List of The Lion King characters
The following are fictional characters from Disney's The Lion King franchise.
Development
A total of thirteen supervising animators from Walt Disney Animation Studios and Disney-MGM Studios were responsible for establishing the personalities and setting the tone for the first film's main characters. The animation team studied real-life animals for reference, as was done for the earlier film Bambi.[1] The animation of the characters counted with supervision by wildlife experts such as Jim Fowler, who visited the studio on several occasions with lions and other animals to help the animators reproduce authentic behavior.[2] Screenwriter Irene Mecchi joined the directing team to help in the character development process and define each character's personality. Story head Brenda Chapman spoke of the challenges of character development: "It was our job to make the main character likeable and sympathetic. It was also challenging to make the environment and characters interesting. In real life, lions basically sleep, eat and have no props."[2]
The Lion King
Simba
Simba, meaning "lion" in Swahili, is the protagonist of The Lion King, the musical, and several video games. Simba is the son of Mufasa and Sarabi. During the events of The Lion King, he becomes King of Pride Rock. In The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, he and Nala have a daughter, Kiara. As the events of The Lion King 1½ occur during the same time as the original film, his upbringing with Timon & Pumbaa is further explored. Jonathan Taylor Thomas played young Simba and Matthew Broderick played adult Simba.
Timon and Pumbaa
Timon and Pumbaa are a meerkat and warthog double act. The name Timon is Greek for "respect". Pumbaa's name means 'simpleton', 'stupid', or 'carefree' in Swahili. They are supporting characters in The Lion King and The Lion King II, serving as friends and sidekicks of Simba. They are featured as the main characters in the third film, The Lion King 1½, and their own spin-off TV series, Timon & Pumbaa. The Timon & Pumbaa's Jungle Games and The Lion King 1½ video games also center around them.
Scar
Scar is the main antagonist in The Lion King, musical and the majority of the franchise. He is the younger brother of Mufasa and the uncle of Simba. The name, "Scar", refers to the scar on his left eye.He is also very self arrogant and will do whatever it takes to make himself the new king. During the events of The Lion King, Scar commits a coup d'état, by murdering his brother and exiles his nephew in order to gain title of "King of the Pride Lands". Jeremy Irons provided Scar's speaking voice, while both Irons and Jim Cummings provided his singing voice. (Cummings took over for Irons after the latter broke his singing voice.) He makes a brief appearance in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, in which Cummings provided Scar's speaking voice. He also had a brief non-speaking cameo in The Lion King's Timon and Pumbaa.
Nala
| Nala | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by |
Moira Kelly (adult in films) Niketa Calame (cub in film) Heather Headley (adult in original Broadway cast) Kajuana Shuford (cub in original Broadway cast) Vanessa Marshall (adult in video games and Kingdom Hearts II) |
| Supervising animator |
Aaron Blaise (cub) Anthony de Rosa (adult)[3] |
| Species | Lioness |
Nala is Simba's playmate in childhood. She debuts as a cub in the first film of the franchise and accompanies Simba into the forbidden Elephant Graveyard. She later appears mourning over Simba's alleged "death" before finally reappearing as a young adult who unknowingly entangles herself in a brawl with a mature Simba after having attempted to attack Pumbaa. A romance gradually blossoms between the pair during the sequence "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?". Nala urges the reluctant Simba to return to the desolate Pride Lands, corrupted by Scar's tyrannical kingship, and claim the throne. Simba is encouraged by Rafiki and his father's spirit to return home and confront his uncle. Nala, accompanied by Timon, Pumbaa, and the lionesses of the Pride Lands, battle allied with him against the hyenas after successfully toppling Scar's reign. She was horrified when Simba admitted to her and the other lionesses his mistaken belief that he was responsible for Mufasa's death, and enraged when she later learned that it was in fact Scar who had murdered Mufasa and had tricked Simba into thinking he was responsible for his father's death. Nala and Simba later marry and have a daughter, Kiara.
In the sequel, The Lion King ll: Simba's Pride, Nala is depicted as slightly older, calmer and less overprotective than her husband. She appears with a similarly-reduced role in The Lion King 1½, a direct-to-video retelling the events of the first film from Timon and Pumbaa's view. Nala is set to appear in the upcoming Disney Junior series The Lion Guard where she and Simba will have another child together, a son named Kion.
Mufasa
| Mufasa | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by |
James Earl Jones (films, Kingdom Hearts II) Samuel E. Wright (Original Broadway Cast) |
| Supervising animator | Tony Fucile[3] |
| Species | African Lion |
Mufasa, Simba's father, is King of the Pride Lands. Scar, who furiously conspired against his older brother in an attempt to end his reign and seize the throne. After saving Simba, during a massive stampede of wildebeests caused by the hyenas under Scar's order, Scar causes Mufasa to fall from a cliff to be trampled to death. Scar gains a tyrannical kingship over Pride Rock after exiling Simba from home, having convinced him that he was responsible for Mufasa's untimely death. Mufasa reappears as a ghostly apparition in the clouds commanding Simba to return home. His voice is heard again following the death of his evil brother, telling Simba to "Remember who you are".
Mufasa appears briefly in two direct-to-video sequels to The Lion King. In the opening sequence of The Lion King II: Simba's Pride his spirit can be seen proudly watching over the presentation of his newborn granddaughter Princess Kiara and is later seen in Simba's nightmare where Simba tries to save him from falling into the stampede, but is stopped by Scar who turns into Kovu and throws Simba off the cliff after Mufasa. At the conclusion, his voice is heard congratulating Simba on his reign. During the followup The Lion King 1½, Mufasa's apparition to Simba is relived through the two characters' eyes.
According to The Lion King: Six New Adventures story "A Tale of Two Brothers", his parents were called Ahadi and Uru.
