Simba

"Danger? Ha, I walk on the wild side. I laugh in the face of danger!"

- Simba

Simba is the main protagonist of the 1994 Disney film The Lion King and the tritagonist of it's 1998 sequel The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, its 2004 midquel The Lion King 1½ and the spin-off TV series Timon and Pumbaa. In the original film, he was voiced by Jonathan Taylor Thomas as a cub and by Matthew Broderick as an adult.

Personality
Cub Simba was playful and always ready for an adventure with his best friend, Nala. He tried to see the best in everyone, even his uncle Scar. At times, he could be a show-off and arrogant, and boasted that he will be greatest king ever, which often got himself and Nala into danger. In spite of this, he came to see the fault in his actions and always learned from his mistakes.

Now as an adult, Simba still has his fun-loving demeanor, but has become ashamed of those actions he believed were his fault when he was a cub. After reuniting with Nala, Simba realizes he needs to mature and take responsibility, he becomes even more courageous and is determined to protect his family and kingdom, regardless of the cost. Simba becomes strict and judgmental and takes his job of ruling the kingdom very seriously. Unfortunately, later in life, this defensiveness causes him to become occasionally over-protective 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. Yet despite this, he is still gullible to his enemies, such as when Zira congratulated Kovu for leading Simba into the ambush she set up, he automatically believes her words and distrusts Kovu again, when Kovu was really unaware of the ambush and therefore, had nothing to do with it.

Physical Description
Newborn Simba was very small and chubby with a large head. He had light spots on his head and body, as newborn lions usually have. As a cub, Simba has "brownish-gold" fur, with a lighter cream color accenting his belly, muzzle and paws. He has large, bright eyes with orange irises (red as an adult) and yellow scleras; his upper lids are a deep tawny. Additionally, he has a light pink nose and four black whiskers on either side of his muzzle, and the insides of his ears are tawny and rimmed with black. Cub Simba boasts a small tuft of hair on top of his head, and a short bushy tail. He has somewhat stocky proportions.

Teenage Simba retains much of the appearance he had as a child, but is much more lithe. He has a mop of reddish-orange hair growing on the top of his head and partially down his neck; this is the early stage of his mane growing in. Teen Simba also has some noticeable darker colorations on his body, such as a brownish point above his nose.

As a young adult, Simba is much larger and his body is muscular. His russet mane is now fully grown and covers the entirety of his neck and much of his back, and his ears are barely seen. His eyes are smaller in relation to his head and are more oval shaped. In the sequel Simba's Pride, now a full grown adult, the colors of his pelt and mane are somewhat duller, and he has a more aged look.

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 wise 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 someday 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 or royalty. 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 and Nala in and he forgives and forgets. 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. Mufasa tells Simba if he ever feels alone, the Great Kings will always be there to guide him, and so will he.

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 drive 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 with an evil grin, "Long live the king." However, this was unknown to Simba, who only saw his father fall to his death. Simba is 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 into fairly carefree young adult lion 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, as Mufasa reminds him that he must accept his role in the Circle of Life and Rafiki demonstrates how you can either run from the past or learn from it.

Simba returns to the Pride Lands where he discovers that the land has been destroyed during Scar's reign. 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 lionesses. 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 forces Simba over the edge of Pride Rock and pierces Simba's paws with his claws (just like he did to Mufasa) before revealing that he killed Mufasa, not Simba. Simba is angered now realizing Scar was completely a big liar and he jumps back up and pins Scar down and forces him to tell the truth to the pride. 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 villainous 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.

By the time the land is restored to its former glory, Simba has taken his rightful place as king. He married 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 mature adult and he and Nala have a daughter, Kiara. Though he's shown to be a loving father, he's also concerned and over-protective 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 befriend each other until Simba leaps in to confront Zira, Kovu’s mother, who was watching the two cubs. After the confrontation, Simba talks with Kiara and explains to her that they "are one."

When Kiara is a young adult, 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. Simba agrees to these laws but says he will place judgement on Kovu and when the pride returns to Pride Rock, he makes Kovu sleep outside the cave.

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 and is thrown off the cliff, shouting, "NOOOOO!!!" 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 Outsiders.

After a while, 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, automatically reigniting Simba's distrust in Kovu after Zira congratulates Kovu for leading him into the ambush "just like they always planned". 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 his sister Vitani. Simba is injured but leaps up a log dam to safety, causing a few logs to fall on Kovu's brother Nuka, who tried to stop him from escaping and he dies from his injuries. Kovu is blamed for the death and Zira strikes Kovu with her paw and gives him a mark over his eye that resembles Scar's, he then flees to the Pride Lands in shame and Zira tells her pride to let Kovu go.

