Simba

Simba is the main protagonist of The Lion King. He was voiced by Jonathan Taylor Thomas in the first film as a cub, Matthew Broderick as an adult in both the first film and its sequel, and by Cam Clarke in both the House of Mouse and Timon & Pumbaa, and singing voiced by both Jason Weaver in the first film as a cub and Matt Weinberg in the special edition film and its midquel as a cub.

Personality
As a cub, Simba was playful and always ready for an adventure with his best friend, Nala. He saw the good in everyone, even his uncle Scar. At times, he can be a reckless show-off, and he thinks he'll be the best King ever. Therefore, he's sometimes overconfident, and he often got himself into danger. In spite of this, he comes to see the fault in his actions and acts upon the lessons he's learned.

Now as an adult, Simba was still fun-loving and optimistic, but ashamed of those actions he believed were his fault as a cub. After reuniting with Nala (who is also an adult now), Simba becomes even more courageous and is determined to protect his family and kingdom, regardless of the cost. Unfortunately, later in life, this defensiveness causes him to become occasionally overprotective and even arrogant to others, even his family. However, he eventually comes to see the light and is successful in saving his pride. Simba is marked by his strong sense of justice.

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 mandrill who was an old friend of Mufasa, headed the ceremony, performing a ritual before presenting Simba.

Simba grows up into a playful cub, with a rambunctious attitude. He grows excited about being king one day, 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 a king has. 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 there to kill the cubs, in an attempt to remove Simba from the line of succession so that Scar could become king. 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 in. 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.

The next day, Scar tells Simba that his father has a surprise for him. Scar leaves him in a deep gorge, telling Simba that Scar will return with his father soon. In fact the "surprise" was another plot of Scar's, with the goal of killing both Simba and Mufasa. Scar's hyenas drove a herd of wildebeest toward Simba. 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 menacingly "Long live the king." However, this was unknown to Simba, who only saw his father fall to his death. Simba was later manipulated by Scar into believing that Mufasa's death was his own fault. 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 fairly carefree, 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. 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.

Simba returns to the Pride Lands where he discovers that the land has been hit by a severe drought. 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 lionnesses. 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 traps Simba on the cliffs of Pride Rock, and reveals that he killed Mufasa, not Simba. Simba is angered, and he forces Scar to tell the truth. Alongside the lionesses and his friends, Simba leads a battle against Scar. After a fight with Scar at the top of Pride Rock, Simba is able to flip the villanous lion over the ledge. There, Scar is consumed by his hyena henchmen, who were angered after Scar attempted to place blame on them for Mufasa's death.

Simba takes his rightful place as king. He marries 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
In The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, Simba is now a secondary character, and has fathered a daughter named Kiara, the film's new protagonist. Though he's shown to be a loving father, he's also overprotective 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 play tag until Simba leaps in to confront Zira, Kovu’s mother, who was watching the two cubs play. After the confrontation, Simba talks with Kiara and explains to her that they "are one."

When Kiara is grown 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 watch her again, against Nala's advice. 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 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.

That night, Simba later has a nightmare of him trying to save his father Mufasa from death, but is prevented from doing so by Scar who morphs into Kovu. 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 Outlanders.

After a few days 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, reigniting Simba's distrust in Kovu. 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 Vitani. Simba is injured but leaps up a log dam to safety, causing a few logs to fall and crush Nuka, Zira's son and Kovu's brother. Kovu is blamed for the death and he flees to the Pride Lands in shame.

Simba, realizing Kovu had dark motives when he saved Kiara, exiles the lion, after refusing to accept his apologies. Kiara is distraught at this, and after informing her father that he will never be Mufasa, runs away to find Kovu. The two reunite in the desert later that night. As Simba enters the cave to find his daughter gone, Zazu arrives and announces that the Outsiders have initiated a war. Simba heads out to fight with his lionesses and Timon and Pumbaa.

After a lengthy battle, Simba and Zira confront each other directly. Kiara and Kovu leap into the middle of this confrontation and end the war, convincing both sides that they "are one." The Outsiders, after learning of their leader's true nature, abandon Zira entirely and join Simba's pride. Zira, enraged, tries to leap at Simba 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. Zira, despite Kiara's offers of aid, slips and falls to her death in the swollen river below.

After Simba and Kiara climb back up to safety, Simba realizes his mistake 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.

The Lion King 1½
In the 2004 direct-to-video interquel The Lion King 1½, Simba appears as a supporting protagonist. 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 to the "bathroom", 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 and Pumbaa
Simba makes occasional appearances in the Timon and Pumbaa animated TV series as the show's tritagonist. This includes one episode in which Timon drags him out to try to revive Pumbaa's lost memory. The episode "Congo On Like This", Timon and Pumbaa suspect that Simba has reverted back 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. Another episode entitled "Rome Alone" sees Simba being captured by Romans, and forced into gladiatorial battle with another lion called Claudius. Simba also appears in a music video of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" starring Timon and Pumbaa, which was shown theatrically in front of the film Tom and Huck in 1995.