Sarabi
| Sarabi | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by |
Madge Sinclair (film) Gina Breedlove (original Broadway cast) |
| Supervising animator | Russ Edmonds[3] |
| Species | Lioness |
Sarabi is Simba's mother and Mufasa's wife. Her name means "mirage" in Swahili. She was appalled when Scar, having seized the throne, let the hyenas take over the Pride Lands. Many years later, Sarabi argues with Scar, insisting that they needed to move to a different place where food and water would be available. He refuses and strikes her for saying that he isn't "half the king Mufasa was." Simba, who had watched from a distance, reveals himself by roaring at Scar. She mistakes Simba for Mufasa at first, but is overjoyed all the same when she realizes her son is alive. Sarabi joins Simba in his fight against Scar's hyenas.
Sarabi has a non-speaking appearance in The Lion King 1½.
Zazu
| Zazu | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by |
Rowan Atkinson (Original Film) Edward Hibbert (Sequels) Michael Gough (Various Merchandise) Jeff Bennett ("The Morning Report" in The Lion King: Special Edition) |
| Supervising animator | Ellen Woodbury[3] |
| Aliases | Banana Beak (by Simba) |
| Species | Red-billed hornbill |
Zazu is a red-billed hornbill[4] who acts as majordomo to Mufasa and later Simba. Zazu is seen flying over the Pride Lands during the opening sequence, in which Simba is presented. In the song "I Just Can't Wait to Be King", Zazu sings about his doubts that someone as carefree as Simba would make a good king, but he isn't taken seriously and ends up being squashed by a rhino. Zazu catches up with them in the elephant graveyard and tries to protect them when they are confronted by hyenas, then flies to get Mufasa to rescue the cubs. Zazu is with Mufasa when Scar brings the news of Simba being trapped in the wildebeest stampede; he intends to go for help, but Scar slaps him into a wall and knocks him out. After Simba's exile, Zazu becomes a prisoner of Scar and a source of entertainment. During the battle for Pride Rock, Pumbaa breaks Zazu out of his prison, and after Simba defeats Scar and is seen during the presentation of Simba and Nala's newborn cub.
Zazu has brief appearances in the two sequels. In The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, he acts as a scout and advises Simba on royal protocol. In 1½, he is seen at the presentation of Simba, then later, racing with Mufasa to save Simba and Nala from the hyenas in the Elephant Graveyard.
In the musical, Zazu is a puppet controlled by an actor dressed in blue striped clothes and a bowler hat, much like a stereotypical butler. Zazu's blue feathers have been replaced with white and the puppet is partially constructed from parachute silk with a slinky contained in the neck for ease in movement.[5] Zazu sings the song "The Morning Report", which was fully animated for the Platinum Edition release of the original film. After "They Live In You", Mufasa and Zazu talk about Simba's behavior and Zazu remarks that Mufasa got into trouble too at Simba's age. In some English productions of the show, Zazu breaks the fourth wall and uses anachronisms for comic effect.
Zazu has made occasional appearances in the Timon & Pumbaa and House of Mouse television series, and a Mickey Mouse cartoon called Runaway Brain. Zazu and Aladdin's Iago hosted an attraction called The Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management) in Adventureland at Walt Disney World before it closed.
Rafiki
| Rafiki | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by |
Robert Guillaume (films and video games) Tsidii Le Loka (original Broadway cast) Khary Payton (The Lion Guard) |
| Supervising animator | James Baxter[3] |
| Species | Mandrill |
Rafiki, whose name means "friend" in Swahili, resembles a mandrill with an unnaturally long tail, but is likely a baboon. He lives in a baobab tree in the Pride Lands and performs shamanistic services for the lions of Pride Rock. The character often serves as the narrator of the story, especially in video games and merchandise.
In The Lion King, Rafiki is introduced in the opening scene when he travels to Pride Rock to perform newborn Simba's presentation ceremony. During the film, Rafiki sings a nonsense chant: "Asante sana, squash banana, wewe nugu, mimi hapana." This is a Swahili playground rhyme which translates to "Thank you very much (squash banana), you're a baboon and I'm not!" Like "hakuna matata" (no worries), the chant was heard by the filmmakers on their research trip to Kenya. Rafiki travels to the jungle where Simba lives with Timon and Pumbaa, and teaches him lessons about learning from the past. During the battle for Pride Rock, Rafiki saves Simba from a hyena. At the end of the film, Rafiki presents Simba and Nala's newborn cub.
In the sequel The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, Rafiki is more closely involved with the affairs and politics of the prides and is often seen with the lions. Mufasa's spirit persuades him to bring Simba's daughter Kiara and Zira's son Kovu together as a way of uniting the prides. Rafiki tries to make them fall in love by singing to them about a place called "Upendi", which means "love" in Swahili. In the end, he blesses the union of Kovu and Kiara and Kovu is welcomed into the pride. Rafiki appears briefly in The Lion King 1½, teaching Timon the philosophy of "Hakuna Matata", talking to Timon's mother about her son, and later convincing Timon to follow Simba to Pride Rock to confront Scar.
In the musical, the character of Rafiki was significantly modified. Because director Julie Taymor felt that the story lacked a strong female character, Rafiki was changed into a female mandrill and sangoma. She acts as narrator throughout the story, at one point speaking to the audience in a click language for comic effect. She sings the opening song "Circle of Life", a keening song called "Rafiki Mourns" following Mufasa's death, and a brief part in Nala's song "Shadowland", when she blesses Nala for her journey to find help. Instead of detecting Simba's scent on dust, Rafiki hears Simba's song "Endless Night" on the wind. Rafiki finds Simba and shows him that his father lives on in him through the song "He Lives in You". She is present during the battle, fighting a hyena, and adorns Simba with the king's mantle after his victory. And the play ends with her presentation of Simba and Nala's cub.