Simba, realizing/believing Kovu had dark motives when he saved Kiara, exiles the lion, after refusing to accept his apologies and silencing his daughter when she pleads to her father to listen to Kovu. As Kovu flees he glared at him and angrily ignoring Rafiki who was watching very sadly and feeling that Simba has defied his father's goals. Kiara is distraught at this, and pleads with her father to reconsider but he claims that Kovu used her just to get to him and he is following Scar's paw prints and Simba himself must to follow his own father's unknowingly he already failed to follow his father's paw prints and the Circle of Life broken, and forbids Kiara to leave Pride Rock unescorted. Kiara angrily defies her father saying to him, "You will never be Mufasa!" causing Simba to hurt immensely, and Kiara then runs away to find Kovu. The two reunite in the desert later that night. As Simba enters the cave to find his defiant 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 and send Zazu to find Kiara. Before the battle begins in earnest Simba offers Zira a chance to surrender and leave peacefully which the lioness, determined to see her goals to fruition, rejects. At this point Simba leads the charge against the Outsiders.

After a lengthy battle, Simba and Zira confront each other directly. Kiara and Kovu leap into the middle of the confrontation, and Kiara tells Simba that both sides "are one". Simba understands his daughter's wisdom and they nuzzle as his father shines a beacon of sunlight upon him. The Outsiders, after learning of their leader's true nature when she threatens to kill a defecting Vitani, abandon Zira entirely and join the Pridelanders. Simba implores Zira to let go of her hatred much as he has so peace may come between them though she is too overcome with hate to accept his understanding. Zira, enraged, tries to leap at Simba when the clamoring from the log dam distracts him 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 finally reconciles with his daughter 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, along with the rest of the pride, and the rest of the animals of the Pridelands celebrate. In the sky, Mufasa congratulates his son, "Well done, my son. We are one."

The Lion King 1½
In the 2004 direct-to-video interquel The Lion King 1½, Simba appears as a supporting protagonist. He briefly appears in the movie's opening with the unveiling ceremony where the animals are bowing, although unknown to Mufasa or Rafiki, the real reason they were bowing is because Timon forced Pumbaa to fart in order to clear the crowd, and they were trying as best as they could to block out the stench. 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" 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. 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 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 appeared at the end of one episode.

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 also appears in the finale advertisement with Nala being scolded by a babysitting Donald Duck in Mickey vs. Shelby.

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

Timon and Pumbaa's Wild About Safety
Simba, as a very young cub, makes a brief cameo in the episode Safety Smart: Goes Green, in which Timon misunderstands a CFL light bulb as a "cute fluffy lion." Then, an angry Sarabi comes to get back her son.

Video games
Simba has made numerous video game appearances, both as a cub and an adult; some of which including games based off the franchise such as The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure and The Lion King 1½.

He's also commonly featured in a variety of crossover games alongside other iconic Disney characters such as Kingdom Hearts and the Disney Universe game, which featured an add-on costume of Simba.

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.

In Kingdom Hearts and Chain of Memories, he featured as the first obtained summon.

In Kingdom Hearts II, he took on a much larger role since he was an ally and party member. This was largely due to the fact that his homeworld, the Pride Lands, was visited by Sora, Donald and Goofy. His role was similar to that of the film: Nala, along with the trio, encouraged Simba to return to Pride Rock and overthrow the tyrant king, Scar. Simba agreed to this after his father's spirit, Mufasa, rebuilt his confidence. He returned to his kingdom to find out that Scar had turned into a Heartless so after a battle, Scar was defeated and the hyenas were expelled, allowing Simba to take his rightful place as king. However, Simba's confidence in his leadership capabilities dabbled when Scar's ghost returned to haunt and torment Simba. Sora eased his worries and helped him defeat Scar's ghost so that there was nothing holding Simba back any more.

Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion
As a cub, Simba is one of the many Disney animated characters having been kidnapped by the evil witch Mizrabel. He is later rescued by Mickey Mouse and brought to the Fortress. Afterwards, Simba asks Mickey to find his friends Timon, Pumbaa, and Zazu.

The Lion King (musical)
Following the success of The Lion King, Julie Taymor created the musical The Lion King.

In this production, we have an insight into events that weren't explored in the original film, as Simba, young and old, is in nearly all the musical numbers. But in the Broadway production, we see a slightly extended role, which includes scenes like Timon being trapped above a lake full of crocodiles, which was Simba's fault; as the situation reminded him of the day his father was killed by his uncle Scar, and sings an additional song called "Endless Night".