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 makes brief appearances in Mickey's Magic Christmas. He also has a cameo as a cub at the beginning of Mickey's House of Villains.

Disney Friends
Young Simba also made an appearance in the Nintendo DS game Disney Friends as one of the characters the player has to care for as a babysitter.

Kingdom Hearts series
Simba is a recurring character in the Kingdom Hearts series, serving as a summon character in the first game and an ally in the second.

Kingdom Hearts
In the first game, Simba appears as a Summon, using an attack called Proud Roar where Sora charges up the roar and fires off a powerful attack. His world was destroyed; however, Simba's strong heart refused to languish in darkness, keeping his spirit alive and turning him into a Summon Gem, Earthshine. The gem was in turn found by Leon, who kept it as a "lucky charm", and was eventually given to Sora after Leon told him about the hearts of Worlds. After bringing it to the Fairy Godmother, she recognized it as a Summon Gem and immediately restored Simba's spiritual form, making him able to assist Sora in battles. After stopping Ansem (Xehanort's Heartless), Simba's body was restored and he returned to his own world.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
In Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Simba reappears as a figment of Sora's memories, and he's once again a summonable character. He's the first Summon Card that Sora receives, given to him by Leon after finishing his tutorial and visit to Traverse Town.

Kingdom Hearts II
Simba was surprised to see Sora, Donald, and Goofy in the Pride Lands. He was more surprised that the three looked very different from when he last saw them, as they had taken on an animal form. He was even more amazed to find out that they had met his childhood friend, Nala. Sora, Goofy, Donald, and Nala attempted to convince Simba to return to the Pride Land to overthrow Scar; however, Simba resisted until he met the spirit of his father, Mufasa who helped him rebuild his confidence. He returned to Pride Rock to find that Scar's hatred has turned Scar into a Heartless. After a battle on the top of Pride Rock, Scar was defeated, and driving the hyenas out, Simba took his rightful place as king.

However, the appearance of Scar's ghost caused Simba to have doubts, which made the other lions question his abilities as king. The apparition of these ghosts made Simba wonder if he could be a king just like his father was. Sora convinced Simba to follow his own path, and not his father's. With Sora's help he was able to overcome these fears, defeat Scar's ghost and become the King he was meant to be. He was last seen standing on Pride Rock during the end credits, with Rafiki holding princess Kiara over the animal kingdom to show the animals the newborn cub.

Disney Parks
Like most characters from The Lion King, Simba does not appear for meet-and-greets. Instead, he appears in certain shows as a large animatronic puppet. 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.

Festival of the Lion King
Here in Disney's Animal Kingdom and Hong Kong Disneyland, Simba is a host alongside Timon and Pumbaa and showcase some famous elements of the film.

The Legend of the Lion King
Simba was also the main character in Legend of the Lion King, a former Fantasyland attraction in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, which retold the story of the film using fully-articulated puppets.

World of Color
Simba can be seen in the opening of the show. Later Simba is seen in the stampede and mourning over the loss of his father during the So Close sequence.

Nala
As cubs, they were nearly inseparable. Unknown to them, they were betrothed at an early age, and both agreed that friends marrying each other was too weird once they discovered this fact. They got into many adventures, but when they were being chased by the hyenas, Shenzi was about to kill Nala, and Simba saved her by scratching Shenzi's face with his claws. Nala was heartbroken when Scar claimed that Simba died with Mufasa in the wildebeest stampede. As adults, Nala was the lioness who brought Simba back to Pride Rock, to save them from Scar's tyranny. In the midst of all this, they finally realized there friendship had grown into love, and eventually married as originally intended. 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 over-protective judgment gets the best of him.

Mufasa
He had a loving relationship with his father. He looked up to him, and after being chased by the hyenas, he said he was just trying to be brave like his father. Mufasa tries to teach Simba the proper conduct in times of danger and as a king, and discourages him from taking foolish risks. Simba spent all the time he wasn't with Nala with his father, and Mufasa showed him how to be a good ruler. When his father was killed in the wildebeest stampede caused by the hyenas under Scar's signal, he was grief-stricken, believing it to be his own fault. It was Mufasa's spiritual guidance that eventually convinced Simba 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 Mufasa would do or approve of.

