Sarabi

Sarabi is a lioness who is Mufasa's queen and Simba's mother in the Disney movie, The Lion King. She is voiced by the late Madge Sinclair.

Background
She appears as the caring mother of Simba and mate of Mufasa. As the queen of Pride Rock, she is shown to be in charge of the lionesses and their hunting parties. She is depicted as being wise, courageous, and caring.

In the Lion King book, Friends in Need, Sarabi is shown as a teenager, and it is stated that she is Mufasa's betrothed. In the book, Sarabi falls into a deep pit, from which Mufasa rescues her after being alerted by Zazu.

The Lion King
Sarabi is first seen with the infant Simba, at Simba's presentation. She later makes an appearance when an excited Simba awakens his parents before dawn. She wryly tells Mufasa that his son is awake, while Mufasa responds that Simba is Sarabi's son before sunrise.

She appears to be friends with Sarafina the mother of Nala, as her next appearance is with them. She is shown to be quite intuitive. Knowing that her son was possibly up to mischief when Simba and Nala wanted to go to the "waterhole," she sends Zazu along with them to keep watch for any danger.

Sarabi later mourns alongside the rest of the pride when Scar informs them of the death of Mufasa and Simba, and watches in horror as Scar allows the hyenas to overrun the Pride Lands.

Many years later, after the Pride Lands have been destroyed, Scar furiously, summons Sarabi, asking why there is no hunting taking place. Sarabi informs Scar that the herds have moved on due to the destruction, and that if the pride is to survive, they must leave as well. Sarabi is angered at Scar's refusal, because it essentially sentences them to death. She begins angrily telling Scar that he is less than half the king Mufasa was. Before she can finish her statement, Scar strikes her down in anger. When Simba appears from the shadows, she mistakes him for Mufasa at first. However, she is overjoyed when Simba identifies himself, though she is confused as to how he survived.

When Scar forces Simba to reveal his belief that he killed his father, Sarabi is shocked into disbelief and begs Simba to tell her it wasn't true. But when Scar reveals the truth of the matter, she is one of the first lionesses to join the fight against Scar. She watches on proudly after her son defeats his tyrannical uncle and assumes the throne of Pride Rock.

It is unknown if Sarabi is one of the lionesses who appeared in the sequel The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, in large part due to the death of her voice actor, Madge Sinclair, between the making of the two films.

The Lion King 1½
Sarabi is only shown in one scene where she stands alongside Mufasa. Though when the screen is moved to the top of Pride Rock, Zazu is there instead of Sarabi.

Trivia

 * "Sarabi" means "mirage" in Swahili

Gallery
Sarabi