Jason Raize plays Simba while Scott Irby-Ranniar plays young Simba in the original Broadway cast of The Lion King. However, after Raize committed suicide in 2004, a new actor had to take his place as Simba in future showings.

Disney Parks
Like most characters from The Lion King, Simba does not appear for meet-and-greets. Instead, he appears in certain shows. 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. In Disneyland, Simba is seen atop a float for Mickey's Soundsational Parade.

Simba has his own spell card known as "Simba's Roar" in the attraction Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. Simba, and other characters from The Lion King are also featured in Disney's Art of Animation Resort in Walt Disney World.

Simba is also a prominent character for Disney's Animal Kingdom merchandise and promotional material. Also in the park, Simba stars in Festival of the Lion King, hosted by Timon. In the former Magic Kingdom attraction The Legend of the Lion King, the story of the film was retold using animatronic puppets and scenes from the film, and of course, Simba appears in it.

In Disney California Adventure, Simba makes an appearance in a segment of World of Color. He is seen reliving the wildebeest stampede from the film, and can also be seen during the finale.

Simba also makes an appearance on a float in Paris Disneyland with Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki and Scar hiding at the back.

Nala
Simba's best friend since they were cubs, the two 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. Simba and Nala nearly died when the hyenas were after them they were trapped. Simba let out a feeble roar, but then, Simba and Nala were saved by Mufasa. 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 protective judgment gets the best of him.

Mufasa
Simba 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 his father would approve of.

Sarabi
Simba's mother, as well as the queen of Pride Rock and the mate to Mufasa, Sarabi and Simba 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 still supported her son after he became king, as shown in the second film, when she stands by Simba's side along with Nala, Timon, Pumbaa, and the rest of the pride when Simba faces Zira.

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 go there and get himself killed (even though he covered his mouth and pretended he told him by accident).

Scar sent the hyenas, Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, after Simba to kill him, but this first attempt failed. Later on, Scar led Simba into a deep gorge, and Scar, along with help from the hyenas, caused a stampede of wildebeests in the gorge, intending to kill Simba and his father. He only succeeded in killing Mufasa, his older brother, by causing him to fall off a high ledge he was clinging on to and into the stampede. He lied to Simba into believing that it was his fault, and that he should run away and never return. Scar then again ordered the hyenas 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 into 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 Pride Rock, 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. After Simba forces Scar to reveal the truth to the lionesses, 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 tricked him and threw burning embers at Simba's face, and then a fight between Simba and Scar broke out. Before Scar could pounce on Simba and kill him, Simba kicked him over himself and over an edge and he lands down at the bottom of the ledge where the hyenas wait, they killed Scar by mauling him after years of broken promises and as revenge for his blaming them for Mufasa's death.

Simba hasn't forgotten how Scar ruined his 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 best 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: 1st 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 4th time being that he had a bad dream [presumably involving his father's death or Simba dying trying to escape the stampede] and ends up sleeping with them). He was also, according to Timon, holds the record of the world's "longest bug belch", as well as beating both of them in various bug-eating contests (Slug Swallowing, Cricket Crunching, Grub Gulping, Maggot Munching, and the shown Snail Slurping). As a cub, Simba thought of Timon as a surrogate father figure and looked up to him a lot, while he saw Pumbaa Merely as the uncle he never had.

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 Pride Lands from Scar's Tyranny, Timon and Pumbaa fought alongside Simba and Simba was again grateful to them for helping him (in the third film, when they bowed respectfully to him, he hugged them, and claimed that he couldn't have done it without them). While Simba is King, Timon and Pumbaa are his body guards and are often tasked by him to look after Kiara.

Zazu
Not much is known about Simba's relationship with Zazu, apart from the fact that he was never pleased when Zazu had to watch him and Nala, and the fact that Simba liked to tease the bird at every chance he got, even calling him Banana Beak, much to Zazu's chagrin (he preferred Mr. Banana Beak). Despite this, Simba had at least some degree of respect for Zazu, as he willingly goes with Zazu when Mufasa orders the latter to escort Simba home while he takes care of some trespassing hyenas, though Simba was a little disgruntled that he couldn't go with his father. After Simba voiced his frustrations, Zazu boosts Simba's morale by reminding him that one day he will be king. When Simba became king, he let Zazu retain his job as majordomo and developed a lot more respect for him.

