Simba
Simba,meaning "lion" in Swahili,is a titular character of the franchise and the protagonist of The Lion King,the musical,and several video games.He is the tritagonistof both The Lion King II:Simba's Pride and The Lion King 1½,and a minor character in the Timon & Pumbaa television series.Simba is the son of Mufasa and Sarabi.During the events of The Lion King he becomes King of Pride Rock.In Simba's Pride he and Nala have a daughter,Kiara.As the events of 1½ occur during the same time as the original film,his upbringing with Timon & Pumbaa is further explored.
Timon and Pumbaa
Main article:Timon and Pumbaa
Timon and Pumbaa are a meerkat and warthog double act.Pumbaa's name means 'simpleton','stupid' or 'carefree' in Swahili.They are secondary characters in The Lion Kingand The Lion King II:Simba's Pride,serving as friends and sidekicks of Simba.They are the protagonists of the third film,The Lion King 1½,and their own spin-off TV series,Timon & Pumbaa.The Timon & Pumbaa's Jungle Games and The Lion King 1½ video games also center around them.
Nala
Nala is Simba's childhood friend who later becomes his queen.She is the deuteragonist of The Lion King and a minor character inSimba's Pride,and appears briefly in The Lion King 1½.As an adult she has a slender,graceful build and pale fur.Nala's mother is Sarafina; her father is unknown.Nala means "gift" in Swahili.At the beginning of The Lion King,Nala is a cub,Simba's best friend.Although she is betrothed to Simba according to Zazu,Nala thinks marrying him would be "weird".Nala is introduced when Simba interrupts her bath to persuade her to go with him to the forbidden elephant graveyard.As an adult,Nala leaves the barren Pride Lands to find help.She hunts Pumbaa,but Simba attacks her to defend him.Simba recognises Nala when she pins him with the flip she perfected on him as a cub.Nala is overjoyed to find him alive and tells Simba of the devastation to their home.The two fall in love,but Nala is unable to persuade Simba to return to Pride Rock.When Rafiki later tells her that Simba has returned,she follows him home and rejoins him.There,Nala realizes that Scar was responsible for Mufasa's death.At the end of the film,Nala has become Simba's queen and the mother of his cub.In Simba's Pride,Simba and Nala have a daughter named Kiara.Nala has several conversations with Simba during the film,acting as a calming influence by trying to mitigate his suspiciousness of Kovu and protectiveness of Kiara.In the end,she stands with Simba,Kiara and Kovu on Pride Rock and they all roar in victory.In The Lion King 1½,Nala is seen during the "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" sequence and in an extension of the scene in the original film when she explains to Timon and Pumbaa why Simba has gone back to Pride Rock.In the musical based on the original film,Nala's role is considerably expanded.She first appears as a cub,hunting with the adult lionesses.Later,the events leading up to her leaving the Pride Lands under Scar's tyranny are depicted in detail.During the song "The Madness of King Scar",the lonely,deranged Scar decides to take Nala as his mate,despite her angry opposition to the idea.This leads to the song "Shadowland",in which Nala sings about her need to leave the Pride Lands and find help.In a partial rewriting of the Lion King story in Kingdom Hearts II,adult Nala asks the game's main protagonists (Sora,Donald Duck and Goofy) to help her against Scar during his reign.She foils Scar's plan to have the protagonists killed and escapes with the party to the jungle,where they encounter Simba,Timon and Pumbaa.The seven characters return to Pride Rock together to defeat Scar,Pete and the hyenas.During the player's second visit to the Pride Lands,Nala asks for the protagonists' help in bringing back Simba's confidence in the face of Scar's "ghost",and also reveals herself to be pregnant.In the end credits,their cub is presented to the animals by Rafiki.
Mufasa
Mufasa was the King of Pride Rock and Simba's father.His ghost appears briefly in Simba's Pride.Mufasa's role is as an omniscient character whose wisdom and judgment are always correct,and to whom every character looks for guidance.Mufasa's name has no apparent meaning in Swahili.In The Lion King,Mufasa is a powerfully built lion in his prime with golden fur and a thick red-brown mane.He is a wise king who commands respect from the other animals.He is the first named character to appear,surveying his kingdom from the edge of Pride Rock.Mufasa tells his son Simba that he will be the next king,and teaches him about responsibility and how all living things are connected in the circle of life.When Zazu brings him news of hyenas in the Pride Lands,Mufasa rushes to deal with them; later he saves Simba and Nala from hyenas after the cubs explore over the border.That night,Mufasa sternly warns Simba of the thin line between bravery and bravado,but teaches him that the stars are the great kings of the past who will always be there to guide Simba,as Mufasa himself will.Mufasa's jealous brother Scar sets up a stampede of wildebeest against Simba.Mufasa rushes into the stampede and rescues Simba again,but is killed by Scar in the cliff.Believing his father's death was his fault,Simba goes into exile,returning only when Rafiki the mandrill comes to him as an adult and shows him that Mufasa lives within him.As Simba realises this,Mufasa's spirit appears as a spectacular vision in the clouds.He chides Simba for his lifestyle and tells him that he is the one true king and must take his place in the circle of life.Mufasa's counsel to "Remember who you are" gives Simba the confidence to challenge Scar for the kingdom.After the death of his evil brother Scar his voice is again heard "Remember" as Simba becomes the king of Pride lands.Mufasa's role in the sequel Simba's Pride is minor,though he is often mentioned by the characters.His spirit appears in the sky at the beginning of the film during Kiara's presentation.Throughout the film,Simba is deeply preoccupied with what Mufasa would have expected of him,having nightmares about his father's death and on one occasion addressing him in the stars.Rafiki also talks to Mufasa,but conversationally; Mufasa responds silently,using the wind to communicate,and encourages Rafiki to unite Kiara and Kovu to reconcile the two hostile prides.Rafiki scolds Mufasa for coming up with such a 'crazy' plan and it's not going to work,but goes through with it,and the plan is successful.Mufasa's voice is finally heard at the end of the film,praising Simba for his decision to unite the prides.Though he uses wind to communicate,he also uses it to let the animals know he's there.In the beginning of the film (even though his spirt is in the sky),he spreads his wind near Pride Rock,and the ones there use it for some things.Rafiki breaths in his wind,Simba and Nala both let the wind blow on their faces,even recently born Kiara plays with the wind.At the end he blows some wind on Simba's face for rewarding him in uniting the prides.In The Lion King 1½,Mufasa is only seen briefly in alternate shots of scenes from the original film.His role is somewhat expanded in the musical based on the original film.He sings "They Live in You" to young Simba in the scene when the two of them are looking up at the stars and discussing the great kings of the past.There is also an added scene in which Mufasa tells Zazu of his concerns about Simba's daring behavior.Zazu then reminds Mufasa of his early years as a rambunctious cub.In the video game Kingdom Hearts II,Mufasa appears in Simba's flashback sequences and as a god-like figure in the sky,as in the film.In The Simpsons episode "Round Springfield",Mufasa appears in the clouds alongside "Bleeding Gums" Murphy,James Earl Jones and Star Wars character Darth Vader (Mufasa and Darth Vader were both voiced by James Earl Jones).