Rafiki makes occasional appearances in the Timon and Pumbaa TV series and has his own series of skits called "Rafiki Fables" in the same show. He appears briefly in the Pride Lands world of Kingdom Hearts II.
Shenzi, Banzai and Ed
| Shenzi, Banzai and Ed | |
|---|---|
| Supervising animators |
David Burgess Whoopi Goldberg (films) Tress MacNeille (Timon & Pumbaa, The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure and Kingdom Hearts II) Jenifer Lewis (Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom) Banzai: Cheech Marin (films, Kingdom Hearts II and Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom) Rob Paulsen (Timon & Pumbaa, The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure) Ed: Jim Cummings |
| Species | Spotted hyenas |
Shenzi, Banzai and Ed are a spotted hyena trio who are Scar's followers.
- Shenzi (voiced by Whoopi Goldberg) is the only female of the trio. Her name means 'savage', 'uncouth', or 'poor quality' in Swahili. She is the de facto leader of the trio. She does not hesitate to follow Scar's orders to attack, nor to confront him later about the lack of food. Shenzi was originally going to be a male and voiced by Tommy Chong to reunite him with his old comedy partner Cheech Marin, who was playing Banzai, but apparently the two had had a falling out, so Shenzi was reconceived as a female and Whoopi Goldberg was hired for the role.[6]
- Banzai (voiced by Cheech Marin) is the most aggressive and excitable of the trio. His name means 'skulk' or 'lurk' in Swahili, but it is also a battle cry in Japanese (Banzai charge). His appearance generally resembles the unnamed hyena characters.
- Ed (voiced by Jim Cummings) communicates almost entirely through crazed laughter. Jim Cummings recorded over four hours of different laughter clips for use with Ed's dialogue.
The three hyenas first appear in the elephant graveyard where they taunt,tease and chase Simba, Nala and Zazu, but are attacked by Mufasa. Scar reinforces their loyalty with food and promises that they will never go hungry if they help him become king. They trigger the wildebeest stampede. Simba eludes them by crawling through a thorn-patch. Shenzi decides to tell Scar he is dead. During Scar's reign, the trio complain about lack of food. The clan fights on Scar's side when Simba returns, but most are defeated by the lionesses, and Shenzi and Banzai are ruthlessly beaten by Pumbaa. The trio overhear Scar trying to blame them for Mufasa's death and the ruin of the Pride Lands. Fueled with anger at Scar for his betrayal the hyenas leap upon Scar and eat him alive.
The hyenas are briefly mentioned in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride by Nuka, who says that they 'ran off' from the elephant graveyard. In The Lion King 11/2, they attack a meerkat colony while Timon is on sentry duty. The trio reappear during the film's climax at Pride Rock, cornering Timon and Pumbaa. The hyenas then fall into a meerkat tunnel, which transports them to Scar in time to confront him.
The three hyenas make occasional appearances in the Timon & Pumbaa TV series with their own segment "The Laughing Hyenas". In Kingdom Hearts II, the hyenas appear in the Pride Lands world as Scar's followers. They also appear as villains in Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Walt Disney World.
Sarafina
| Sarafina | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by | Zoe Leader (film) |
| Supervising animator | Silvia Hoefnagels (uncredited) |
| Species | Lioness |
Sarafina is Nala's mother. Her name is not mentioned in the film, only appearing in the credits. Her uncredited dedicated animator is Silvia Hoefnagels. Sarafina plays a minor role, appearing a few times throughout the film. She only has one line of dialogue. Her first appearance is when she is bathing her cub; she is also seen as one of the lionesses who mourn Mufasa and Simba when the pride hears of Mufasa's death and Simba's supposed death from Scar , and later when they fight the hyenas. According to the song "Chow Down" from the musical, Sarafina ate Banzai's father.
The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa
Quint
| Quint | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by | Corey Burton |
| Species | Human |
Quint is a sneaky, muscular guy with black hair, a pink nose, and a shaven face and he has varying roles. His wears different clothes in each episode because of the different jobs he has, but he is often seen wearing a hat. He also has different first names that show what his jobs are (in which they all happen to start with C).
Quint is a con artist who tricks Timon into stealing a gold nugget Pumbaa found in the episode "Yukon Con", a criminal who stole a suitcase that has $1,290,000 in the episode "How to Beat the High Costa Rica", an evil clock inspector who wants to get revenge on a timekeeper in the episode "Swiss Missed", a French chef who wants to make Speedy the Snail an escargot in the episode "French Fried", etc.. In the episode "The Pain in Spain", two Quints are seen together, which may prove that there is more than one of him.
In some episodes, Quint appears to be a non-villainous man with an honest job, but he still seems to annoy Timon and Pumbaa. Notably in Season 2, Quint's face appears to not be shaven, except in the episode "Klondike Con" when he becomes a gold thief. Also, in the episode "Escape From Newark", his nose is the same color as his body for the first time.
Speedy the Snail
| Speedy | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by | Corey Burton |
| Species | Snail |
Speedy is a talking grayish/bluish snail with a shiny red shell and a yellow fedora. In the episode "French Fried", Timon and Pumbaa are about to eat him until they find out that he can talk and sing. Timon gives him the name "Speedy", because he thinks that it would be a brilliant incongruity. Speedy always finds himself in danger, such as becoming a French gourmet snail and an earring out of his shell, and it's always up for Timon and Pumbaa to save him.
In the episode "The Man from J.U.N.G.L.E.", Speedy is revealed to be a superhero called Super Duper Hero X after Timon and Pumbaa were captured by his arch-nemesis Chromosome Quint. Every episode featuring Speedy end with Timon and Pumbaa saying bye to Speedy when they return him home, a seagull capturing Speedy, and then Timon and Pumbaa trying to save him once again. Speedy's voice was based on that of Bing Crosby. Speedy makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the episode "Washington Applesauce".
