Nala

Nala is a lioness and the deuteragonist in the 1994 animated feature film The Lion King.

Nala is the wife of Simba, the daughter-in-law of Mufasa and Sarabi, the daughter of Sarafina and an unknown male lion, and the mother of Kiara.

Production
Nala's main animators were Bob Bryan and Gilda Palinginis and her supervising animators were Aaron Blaise (cub) and Anthony de Rosa (adult).

During early production Nala was given a younger brother named Mheetu. He is mentioned in the book The Art of The Lion King where he is referred to as "Mee-Too". He was designed by Thom Enriquez.

Personality
As a cub, she was very playful and friendly. She was best friends with Simba, but was prone to playfully teasing him. By the time she was a young adult, she had grown courageous enough to seek help for her pride, who was suffering under Scar's reign. She was shown to be a fierce fighter, and she was known for a special move, where she would flip an attacker onto his back and pin him to the ground.

By the time of the second movie, Nala has become much more mild-mannered and motherly. She acts as the voice of reason to the overprotective Simba, reminding him that their daughter Kiara would be fine. She also seems to be less judgmental than Simba. Whereas Simba refused to trust to Kovu simply because of Kovu's outsider status, Nala is able to see that Kovu is unwilling to follow his destiny as Scar's heir, and thus is more trusting.

The Lion King
Nala is first seen as a cub, being bathed by her mother Sarafina. Simba, who has been tricked by Scar into visiting the Elephant Graveyard, asks her to accompany him to a great place. Initially, told the trip was to the watering hole, she is allowed to go on the condition that Zazu accompanies them, after which Simba reveals the true destination. As they travel, it's revealed by Zazu that Nala and Simba are not only best friends, but were betrothed at a young age by their parents. As a result they're expected to marry in the future, a revelation which scares both of them. Simba and Nala come up with a plan to lose Zazu along the way by traveling through many different animal herds(the "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" sequence), which succeeds. Simba and Nala journey to the Elephant Graveyard where they encounter Scar's hyena minions Shenzi, Banzai and Ed. Nala attempts to escape alongside Simba, but the two are chased by the hyenas. After trapping the cubs, the three hyenas are attacked and scared off by Mufasa, who came to rescue the cubs. Afterwards, Zazu is tasked with taking Nala home, while Mufasa lectures Simba. Later, after Scar, who has aged a bit, informs the pride of Mufasa's and Simba's deaths, she is seen mourning with the other lionesses.

Nala is next seen as an adult, when she attempts to hunt Pumbaa. However, she becomes entangled in a fight with a young adult lion, actually the grown up Simba. She manages to pin the lion using a trademark move in which she flips the lion onto his back. But she doesn't recognize him as her friend Simba until he introduces himself; Simba recognized her by the flip move, which she had often performed on him as a cub. She is ecstatic to learn Simba is alive, as it means he is the rightful king of the Pride Lands. After being alone with Simba, she falls in love with him, but grows angry when Simba refuses to return to Pride Rock to put an end to Scar's reign. At this point, she reveals that she left Pride Rock in an attempt to find help, as Scar had become a tyrant and the pride was suffering due to both lack of food and water as well as from the hyenas overrunning the Pride Lands. The two argue, and storm off in separate directions. She is seen the next morning with Timon and Pumbaa looking for Simba, and they discover from Rafiki that Simba has returned to the Pride Lands. She, along with Timon and Pumbaa, follow Simba, and offer to help him reclaim his kingdom. While Timon and Pumbaa distract the hyenas, Simba sends Nala to look for his mother and rally the rest of the pride. She does so and later appears with them, as Simba confronts Scar. Like the other lionesses, she is shocked when Scar forces Simba to admit his guilt in Mufasa's death. But she is one of the first lionesses to join in the battle after Scar reveals his identity as the true murderer of Mufasa. After the battle, She is seen looking on as Simba reclaims his throne, and at the end of the film is shown to have become Simba's mate and had a cub with him.

The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
In this film, Nala is both Simba's queen and Kiara's mother. She is first seen at Kiara's presentation, looking on proudly. She later appears as Kiara is going out to play, reminding Kiara to mind her father, and reassuring Simba that Kiara will be fine. She accompanies Simba as he goes to retrieve Kiara when she wanders off, and confronts Zira when the exiled lioness is discovered in the Pride Lands.

Nala next appears as Kiara is planning her first hunt, and Nala subtly encourages Simba to allow Kiara to hunt on her own. She later argues on Kovu's behalf to allow him in the Pride Lands. Since Kovu saved Kiara's life, Simba owes him a debt and so must grant Kovu's request to join the pride. She later encourages Simba to give Kovu a chance, pointing out that Kovu may not want to follow the path expected of him.

During the battle between the Pride Landers and the Outsiders, she is seen leading the lionesses, and briefly fights Vitani. She later directs Simba as he attempts to rescue Kiara, warning him about the river dam breaking up. Finally, she is seen roaring with Simba after Kiara and Kovu are united in marriage.

The Lion King 1½
Nala plays a minor role in this midquel. She is seen during the Can You Feel The Love Tonight sequence and in an extension of the scene in the original film where she explains to Timon and Pumbaa about Simba's whereabouts. Although Nala played a minor role in the film, she was still voiced by Moira Kelly.

First Visit
After years went by, Nala grew up to be a fine lioness. When Sora, Donald, and Goofy first visit their world, they saved her from a bunch of Heartless that were chasing her. She then asked them to help defeat Scar. In return, she taught Sora the Dash command. But after asking advice from Rafiki, they were cut out of the job.

When Nala tells Sora about Simba's existence, Sora tells her that he is well and alive. Together, they go off to find him.

They reunite with Simba at the oasis and go back to the Pride Lands to face his uncle. Simba fights Scar and wins, and becomes the new king of the Pride Lands.

Second Visit
Upon Sora's second visit, Nala has become Simba's wife and is carrying their child Kiara. When Scar's ghost terrorizes the Pride Lands, everyone runs away in fear, except Nala, who stays behind protected by Pumbaa until Simba comes back to meet his fear.

During the end credits, she is seen with Simba while Rafiki holds their newborn child, Kiara, high above the now restored Pride Rock for all animals to observe the birth of their princess.

The Lion King musical
In the musical based on the film, Nala's role is considerably expanded, with the events leading up to Nala leaving the Pride Lands under Scar's tyranny depicted in detail.

Nala first appears in the musical as she is hunting with the other lionesses, replacing the scene from the film where she is being bathed by her mother Sarafina. Later, during the song "I Just Can't Wait to Be King", she sings quite a few extra lines that do not appear in the film version.

In the scene "The Madness of King Scar", the lonely, mentally ill Scar decides to take Nala as his mate, despite the fact that she is angrily opposed to the idea. This leads to the song scene "Shadowland" where Nala's character sings the lead about her need to leave the Pride Lands and find help. The other lionesses sing supporting choir and Rafiki sings a blessing. At the end of the song, Nala bids her pride a sad farewell and leaves.

Tony Award-winning actress Heather Headley portrayed her in the original Broadway cast. In the London West End production, she was originally portrayed by Paulette Ivory.

The song "Shadowland" was based on the song "Lea Halalela (Holy Land)" from the Rhythm of the Pride Lands CD.

Disney's House of Mouse
Nala makes cameo appearances as a cub in the series.

Trivia

 * Her name is of Tanzanian origin and means "Luck".