Rafiki
When he first interacted with Rafiki, Simba found him to be mildly annoying, most likely not remembering that Rafiki was the same baboon that anointed him at his birth ceremony. After he helped Simba with his Identity crisis and helping him in the fight against the hyenas, Simba began to regard Rafiki as a friend (most likely Simba has finally remembered Rafiki from his childhood).

Shenzi, Banzai and Ed
Simba and the hyena trio are enemies. They have made several attempts on his life; however all of them have ended in failure. After Scar is killed by the hyenas, even though then they have stopped being loyal to Scar, it is assumed that the hyenas remained enemies with Simba, as they are not shown together in the sequel.

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 is a young adult, Simba had 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 becomes furious with her father, and ran off to the outskirts of the Pride Lands. Angered and worried, 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 (referring to the fact that Mufasa would have forgiven Kovu and seen that the ambush was not his fault), horrifying 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, and he and his daughter finally nuzzle. 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 and accepts that she's old enough to become self-sufficient and make her own decisions.

Kovu
Since Kovu was the son of Zira, his enemy in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, and since Kovu was also an outsider, he saw Kovu as untrustworthy and saw him as an enemy. Yet, when a young adult Kovu saved his daughter, Simba was forced to reserve any judgement. Later, when Simba took Kovu out and talked to him, it seems Simba has forgiven him, but when the Outsiders attack him, all trust Simba had for him vanished, and now saw Kovu as a traitor. When Kovu tried to ask for forgiveness, despite Kiara's protests, Simba banished him. In the end, when he sees Kiara and Kovu together, he apologizes to Kovu for arrogantly banishing him and accepts him, along with the other Outsiders, to the Pridelands. He also watches Kovu and Kiara as Rafiki blesses them. He also roars with him on the top of Pride Rock, alongside Nala and Kiara.

Zira
Zira is another one of Simba's greatest enemies. He banished her and her pride to the Outlands, threatening a harsh punishment should they return. When the outsiders came to the Pride Lands for an attack, Simba gave Zira a final chance to surrender and return to the Outlands, however, Zira refused and attacked anyways. The two lions were about to engage in a potentially bloody battle, when Kiara and Kovu intervened. While Simba was ready to call off the war and allow the outsiders to return to the Pride Lands, Zira still wanted to kill Simba. Simba pleaded with her to put the past behind her, Zira refuses, which ultimately leads to her death.

Songs sung by Simba

 * I Just Can't Wait to Be King
 * The Morning Report
 * Hakuna Matata
 * Can You Feel the Love Tonight
 * We Are One
 * Endless Night (stage musical)
 * He Lives in You (stage musical only)

Trivia

 * Along with Timon and Pumbaa, Simba is the most well-known character from The Lion King franchise.
 * 'Simba' in Swahili means 'lion'.
 * In some concepts, Simba is shown with blue eyes.
 * Simba learned a valuable life lesson from Timon and Pumbaa. The lesson was that when bad things happen, you have to put your past behind you.
 * When the animators were drawing Adult Simba, they wanted a little twist for his appearance and personality to be like his voice actor Matthew Broderick.
 * During the making of the film, the animators chose young famous movie actor Jason Weaver from The Jacksons an American dream film, to do the singing voice of cub Simba.
 * In The Lion King 1½, it's shown how Simba looked like as a teenager when he was eating snails with Timon.
 * In The Lion King 1½, Simba thought of Timon as a father figure, and looked up to him a lot as a cub, while Pumbaa seems to serve more as the uncle he never had.
 * In The Lion King 1½, young Simba's singing and speaking voice are done by Matt Weinberg.
 * In one episode of Home Improvement, Randy (played by Jonathan Taylor Thomas) says that he always expected his dad to be called a king by everyone while playing with a lion cub doll who resembles Simba. Thomas was the voice of young Simba in The Lion King.
 * Simba and Nala were mentioned by Jonathan during the rap scene in the 2012 Sony Pictures film .
 * Simba is one of four Disney fathers who has a serious personality, the other three being George Darling, Robert Philip and George Banks.
 * Simba is never referred to as a prince, but his daughter, Kiara is sometimes referred to as a princess.
 * Simba as an adult bores a close resemblance to his father Mufasa.
 * Simba has dark ear rims similar to his mother's, Sarabi, but they are only seen when he's a cub and teen.
 * While Simba regularly appears as both a cub and an adult, his more iconic age is as a cub. The original film also goes more into depth with his cub personality.
 * Simba is the first animated Disney character to have a villain as a biological relative, followed by Hercules and Kenai (ironically, the antagonist the last mentioned was voiced by his Broadway role, Jason Raize).