Fred
| Fred | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by | S. Scott Bullock |
| Species | Meerkat |
Fred was Timon's old meerkat friend at the meerkat colony. He is a practical joker, employing such gags as the hand buzzer, the squirting flower, and the whoopee cushion. He also loved Timon's hyena jokes. When Fred visits Timon and Pumbaa, he pulls more practical jokes on the duo, such as impersonating Timon's mother or impersonating a Billy Goat guard. Timon and Pumbaa, however, don't find Fred's jokes very funny and they often overpower him.
At the meerkat colony, Fred's job was to guard the Duke Meerkat's castle, but when Timon got banished, his new job was to guard the back gate of the colony. He appears in a total of four episodes: "Tanzania Zany", "Mombasa-In-Law", "Once Upon a Timon", and "Mind Over Matterhorn".
Boss Beaver
| Boss Beaver | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by | Brad Garrett |
| Species | North American beaver |
Boss Beaver is an ill-tempered beaver with a white hard hat. His lifestyle is the exact opposite of Timon and Pumbaa's Hakuna Matata lifestyle: Boss Beaver likes to work while Timon and Pumbaa like to relax. He owns a lumber mill and an amusement park called "Boss Beaver's Log Land". Boss Beaver also has two mottos: "Makuta Hamaka", which means "work real hard", and "safety first".
Boss Beaver's favorite quote is "I am Boss Beaver and the reason they call me Boss Beaver is that I am your boss and I am a beaver. Therefore, I am Boss Beaver." In the episode "Amusement Bark", it is revealed that he has a mischievous son named Boy Beaver, who keeps breaking things at his amusement park and getting Timon blamed for it. Boss Beaver appears in a total of three episodes. He also makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the episode "Washington Applesauce."
Irwin
| Irwin | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by | Charlie Adler |
| Species | Adelie penguin |
Irwin is a clumsy, accident-prone penguin with a green scarf and a brown hat. Timon and Pumbaa befriend him at a boat stop in Antarctica when they see that he has two extra tickets for the duo to get on the ship. When Irwin leaves his home with the duo, it is shown that he has obviously injured all of his penguin "friends", as they are all seen wearing bandages. Timon dislikes Irwin's clumsiness, and tries to get rid of him by tricking him into playing a game of Hide-and-Seek. Irwin accidentally causes the boat to sink and Timon and Pumbaa run into him on an island. Timon confronts the penguin and he tricks him into playing another game and Irwin accidentally causes the island to sink.
Irwin meets Timon and Pumbaa again at a Hakuna Matata Megamall. Due to his clumsiness, Timon and Pumbaa try to avoid him by hiding in various stores. Irwin appears in two episodes of the series: "Frantic Atlantic" and "Shopping Mauled."
Toucan Dan
| Toucan Dan | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by | Jeff Bennett |
| Species | Toco Toucan |
Toucan Dan is a dangerously clever criminal mastermind toucan who wears a red fez. He is a convincing liar and impersonator and he would also do anything to get someone in trouble. In his debut episode "I Don't Bolivia", he keeps tricking Timon into freeing him from his cage. Later in the episode, while Timon impersonates Toucan Dan in order to not be in trouble with the police, Toucan Dan impersonates Timon and this makes Pumbaa have to decide which one is the real Timon.
Toucan Dan makes his second and final appearance in the episode "Alcatraz Mataz". In that episode, he frames Timon and Pumbaa for stealing a train car full of beak polish and the police throw them in jail. Angry at Toucan Dan, Timon and Pumbaa escape to catch the toucan and make him tell the truth.
Rabbit
| Rabbit | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by | Charlie Adler |
| Species | Hare |
Rabbit is a large and tall pink bunny who appears to be annoying, obnoxious, and very tiring. He made his debut in the episode "Mojave Desserted". In that episode, Timon and Pumbaa save his life when he was drowning in quicksand and he decides to repay the duo hand and foot. Annoyed by Rabbit, Timon and Pumbaa hatch a plan to put themselves in danger and have Rabbit save them and then leave them alone.
Rabbit makes his second and final appearance in the episode "Africa-Dabra!," this time appearing as a ruthless magician. After Timon pulls him out of a hat, he teams up with the meerkat to become part of his magic act, telling him that he has been looking for a partner for years. When he gets annoyed by Pumbaa ruining the magic acts, he breaks up Timon and Pumbaa's friendship. When Pumbaa finds out that Timon never truly said anything mean about him, he gets revenge on Rabbit by trapping him in a cage (and stripping off his fur).
Vulture Police
| Vulture Police | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by |
Vulture 1: Townsend Coleman Vulture 2: Brian Cummings |
| Species | Vultures |
The Vulture Police are recurring characters in the Timon & Pumbaa series. They appear in a total of six episodes. They make their first appearance in the episode "The Law of the Jungle," where they arrest Timon for using the Forbidden Stick to scratch his back and take him to a rhino judge who gives a number of test to see whether he's innocent or guilty. In the episode "Yosemite Remedy," Timon and Pumbaa go to the police after a criminal raccoon steals their suitcase full of valuables. When they handcuff the thief, he tells them that he didn't steal Timon and Pumbaa's suitcase, he found it. The police let him go but later arrest him again when they find out that he really stole the duo's suitcase.
In the episode "Alcatraz Mataz", the Vulture Police throw Timon and Pumbaa in jail after they were convinced by Toucan Dan that they stole the train car full of beak polish. After Timon and Pumbaa confront Toucan Dan, the police show up and realize that it was really Toucan Dan who stole the train car, so they arrest the toucan. However, they also throw Timon and Pumbaa back in jail since they escaped when they told them not to.
