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'''Simba''' is a [[lion]] character and the [[protagonist]] of [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney's]] most successful [[animated]] feature film, ''[[The Lion King]]''. He is the son of [[ |
'''Simba''' is a [[lion]] character and the [[protagonist]] of [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney's]] most successful [[animated]] feature film, ''[[The Lion King]]''. He is the son of [[Lauren]] and [[James]]<ref>http://disney.go.com/characters/?channel=154474#/characters/animated/thelionking/</ref>, nephew of [[Scar (The Lion King)|Scar]], mate of [[Nala (The Lion King)|Nala]], and father of [[Kiara (The Lion King)|Kiara]]. He has golden fur and when he grows into an adult, he has an auburn mane. The name "Simba" comes from the [[Swahili language|Swahili]] word for "lion".<ref>http://translate.google.com/#en|sw|lion</ref> |
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==Appearances== |
==Appearances== |
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Revision as of 14:43, 25 November 2011
| Simba | |
|---|---|
| File:YoungSimbaSmilestlk.png Simba as a cub | |
| First appearance | The Lion King |
| Created by | Jonathan Roberts |
| Voiced by | see below |
| Species | Lion |
| Relatives | Mate: Nala Children: Kiara in Simba's Pride and Kopa in TLK: SNA Parents: Mufasa (deceased) and Sarabi Uncle: Scar Mother-in-law: Sarafina Son-in-law: Kovu |
Simba is a lion character and the protagonist of Disney's most successful animated feature film, The Lion King. He is the son of Lauren and James[1], nephew of Scar, mate of Nala, and father of Kiara. He has golden fur and when he grows into an adult, he has an auburn mane. The name "Simba" comes from the Swahili word for "lion".[2]
Appearances
The Lion King
In the opening sequence of The Lion King, Simba is the newborn son of King Mufasa and Queen Sarabi. After being anointed he is held up by the mandrill Rafiki atop Pride Rock for all the animals in the Pride Lands to see. Elsewhere, Simba's uncle Scar is upset as Simba's birth means that Scar will never be king. When Simba is older his father Mufasa takes him to the top of Pride Rock to show Simba the kingdom. Simba takes interest in a dark, shadowy area beyond the northern border of the Pridelands but Mufasa explains that Simba must never go there because it is too dangerous there. After descending into the Pridelands Mufasa has to leave to chase away some hyenas, so Zazu leads Simba home and Simba goes to visit his uncle Scar. Scar tells Simba that the forbidden area is an Elephant Graveyard and that only the bravest lions go there. Scar deliberately arouses Simba's curiosity so that the cub will visit the Elephant Graveyard, and Simba does so, taking his friend Nala with him. Simba lies to his mother Sarabi and says that he is going to the water hole. Sarabi agrees to let Simba go, but requests that Zazu must accompany them. However, the two cubs Simba and Nala plot to lose Zazu during the song "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" and manage to do so, allowing themselves to head to the Elephant Graveyard.
As Simba and Nala approach the elephant graveyard, Zazu finds the two cubs. At the Elephant Graveyard three hyenas Shenzi, Banzi, and Ed attack Simba and Nala, under Scar's orders. Luckily, Zazu manages to escape from them and tells Mufasa what is happening, and Mufasa quickly dashes all the way over to the Elephant Graveyard to save his son, just as the trio of hyenas have cornered Simba and Nala after a brief chase and are about to eat them. Mufasa defends Simba and Nala, fighting the hyenas off and threatening to kill them if they ever go near Simba again. The hyenas run off, and Simba apoligizes to Mufasa, who is disappointed and angry that Simba delibrately disobeyed him by going beyond the borders of the Pride Lands when his father told him not to. Mufasa leads him, along with Nala and Zazu, out of the graveyard and back into the Pride Lands, unaware of the fact that a very annoyed looking Scar is watching them as they leave the graveyard. On the way home, Mufasa, after ordering Zazu to take Nala home, takes Simba aside to have a private conversation with him about what he did. Simba says that he was just trying to be brave like Mufasa. Mufasa replies that he is only brave when he needs to be and that being brave doesn't mean going looking for trouble. He also teaches Simba about the great kings of the past that look down from the stars.