Similarities with other characters

 * Simba is very similar to Bambi from the film Bambi:
 * They both learn lessons of life.
 * They fall in love with their female love interest/best friends (Simba: Nala, Bambi: Faline).
 * Both lose a parent to death by the primary antagonist at a young age (Mufasa was killed in the stampede by Scar, Bambi's mother was shot by Man).
 * Both have fathers who are royalty (Bambi's father is the Great Prince of the Forest and Simba's father is Mufasa who is the king of the pride lands).
 * Their homes are run like a monarchy and they are next in line.
 * They have a dream in the second film (Simba: sequel, Bambi: midquel) about the parent they have lost.
 * Both fight antagonistic animals (Simba: Hyena Clan, Bambi: Man's pets).
 * Both have a friend who is known for a bad smell (Flower for Bambi because he's a skunk and Pumbaa for Simba because he passes gas and burps a lot.
 * Both of their births have a ceremony that involves all the animals in the area coming to see them.
 * Both have a bird for a mentor (Friend Owl for Bambi, Zazu for Simba).
 * Both have been scolded by their fathers for a disobedient act.
 * 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. Interestingly, all three of them are animals.
 * Simba is also similar in personality to Peter Pan. Despite their personalities, they can be quite cocky and overconfident. Also, Simba is the second Disney hero to blackmail a villain into yelling something out loud and then telling them to run away, with Peter Pan being the first Disney hero to do so.
 * Simba is also similar to Snow White as both characters run away on the orders of Humbert and Scar respectively and run into danger (Snow White runs into the dark forest and Simba is chased by Shenzi, Banzai and Ed). Unlike Snow White though Simba runs away because he believes he "killed" his father not knowing Scar was the murderer while Snow White runs off to escape the Queen.
 * Simba is also similar to Aladar.
 * His adventures are influenced by Osamu Tezuka's anime . Unlike Simba, Kimba lost both parents. His father, Caesar was killed by poachers before he was born. His mother, Snowene drowned on a ship in a tropical storm at sea months after his birth, but Kimba escaped for survival as she told him.
 * Simba is also similar to Mowgli as both characters befriend strangers. Mowgli befriends the Vultures and Simba befriends Timon and Pumbaa.
 * Simba is heavily based on William Shakespeare's Hamlet, as The Lion King is influenced by Hamlet. Similarities are that when Claudius kills his brother to become the next king. Claudius poisoned his brother while Scar threw Mufasa into the wildebeest stampede. Another event is when Hamlet flees from his home to the residence of Rosencrantz and Guildernstern while Timon and Pumbaa were residing in a jungle far from the Pridelands. Lastly, Hamlet comes back to his home to regain royalty through his father's ghost as Simba comes back to take the Pride Lands through Mufasa's ghost.
 * Simba is also similar to Littlefoot from the 1988 film The Land Before Time as both protagonists witness their parents (Simba: Mufasa, Littlefoot: his mother) being killed while they are very young and left to fend for themselves and guided by their deceased parents in their soul forms.
 * Simba is also similar to Elsa from Frozen in the sense that they are both young monarchs who run away from home. They also leave their kingdoms which eventually are taken over by their film's villains (Scar and Hans). Thay also become care free but are convinced later on by a loved one to return back (Nala and Anna).
 * Simba is like Bryan Mills from the French-American film Taken as they are both over-protective of their children however Bryan was right to be protective as his daughter gets kidnapped by an Albanian human trafficking ring. But he is also the animal version of Eddie Carbone from  as they are both overprotective of their children. Even when they are adults. Unlike Eddie, however, Simba lives.
 * Simba is very similar to both Ariel and King Triton from The Little Mermaid.
 * Simba and Ariel both have red hair and are adventurous and curious which often gets them into trouble.
 * Simba and Ariel are children of their fathers as rulers of their kingdoms.
 * All three lost a family member (Simba: Mufasa, Ariel and Triton: Queen Athena) being killed
 * Despite the deaths of Mufasa and Athena, their spirits still guides Simba and Ariel as they grow up.
 * Both have saved their love interest from great danger, Ariel saves Prince Eric from drowning and for Simba he saves Nala from getting eaten by Shenzi.
 * Simba and Triton become rulers of a kingdom
 * Simba and Ariel marry their love interest at the end of their films.
 * All three become the proud parent of a daughter in ways they're similar to.
 * They are all overprotective of their daughters which buts a strain on their relationship but make amends with them in the end.
 * Simba and Ariel run away from home, though Simba runs away because he believed that he killed his father while Ariel ran away to see Ursula so she could be human and be with Eric.