The Vulture Police make a brief appearance in the episode "Wide Awake in Wonderland," in the meerkat and warthog version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
Cheetata and Cheetato
| Cheetata and Cheetato | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by |
Cheetata: Rob Paulsen Cheetato: Jim Cummings |
| Species | Cheetahs |
Cheetata and Cheetato are a pair of sophisticated twin cheetahs, reminiscent of Warner Bros' Goofy Gophers, speaking in British accents and using similar phrases ("Indubitably," "How very kind of you"). In order to tell them apart, not only do they have different voices, they also have different personalities: Cheetato appears to be more eager and aggressive while Cheetata seems more likely to think things through.
The cheetahs first appear in the episode "Cooked Goose", where they are annoyed by Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed getting in the way of their wildebeest hunt, so they try sending them on various wild goose chases. They also appear in "Gabon with the Wind," where they are convinced by Timon that he is going to catch Pumbaa for them, when he is actually going to find his friend so that they can both run away to safety.
In the episode "Boary Glory Days", Timon and Pumbaa use Cheetata and Cheetato to play a game of Predator Tag. While the cheetahs are chasing Timon and Pumbaa, the duo outsmarts the brothers by having them jump over a mud pool and fall into it.
The Three Natives
| The Three Natives | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by | Jeff Bennett |
| Species | Humans |
The Three Natives are a trio of tribes who are really university students. They have a leader (also voiced by Jeff Bennett) who is also a university student and who usually precedes what he says with "Bungala, bun gala." The natives first appear in "Boara Boara". This episode shows that they used to have a warthog king of the island, which is unknown what might've happened to him. Therefore, the natives might have not seen their king in a really long time. When Timon and Pumbaa visit the island, the natives mistake Pumbaa for their long-lost king and they make Timon his servant. Everything goes well until they make Pumbaa relight the fire and realize that he's an imposter when they see that he is unable to do so.
The natives also appear in the episode "New Guinea Pig," where Pumbaa decides to trade his tusks to them, and "Beast of Eden", where they steal a golden magic tooth that belongs to a beast and Timon and Pumbaa have to retrieve it from them. They also make a brief appearance in the episode "Mozam-Beaked" when Timon and Pumbaa go to Bora Bora to throw a woodpecker into the volcano.
Smolder the Bear
| Smolder | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by | Jim Cummings |
| Species | Grizzly bear |
Smolder, or Mr. Bear, is a grumpy, short-tempered, but nice grizzly bear, although he gets easily angered, such as when he is awoken from his nap or when someone gets his food order wrong. He also has a romantic interest in a beautiful supermodel named Leslie Lambeau (voiced by Grey DeLisle). He appears in seven episodes, from "Slalom Problem" to "It Runs Good".
In the episode "Jailhouse Shock," Smolder becomes cell mates with Little Jimmy, who gets even with Timon and Pumbaa by taking advantage of him by convincing him that the duo hurt him so that he could beat them up. Smolder starts to show compassion for Timon and Pumbaa in the episodes "Ready, Aim, Fire" and "Stay Away from my Honey!"
Tatiana
| Tatiana | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by | Tress MacNeille |
| Species | Meerkat |
Tatiana is the daughter of the Duke Meerkat and the princess of the meerkat colony. She only appears in one episode but she's vital for Timon's past. After Timon leaves his sentry duty post to prepare for his date with Tatiana, a king cobra enters the colony and kidnaps the princess, which makes everyone believe she's dead and which causes Timon to get banished. After Timon and Pumbaa meet for the first time, they see that Tatiana is still alive and rescue her from a cobra. When Tatiana returns to the colony with Timon and Pumbaa, Timon is offered her hand in marriage. When the Duke makes him choose between Tatiana or Pumbaa, he chooses to be Bestest Best friends with Pumbaa.
Although "Once Upon a Timon" was meant to be Tatiana's only appearance, there is a female meerkat who bears a striking resemblance to her in the episode "Timon in Love". The only difference is that Tatiana has blond hair while the other meerkat has red hair and she's not wearing a tiara.
Ned the Elephant
| Ned | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by | Frank Welker |
| Species | Elephant |
Ned is a high and mighty elephant who thinks he's wonderful at everything. He seems to enjoy teasing Timon and Pumbaa when they try to prove their worth to him. In the episode "Uganda be an Elephant", Timon states that Ned is the most popular guy in the jungle and Pumbaa decides to turn himself into an elephant in order to be popular as well. Although Ned is selfish and sarcastic, he gets a change of heart after Pumbaa rescues him and his hippo henchmen from falling off a cliff.
In the episode "Unlucky in Lesotho", it is revealed that Ned has a Good Luck Club, which lost most of its members due to Ned bringing an unlucky jar. Because he gets eaten by piranhas (or tigerfish), Ned is never seen or heard from again after this episode.
Little Jimmy
| Little Jimmy | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by | Joe Alaskey |
| Species | Bluebird |
Little Jimmy is a cute, yet dangerous bluebird. He is similar to Toucan Dan, with the fact that he is also a criminal mastermind and he can also be dishonest. He also has two voices: his cute, innocent voice and his criminal voice. Little Jimmy first appears in the episode "Nest Best Thing," where he tricks Pumbaa into building a birdhouse for him, which is actually a hideout. The pigeon police show up and arrest Little Jimmy.
In the episode "Jailhouse Shock," Little Jimmy is cell mates with Smolder the Bear. In order to get revenge on Timon and Pumbaa for putting him in jail, he tricks Smolder into thinking that Timon and Pumbaa hurt him so that he could hurt them back.