Back at the Elephant Graveyard, Scar is angry that Shenzi, Banzai and Ed did not manage to kill the two cubs. Scar gains the trust of many other hyenas and makes a new plan. The next day Scar takes Simba down into a gorge and tells the cub to wait, stating that Mufasa has a "marvelous surprise" waiting. He also advises Simba to try to improve his roar, referring to an incident that had happened back in the Elephant graveyard when Simba had tried and failed to scare the hyenas away with his roar after they cornered him and Nala, right before Mufasa arrived and saved them. While Simba is in the gorge Scar and the hyenas start a wildebeest stampede. Just before this happens, Simba takes Scar's advice to improve his roar and, noticing a chameleon, successfully scares it with his roar after a few failed attempts right before the hyenas chase the wildebeasts, causing Simba to think that he scared the herd with his roar and consequently caused the stampede. Scar warns Mufasa about the stampede and that Simba's down there. He pretends to be concerned about Simba, but he's really just trying to lead Mufasa to his death, knowing that he will try to rescue Simba and hoping that he will be killed while trying to do so, along with Simba. Mufasa manages to do so, but is thrown to his death back into the stampede by Scar. Unaware of this atrocity, Simba sees his father fall to his death and, upon finding his father's dead body, thinks that it is his fault, as he wrongly believes that he caused the stampede that killed Mufasa when he roared at the lizard, still not knowing that it was the hyenas that caused the stampede under Scar's command. Scar arrives and tells Simba that it was his fault that Mufasa died and that he should run away. Utterly distraught and consumed with guilt at this false accusation, Simba runs and Scar orders the hyenas to kill him, but Simba escapes into the desert. Deciding not to tell Scar they failed to kill Simba again, and deciding that he's as good as dead out in the desert anyway, the hyenas tell Scar that Simba is dead, and Scar takes over the throne, allowing them and the rest of the hyenas to invade the Pride Lands.
Close to death, Simba is rescued in the desert by Timon and Pumbaa, a meerkat and warthog duo. They raise Simba in the jungle until he is an adult, encouraged to live carefree from his past he declines to detail to his friends, but is unable completely repress his guilt. One day, a lioness arrives in the jungle and tries to kill Pumbaa. Simba comes to his and Timon's rescue and wrestles the lioness till he finds that it is Nala. The two fall in love, however Simba insists he will never return to the Pridelands and end Scar's reign while refusing to explain his reasons, much to Nala's frustrated disappointment. Rafiki finds Simba and explains that Mufasa is still alive. Rafiki leads Simba to a grassy meadow where Mufasa's spirit appears in the clouds. Mufasa explains that Simba must return home and reclaim the throne. After this vision, Rafiki teaches the unsure lion his own painful lesson about the need to learn from his past, rather than flee from it. Inspired, Simba returns to the Pride Lands and is joined by Nala, Timon and Pumbaa. They find the Pride Lands barren and dry. While Timon and Pumbaa divert the hyenas and Nala rallies the pride, Simba looks for Scar.
Furious at seeing Scar strike Sarabi, Simba confronts him at Pride Rock. Scar forces Simba to confess his guilt about his father's death in front of the lionesses and backs Simba off a cliff. Scar grabs Simba and whispers that it was he who actually killed Mufasa. Enraged, Simba pins Scar and forces him to confess, causing a battle to ensue. Lightning strikes causing dry ground and starts a fire. As Nala, the other lionesses, Timon, and Pumbaa drive away the hyenas, Simba chases Scar onto the top of Pride Rock and Scar pleads for his life, implying that the hyenas were behind the crime. Unconvinced, Simba rejects his excuses and orders him exiled, deliberately echoing his uncle's phrasing used when he was falsely accused as a cub. Humiliated that his plan was caught, Scar attacks Simba until the younger lion manages to throw Scar over the edge. Scar does not die from the fall, but is devoured by the hyenas, whom he attempted to betray.
With Scar dead, Simba ascends Pride Rock as rain falls and extinguishes the fire. Simba roars out across the Pridelands, proudly proclaiming his rightful place as the Great King. Much later, with the Pridelands restored, Nala becomes Simba's mate and Rafiki lifts their newborn cub high into the air atop Pride Rock for the animals below to see.
Simba's characterization is one of Disney's greatest examples of a coming-of-age story. As a cub, Simba was rather self-centered. He was eager to be king for selfish reasons, such as obtaining power and doing whatever he pleased (ironically the same reason Scar desired the throne for himself). However, as an adult, Simba grows into a strong, but just king who only holds the best hopes and intentions for his family and homeland.
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
In The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, simba has fathered a daughter named Kiara. One day Simba lets his daughter out to play, but sends Timon and Pumbaa to watch over her. Unknown to Simba, Timon and Pumbaa begin to argue about "grubs", and Kiara slips away from them unnoticed.
Kiara ends up crossing over into the Outlands where she meets Kovu, an Outlander 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. After Kiara discovers that her father sent his friends to spy on her, she runs away only to be trapped in a fire that Vitani and Nuka, Kovu's brother and sister, have set. Kiara tries to run out, but chokes and loses consciousness. Kovu rescues her, and Simba at first tries to send him away, but Nala convinces him to accept Kovu into the pride.
Simba later has a nightmare of Mufasa's death. In the nightmare, Mufasa is climbing the cliff, calling out to Simba for help. Simba goes to help him, but hears an evil laugh behind him and sees Scar walking towards them. As Simba reaches out for his father, Scar grabs his paw with his claws. At that moment, Mufasa calls out for Simba one last time as he slips down the cliff and falls to his death. Simba looks back at Scar, but he has morphed into Kovu. Kovu laughs as he throws Simba off the cliff and as he falls, he wakes up. 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 few days Simba takes Kovu out for a walk and tells him the real story about Scar. Zira and the other Outlanders 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. Kovu is blamed for the death and Zira strikes him in anger, scarring his eye, making him look like Scar. Kovu flees to the Pride Lands in shame.
