nala, Timon, and Pumbaa catch up to help him fight Scar. As they make their way to Pride Rock, they find they way blocked by hyenas, and Simba instructs Timon and Pumbaa divert the hyenas so he and Nala can slip past. Simba then tells Nala to look for his mother Sarabi and rally the lionesses and searches for Scar. He freezes in horror as he hears his mother's name yelled out by Scar, then watches as Sarabi and Scar argue. Upon seeing his mother getting struck down by Scar, Simba's anger mounts, then he runs out of hiding to her side. At first, Sarabi mistakes him for Mufasa, but she eventually realizes it is her son. Simba then confronts his uncle, demanding to step down from his position or fight, to which Scar softly refuses. Feeling trapped, Scar then resorts to accusing Simba of killing Mufasa, and Simba doesn't deny it.

With Nala and the other lionesses watching, Scar corners Simba on the edge of Pride Rock's promontory. As Simba slips from the edge, lightning starts a fire below. While Simba clings onto the edge desperately for life, Scar remembers seeing Mufasa in a similar way before his death. Scar latches his paws into Simba's and whispers into his ear that he, Scar, is the one who killed Mufasa. Filled with rage, Simba leaps from the edge and pins Scar to the ground. Simba forces his uncle to confess out loud, leading to a tremendous battle. The hyenas ambush Simba, prompting Nala, the other lionesses, Timon, and Pumbaa to charge in and wipe out the hyenas.

Simba then chases his uncle to the summit of Pride Rock, where he finally corners Scar. Scar pleads for mercy as he puts the blame on the hyenas, unaware that they heard everything, and they turn away in disgust and anger. Fed up with all the lies his uncle has told him, Simba chooses not to kill Scar, but spares him by repeating the words that his uncle had previously told him: "Run. Run away, Scar, and never return." Scar begins to slip away, but suddenly turns around and throws burning embers into Simba's eyes. The two lions fight ferociously, until Scar delivers a hard smack that knocks Simba to the ground. As Scar leaps to finish Simba off, Simba uses Nala's fighting tactics to flip Scar over the edge, sending him tumbling down the ledge. Simba looks down and watches as the hyenas jump on his uncle and devour him.

After rain falls on the Pride Lands and extinguishes the fire, Simba walks down to greet his mother, Zazu, Timon, Pumbaa, Nala, and the rest of the pride. Rafiki rattles his stick to get Simba's attention and motions for him to ascend Pride Rock. Simba then walks over to Rafiki, and as Rafiki bows down to him, Simba embraces him before Rafiki tells him, "It is time." Simba then climbs up Pride Rock and as he reaches the promontory, he looks at the hole through the rain clouds to see a patch of stars, one of them shining brightly. Upon hearing his father's voice telling him to "remember," Simba gains confidence and strength, then he roars out over his kingdom, and the rest of the pride roar back in approval of their new true king of the Pride Lands.

Sometime later, when the Pride Lands have returned to normal, Simba and Nala, along with Timon and Pumbaa, stand on the promontory of Pride Rock, proudly looking at the animals who have assembled below. Rafiki then comes in, cradling their newborn cub in his arms, and he lifts the cub up for all the animals to see.