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
Kiara
| Kiara | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by |
Neve Campbell (young adult) Michelle Horn (cub) Liz Callaway (young adult, singing) Charity Sanoy (cub, singing)[7] |
| Supervising animator | Lianne Hughes[7] |
| Species | Lioness |
Kiara is the daughter of Simba and Nala, granddaughter of Mufasa, Sarabi and Sarafina and the main protagonist of The Lion King ll: Simba's Pride. She is portrayed as the feisty, playful, and adventurous princess of Pride Rock, but her over-protective father, Simba, easily fears for her safety and employs the assistance of Timon and Pumbaa in watching over her during her explorations in secret. However, Kiara is discontented, not realizing her father's lack of faith in her, wanders off while her babysitters are distracted and winds up stumbling upon an Outsider cub named Kovu. Kovu initially appears to be untrustworthy and teases Kiara, but when they are faced by a group of nile crocodiles Kiara manages to help lead Kovu to safety, resulting in a friendship between the pair. However, they are separated by their parents for the rivalry between their two groups, much to the cubs' dismay.
Years later, during Kiara's first hunt, Kovu's mother Zira sees an opportunity to fulfill her dreams of obtaining revenge on Simba for exiling the Outsiders and sends her other children Nuka and Vitani to spread a wildfire throughout the Pride Lands. As part of Zira's plan, Kovu runs into the fire and rescues Kiara. Simba rewards Kovu for his actions by permitting him to stay with the Pridelanders, and Kovu gradually begins to fall in love with his childhood friend. However, after Zira and her Outsiders attack and injure Simba severely, Kovu is exiled from the Pride Lands. Kiara ignores her father's warnings not to leave the Pride Lands without an escort and finds Kovu. She reveals that if they do not return then their prides will be divided forever, so they set off. As the pair arrive back home they see their prides engaged in a fierce battle. Kiara and Kovu leap in and end the battle by confronting their parents, but Zira, still enraged, leaps at Simba only for Kiara to block her and send them both tumbling into a flooded gorge. Kiara is rescued, but Zira refuses Kiara's help and dies. Simba realizes that the pride is better united and, now joined, the two prides head back to Pride Rock. Kovu and Kiara are united in marriage as the rest of the pride looks on.
She will appear in the upcoming spin-off series The Lion Guard, which centers around her younger brother Kion.
Kovu
| Kovu | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by |
Jason Marsden (young adult) Ryan O'Donohue (cub) Gene Miller (young adult, singing)[7] |
| Supervising animator | Andrew Collins[7] |
| Species | African Lion |
Kovu is Zira's youngest son, Scar's adoptive son and chosen heir. Kovu means "scar" in Swahili, a reference to his character conception as Scar's son, which was changed due to the implications of him and Kiara being second cousins and falling in love. It is never stated who Kovu's father is, only that Scar 'took him in'. Kovu has very dark fur and a black tuft on top of his head as a cub, which develops into a mane with a similar tuft.
As a cub, Kovu lives a rough life in the barren Outlands in Zira's pride of exiles loyal to Scar. After his older brother Nuka leaves him alone, Kovu meets Kiara and brags about his independence, impressing her. The cubs evade some crocodiles and begin to play, but are interrupted and separated by their parents. Zira confronts Kovu for being friendly towards Kiara. When he says he thought they could be friends, Zira hatches a plan to have Kovu infiltrate Simba's pride. Zira trains and conditions Kovu until he is a young adult, instilling a single-minded dedication to his mission to assassinate Simba and take his place as King of Pride Rock.
Kovu's sister Vitani and Nuka stage a situation for Kovu to 'rescue' Kiara. He tells Simba that he is a rogue who has left the Outsiders, and asks to join the pride. Simba then reluctantly allows him to stay in payment of the debt of Kiara's life, and orders the young lion to sleep outside the den, not bothering to hide his contempt. Kovu appears briefly in Simba's nightmare where Scar turns into him and throws Simba off a cliff into the stampede below. Kovu is scornful of Kiara's inability to hunt, but helps her learn; in turn, she starts to teach him to have fun, and Kovu begins to doubt his mission. He tries to tell Kiara the truth, fearing that he will become like Scar, but feels unable and starts to leave. Rafiki intervenes and tries to get the two young lions to fall in love, and Kovu realizes he cannot hurt Simba. A much changed Kovu resolves to confess his abandoned motives and tell Kiara of his love for her, but before he can do so, Simba, who has warmed up to Kovu, takes him on a walk to talk to him about Scar, where Zira and the Outsiders ambush them. Kovu tries to help Simba, but Vitani prevents him from doing so by kicking him away and he is knocked unconscious after hitting his head on a rock. Simba escapes but Nuka dies, and Zira blames Kovu. She strikes him, giving him a scar over his eye, similar to that of Scar's. Kovu angrily disowns Scar and leaves the Outlands. He attempts to ask for Simba's forgiveness, only to be exiled as a traitor.
Kovu wanders alone trying to escape Scar's influence in his life. Kiara finds him and he wants to start a new pride with her, but she convinces him that they must try to reunite their own divided prides. The lions return to Pride Rock and break up a battle, and Kovu ignores his mother's warnings, deciding to protect Kiara and Simba. Kovu quietly mourns his mother's death after she falls despite their estrangement. Simba admits that he was wrong about Kovu and allows him and the Outsiders to rejoin the Pridelanders as Kiara's husband and grooming him to become his successor.