Sarabi
Simba and his mother, Sarabi, loved each other very much. She was proud of her young son, and like Mufasa, tried to teach him proper conduct and groomed him for his future as the king. She also was protective of him, ensuring that Simba didn't run off to where he could get himself into trouble. When Scar claimed that Simba died alongside Mufasa in the wildebeest stampede, she was heartbroken. Years later, when Simba arrived to save his home, he watched sadly as Scar berated his mother. When Scar struck her down in a fit of rage, Simba immediately came to her defense and comforted her. She was in disbelief to see him alive, but very relieved. After Scar was forced to confess that he killed Mufasa, Sarabi fought by Simba's side and they managed to save their home. She watched proudly as Simba assumed his throne as intended. Sarabi was not present in the second film, so it is probable that she has since passed on.

Scar
At first, Simba loved his uncle, and would always tell him of his adventures, but Scar never seemed to be interested. After Simba tells Scar about his dad showing him the whole kingdom, Scar deliberately told his nephew about the Elephant Graveyard, hoping that Simba would get himself killed (even though covering his mouth and pretending it was an accident).

Scar sent the hyenas, Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, after Simba, but this first attempt failed. Later on, Scar led Simba into the stampede, intending to kill him and his father. He only succeeded in killing Mufasa, his older brother. He led Simba to think that it was his fault, and that he should run away and never return. Scar then ordered the hyenas (who came out from the fog) to kill Simba, but they failed once again, unbeknownst to Scar.

Years later, Simba is now an adult, and he went to challenge Scar for the throne. He saw Scar slap Sarabi (Simba's mother) across the face. Thus, Simba's love for his uncle turned to 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 thought he was the King. Then, Scar made 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 the "murderer" off a cliff, he whispered to Simba and told him that he killed Mufasa. In his rage, Simba jumped back up and pinned his uncle to the ground. Then, a violent fight between the lionesses, Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki (who all appeared to aid Simba), and the hyenas ensued. Simba then chased Scar up Pride Rock on his own, and soon cornered him in an attempt to overthrow him. Scar, knowing he wasn't strong enough to defeat Simba, begged for mercy and tries to explain that it's the hyenas who are the real enemy. Simba then says 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 leave, but then turned on him by throwing fire sparks at Simba's eyes, and then the fight between Simba and Scar broke out. Before Scar could pounce on Simba and kill him, Simba pushed him into the path of the hyenas, who killed Scar by devouring him.

Simba hasn't forgotten how Scar destroyed his father's 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.

Timon & Pumbaa
Timon and Pumbaa have been Simba's 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: 1rst was to go to the bathroom, 2nd was to get a drink of water, the 3rd was presumably go to the bathroom again, and the 4rth time being that he had a bad dream [presumably involving his father's death] and ends up sleeping with them). 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 pridelands from Scar's Tyranny, Timon and Pumbaa fought alongside Simba and Simba was again grateful to them for helping him.While Simba is King, Timon and Pumbaa are his body guards.

Kiara
Simba and his daughter, Kiara, love each other very much, though their relationship has always been under some strain. Simba tries his best to protect his daughter, but had become obsessed with this duty during her childhood. When Kiara met the Outsider Kovu, son of Simba's hated enemy Zira, he immediately disapproved of their friendship and became even more determined to defend Kiara.

When Kiara grew up, Simba promised to let her go on her first hunt alone at Nala's urging. However, he secretly sent Pumbaa and Timon to watch her like he did when she was a cub. Kiara discovered this and became furious with her father, and ran off to the outskirts of the Pride Lands. Simba forbids her to go on anymore hunts when Kiara nearly died in a brush fire set by Zira. 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 in fact did it unknowingly and unwillingly. After this incident, Simba forbade Kiara from so much as leaving his sight, and banished Kovu. Heartbroken, Kiara said her father was nothing like the king Mufasa was, shocking Simba. Kiara then ran off to find Kovu.

When Simba fought the attacking Outsiders, Kiara stopped him, with Kovu's help. She finally made him realize that he and the Outsiders were one and the same, finally ending the feud. When Zira attacked Simba in rage, Kiara saved him, and Simba helped her after Zira fell to her death in the raging river below. Finally realizing that Kovu was one of them, Simba was finally able to reconcile with his daughter.

Trivia

 * Although Simba bore hatred towards Scar for killing Mufasa, he might have tried to find it in his heart to forgive his uncle for what he did (as Simba is heard saying to Kovu in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride that Scar couldn't let go of his hate, and in the end, it destroyed him).
 * Simba is very similar to Bambi from the film Bambi in the sense of learn the lessons of life and fall in love with his female best friends. Also wilderness wherein a child loses his parent to death at young age.
 * In fact, Simba is the third Disney hero to have known his love interest as a juvenile, the first two being Bambi and Robin Hood from their respective films of their same names.