Simba, realizing Kovu had dark motives when he saved Kiara, exiles the lion, refusing to accept his apologies. Kiara is upset at this, and after informing him 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 pride.
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, willing to kill her allies just to avenge Scar, abandon Zira entirely and join Simba's pride. Zira, enraged and refusing to put the past behind her, 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, refusing 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, and finally reconciles with his daughter. The two united prides head back to Pride Rock where Kovu becomes Kiara's mate. In celebration, Kovu, Kiara, Simba and Nala walk up to the promontory of Pride Rock and roar out across the kingdom. Simba looks up to the sky where Mufasa tells him "Well done, my son," praising him for his decision to bring the Outlanders into the pride.
The Lion King 1½
In the 2004 direct-to-video interquel The Lion King 1½, 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. In one scene it is revealed that he had been having quite a lot of nightmares, presumably about Mufasa's death. In the final scene, before Simba made his mighty roar, he thanked the two saying that he would not have made it without them.
Beyond the films
Books
In a set of books titled The Lion King: Six New Adventures, released shortly after the original The Lion King film was released, Simba has a son named Kopa, a gold-coloured cub with a brown tuft of fur on his head. No reference is made to Kopa in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride which was released after the books were published. This indicates the cub at the end of the original The Lion King is intended to be Kiara.
TV series
Simba makes occasional brief appearances in the Timon and Pumbaa TV animated series. This includes one episode in which Timon drags him out to try to revive Pumbaa's lost memory.
In 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.
Simba was featured as one of the guests in the animated series House of Mouse where he tends to alternate between cub and adult versions.
Disney parks
Live versions of Simba also appear in the Lion King musical and in the parades and shows at the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.
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. Other Disney attractions that have featured Simba include the Mickey's PhilharMagic 3D show and the Hong Kong Disneyland version of It's a Small World.
Video games
In the video games based on the films Simba is usually the main playable character.
Simba also features in the Nintendo DS video game Disney Friends as a cub.
The Kingdom Hearts series
Kingdom Hearts
In Kingdom Hearts, adult Simba appears as a summon spirit whose world has been destroyed.
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
In Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, he appears as a summon card.[3]
Kingdom Hearts II
Simba plays a much more active role in Kingdom Hearts II as a full-fledged partner rather than a summon. When the main protagonists (Sora, Donald and Goofy) explore the jungle in the Pride Lands world, Simba is being attacked by Heartless (which he easily defeats), and then almost attacks them, not recognizing them at first as they were turned into jungle animals due to Sora's enchanted clothes; however, when he realizes who they are, he is overjoyed to see them, but surprised as to how their appearances had changed. Initially, Simba refuses to go back to the Pride Lands, stating he was "not who he used to be." His father, Mufasa, comes to him and tells him to go back; afterwards, he accompanies Sora, Donald, and Goofy to Pride Rock for a climactic battle with both the hyenas Shenzi, Banzai, Ed and Scar, who had been turned into a Heartless because of his anger and jealousy.
Sora left after the successful coronation of Simba. When Sora returned, Simba had been driven into doubt by rumors of Scar's ghost. He later gained confidence and stood up to Scar's ghost, which was a manifestation of Simba's uncertainty and fear, with help from Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Simba then has to prove himself as leader in a fight with a huge Heartless.
There is a continuity error with Jiminy's Journal from Kingdom Hearts, the first game in the series. In the journal it states that Simba was already King of the Pride Lands when he was a Summon, but in the second game he was not King until Sora, Donald and Goofy helped him defeat Scar.
Cam Clarke (Simba's speaking voice in Timon and Pumbaa and singing voice in The Lion King II) voices Simba in the above two appearances, with an archival recording of Jonathan Taylor Thomas used for Young Simba in a flashback sequence in Kingdom Hearts II.
Portrayers of Simba
| Media | Actor |
| The Lion King (1994) (film) | Jonathan Taylor Thomas (cub voice) Matthew Broderick (adult voice) Jason Weaver (cub singing voice) Joseph Williams (adult singing voice) Evan Saucedo (The Morning Report sequence cub singing voice) (2003 Special Edition) Frank Welker (adult roaring vocals) |
| The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa (1995) (TV series) | Cam Clarke (adult voice) |
| The Lion King (1997) (Broadway musical) | Scott Irby-Ranniar (cub) (original actor) Jason Raize (adult) (original actor) |
| The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998) (film) | Matthew Broderick (adult voice) Cam Clarke (adult singing voice) |
| The Lion King 1½ (2004) (film) | Matt Weinberg (cub voice) (Post-movie merchandise) Matthew Broderick (teenager and adult voice) |
| Kingdom Hearts II (2006) (video game) | Jonathan Taylor Thomas (cub voice) (archive recording) Cam Clarke (adult voice) |
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