Zira
| Zira | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by | Suzanne Pleshette[7] |
| Supervising animator | Kevin Peaty[7] |
| Species | Lioness |
Zira, meaning "hate" in Swahili, was the mother of Kovu, Nuka and Vitani and is the main antagonist of The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. She was a faithful follower of Scar who is devastated over his demise and craves vengeance on Simba for exiling her and her fellow Outsiders. A powerful contributing factor to her rage with Simba is that her son Kovu was selected by Scar as his heir; therefore, Zira believes that Kovu is entitled to the throne more than Simba and plots his demise. However, she takes advantage of Kovu's friendship with Simba's daughter Kiara and devises a plan in which the friendship can prove helpful to her in doing away with the king of Pride Rock. She later appears while carrying out the final stages of this plan, but fails and her neglected eldest son Nuka is crushed to death by falling logs during the Outsiders' attempt at murdering Simba. She blames Kovu for the incident and scratches him in the face giving him a scar like Scar's.
Toward the end of the film, the Pride Landers and the Outsiders confront one another yet again for a bloodthirsty, malicious battle between both sides, but Kiara's actions as a mediator manage to turn the exiled Outsiders against their former brutal ways and join the more peaceful lifestyle of the Pridelanders. Abandoned and enraged, Zira tries to attack Simba, but is intercepted by Kiara. Zira fights Kiara until she is hanging on a cliff; she refuses Kiara's help and falls into the rapid river apparently killing her (in a scene where she was originally intended to commit suicide willingly by falling into the same canyon, but this was edited as it was viewed as too brutal). Despite Zira's death, her original dream for Kovu to become king is most likely to come true, since Kovu makes no intentions of killing Simba and instead help him while entering a relationship with Kiara in addition his actions proving both prides of his character and worth, and because of that, Simba will allow Kovu to become his successor.
Nuka
| Nuka | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by | Andy Dick[7] |
| Supervising animator | Ian Harrowell[7] |
| Species | African Lion |
Nuka, meaning "stink" in Swahili, was the secondary antagonist of The Lion King II: Simba's Pride who is Zira's son and the elder brother of Kovu and Vitani. Nuka has greyish-brown fur, a straggly black mane, and a goatee like Scar's. He has uniquely goofy features and bent whiskers, and is infested with termites as an adolescent. Nuka is an envious youth who tries much too hard and is not taken seriously. He is bitter about being passed over for succession to the throne in favour of the younger Kovu, and deeply jealous of Zira's greater affection shown towards his brother. He constantly seeks his mother's approval and has an apparent tendency for pyromania, taking manic pleasure from lighting a fire in the grassland. During Simba's ambush, Nuka tries to kill him to prove himself to his mother, but is lethally crushed by falling logs. Ironically when Zira attacks Simba, Nuka dies at the same site where Mufasa dies in the first movie. After his death, Zira mourns him and asks Scar to watch over him, then later blames Kovu for Nuka's demise and angrily scratches him across the face, giving him a scar over his left eye like Scar.
Vitani
| Vitani | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by |
Jennifer Lien (young adult) Lacey Chabert (cub) Crysta Macalush (cub, singing)[7] |
| Supervising animator | Kevin Peaty[7] |
| Species | Lioness |
Vitani, a Swahili portmanteau of the words "Vita" ("War"), "Ni" ("I Am"), and "Shetani", is Zira's daughter, sister to Nuka and Kovu. In a minor role, she is easily recognizable due to her blue eyes, scruffy hair tuft, and freckles. She was originally named "Shetani" ("She-Demon" in Swahili) in early drafts of The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, but this was softened to "Vitani", which is a portmanteau that can be roughly translated to "I Am War" or, more commonly, "Demon of War".
Vitani is introduced as an aggressive cub who is seen teasing Nuka and challenging Kovu to a playful fight. As a young adult lioness, she appears to be Zira's strongest lieutenant, supporting and acting on her mother's violent plans. During the battle, she confronts and fights with Nala, but she and the lions of the Outsiders were wrong, they joined Simba by his side. She is last seen standing by Kovu and Kiara, without further lines of dialogue and seems to disappear completely during and after Zira's death, her reaction to which is unknown. However, in a German-made comic adaptation of the film, she plays a slightly larger role, having more dialogue than in the film and is shown to have witnessed Zira's fall into the trench, just as shocked as Kovu and Nala.
The Lion King 1½
Ma
| Ma | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by | Julie Kavner[8] |
| Supervising animator | Lianne Hughes[8] |
| Species | Meerkat |
Ma appears in The Lion King 1½ as Timon's mother. Her personal name is unknown. She is a chubby middle-aged meerkat with a light fur tuft on her head, like Timon's. Generally encouraging and optimistic, she believes in Timon when no-one else does and convinces Uncle Max to give him a job as a sentry, or look-out. After Timon fails in his duty, she remains convinced that he can still find a place in the colony, but when he insists that he has to go, Ma supports him. Later she gets worried about Timon after speaking to Rafiki and searches for him. They finally reunite at Pride Rock and Ma helps in the battle against the hyenas by digging a long tunnel to trap them. After Simba becomes king, the death of Scar and avenging Mufasa, Timon takes them and the entire meerkat colony to the jungle paradise he and Pumbaa discovered.
Uncle Max
| Uncle Max | |
|---|---|
| Voiced by | Jerry Stiller[8] |
| Supervising animator | Lianne Hughes[8] |
| Species | Meerkat |
Uncle Max is a prominent member of the meerkat colony and relative of Timon and Ma. He has grey head-fur and a very large nose. Max is a pessimist by nature and very paranoid, believing that a meerkat's fate is to be "food for other animals! Feared by nothing and eaten by all!" Max reluctantly agrees to let Timon be a sentry for the colony and attempts to train him for the job, but is nearly eaten by the hyenas when they attack. He is glad to see Timon go but ends up going with Ma to find him. Max appears again towards the end of the film, where he and Ma encounter Timon and Pumbaa at Pride Rock, and helps Timon get rid of the hyenas by digging a tunnel. Max finally believes in Timon, and after Timon takes the meerkats to his jungle paradise, Max teaches the meerkats tai chi instead of how not to be eaten.
The Lion Guard
Kion
Kion is the son of Simba and Nala, the younger brother of Kiara, the grandson of Mufasa, Sarabi and Sarafina, the leader of the Lion Guard and will be the main protagonist of the upcoming Disney Junior series The Lion Guard.
Bunga
Bunga is a honey badger, one of Kion's friends and a member of the Lion Guard.
Fuli
Fuli is a cheetah, one of Kion's friends and a member of the Lion Guard.
Beshte
Beshte is a hippo, one of Kion's friends and a member of the Lion Guard.
Ono
Ono is an egret, one of Kion's friends and a member of the Lion Guard.
Iinsi
Iinsi is a giant pangolin, one of Kion's friends and a member of the Lion Guard.
Zogga
Zogga is a zorilla, one of Kion's friends and a member of the Lion Guard.
Jiuppes
Jiuppes is an okapi, one of Kion's friends and a member of the Lion Guard.
Radda
Radda is a bat-eared fox, one of Kion's friends and a member of the Lion Guard.
Kora
Kora is a Nile monitor, one of Kion's friends and a member of the Lion Guard.
Mneesow
Mneesow is a plains zebra, one of Kion's friends and a member of the Lion Guard.
Xalie
Xalie is an aardvark, one of Kion's friends and a member of the Lion Guard.
Dhamrili
Dhamrili is a serval, one of Kion's friends and a member of the Lion Guard.
Bert
Bert is an Ethiopian wolf, one of Kion's friends and a member of the Lion Guard.
Julius
Julius is an African jacana, one of Kion's friends and a member of the Lion Guard.
Flynn
Flynn is a grey crowned crane, one of Kion's friends and a member of the Lion Guard.
Quentin
Quentin is a quagga, one of Kion's friends and a member of the Lion Guard.
Book characters
Kopa
Kopa is the son of Simba and Nala who appears in the book series The Lion King: Six New Adventures. He is shown to look a lot like his father when he was a cub except with a tuft of hair on top of his head.
Ahadi
Ahadi is the husband of Uru, the father of Mufasa and Scar, the grandfather of Simba, the great-grandfather of Kopa, and the king of the Pride Lands during the events of The Lion King: Six New Adventures story A Tale of Two Brothers. He is shown to look a lot like Mufasa except with darker fur.
Uru
Uru is the wife of Ahadi, the mother of Mufasa and Taka(Scar), the grandmother of Simba, the great-grandmother of Kopa, and the queen of the Pride Lands during the events of The Lion King: Six New Adventures story A Tale of Two Brothers. She is absent from the book but is mentioned to have left to search for water to save the kingdom.
Mohatu
Mohatu is the father of either Ahadi or Uru, the grandfather of Mufasa and Scar, the great-grandfather of Simba, and King of the Pride Lands during the events of the story The Brightest Star. He went to find water for the animals of the land during a drought and helped the animals get on with each other. When he passed away, he became a star which was brighter than the others. He is shown to look a lot like a darker furred version of Mufasa, having facial features like Simba's and was said to have been one of the greatest kings of the Pride Lands.
Ni
Ni is a character who appears in The Lion King: Six New Adventures story Nala's Dare. He is a young lion who has left his pride to start his own and travels through the Pride Lands during Scar's reign and saves Nala from hyenas before leaving after meeting the rest of the Pridelanders.
Kula
Kula is a character in The Lion King: Six New Adventures story Nala's Dare. She is one of Nala's friends and one of the cubs of the Pridelanders who lived during Scar's reign.
Chumvi
Chumvi is a character in The Lion King: Six New Adventures story Nala's Dare. He is one of Nala's friends and one of the cubs of the Pridelanders.
Joka
Joka is a giant python in The Lion King: Six New Adventures story A Snake in the Grass. He is extremely intelligent and is able to formulate complicated plans in a short amount of time. He has the power to twist his words into whatever he rightly wants and uses hypnotism to lure unsuspecting victims into believing his empty words.
Jelani
Jelani is Rafiki's lazy cousin in The Lion King: Six New Adventures story Follow the Leader. Despite being considered leader of his troop, he is unconcerned about the suffering of his subjects, as he is often too concerned about his own welfare to lead them to a new home.
Kwaheri
Kwaheri is Kopa's monkey friend in The Lion King: Six New Adventures stories Nala's Dare and How True, Zazu? He is social, talkative, and critical to his friends. He often flaunts his talents around Kopa to either spark a reaction or just be a show-off.
Boma
Boma is a cape buffalo who appears in The Lion King: Six New Adventures stories A Tale of Two Brothers and How True, Zazu? He is the leader of the cape buffalo and he is aggressive, controlling, selfish, strong, and short-tempered. He is also somewhat seclusive and gruff, as he doesn't seem to understand that there is a balance between species, which can affect the whole of the Pride Lands. It is revealed in "A Tale of Two Brothers" that he is the one who gave Taka his scar.
References
- ↑ "Bambi Notes". The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Lion King Production Notes". Lionking.org. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "The Lion King - The Credits". lionking.org. www.lionking.org. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
- ↑ "Wildlife Wednesdays: Zazu's 'Cousin' - Abyssinian Ground Hornbill Chick - a New Addition at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge". http://disneyparks.disney.go.com''. Disney Parks Blog. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
- ↑ "What's behind those wild 'Lion King' masks?". www.adn.com. Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
- ↑ AsianWeek.com
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.9 "The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride (1998) (V) - Full cast and crew". www.imdb.com. IMDB. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "The Lion King 1 1/2 (2004) (V) - Full cast and crew". www.imdb.com. IMDB. Retrieved 24 March 2012.