The word 'simba' is a Swahili word for the lion. It also has other definitions, such as 'king'.

Conception

The idea for The Lion King originated from Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg in 1989 and was originally conceived under the title King of the Jungle. The story, which has been compared to Bambi (1942), was jokingly referred to as "Bambi in Africa" because of the similarities between the two films and their respective main characters. Co-director Rob Minkoff said that both films are "more true-life adventure than mythical epic." Though considered an original coming-of-age story that follows the life of Simba as he grows up and "tak on the responsibility of adulthood," co-directors Roger Allers and Minkoff drew inspiration from other sources. In particular, the biblical figures Moses and Joseph served as creative inspiration for the character. Producer Don Hahn said that, like them, Simba is "born into royalty, is then exiled, and has to return to claim kingdom."

Several film and entertainment critics have noted similarities and parallels between the stories of The Lion King and William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, and their protagonists. Allers said that these similarities were not initially intentional and came as a surprise to the filmmakers themselves; they noticed the similarities only after the story was established and they eventually decided to pursue it. According to Hahn, "When we first pitched the revised outline of the movie ... someone in the room announced that its themes and relationships were similar to Hamlet. Everyone responded favorably to the idea that we were doing something Shakespearean, so we continued to look for ways to model our film on that all-time classic."

Screenwriter Jonathan Roberts said that, in a musical, songs are used to convey a character's emotions and "I wants." Composer Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice wrote the song "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" in order to give Simba a medium through which he can express his desire to become King of the Pride Lands. Roberts said, "It's a way for storytellers to move the story and deliver the direction of the character."

Voice

Matthew Broderick provided the speaking voice of Adult Simba. The first actor to be assigned to The Lion King, Broderick learned of the role while he was on vacation in Ireland, where he received a telephone call from his agent informing him that the directors were interested in casting him as Simba. At the time, Broderick was well known for portraying the title character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986). The directors decided to cast him as Simba because they felt that he was "perfect" for the role; according to producer Don Hahn, Broderick's voice resembled "the kind of character who could be irresponsible and likeable, but you also felt that he could come back in a very heroic way." Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who was starring as Randy Taylor on the television sitcom Home Improvement at the time, was cast as the speaking voice of Young Simba. His appearance and personality would later serve as creative inspiration for supervising animator Mark Henn.

Though Broderick is a trained Broadway singer, he was not up to the task, and neither was non-singer Thomas, so Toto lead singer Joseph Williams and actor Jason Weaver were hired to dub their respective singing voices. Williams' voice is heard on the song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight". Impressed by Weaver's performance as a young Michael Jackson in the miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream, songwriters Elton John and Tim Rice recruited him to record "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" and "Hakuna Matata" while the film was still in its early stages of production. As directors, Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff worked closely with the actors in order to ensure credible performances. As is frequently done in animated films, the filmmakers videotaped the actors while they recorded their dialogue, allowing the animators to incorporate their specific mannerisms into the designs of their characters.

Characterization and animation

When The Lion King was green-lit, its concept and story were not well received by studio employees. To guarantee the release of at least one successful film, Disney CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg divided the studio into two separate projects: The Lion King and Pocahontas (1995), with Pocahontas expected to be the more successful of the two. Because of this assumption, the majority of the studio's more seasoned animators gravitated towards Pocahontas because The Lion King was deemed a "risk", while less experienced animators were assigned to work on The Lion King. Co-director Rob Minkoff received this positively, saying that this decision "gave a lot of newer animators a chance to step up to leadership roles."

The role of animating Simba was divided between Mark Henn and Ruben A. Aquino. While Henn served as the supervising animator of Simba as a cub, credited as Young Simba, Aquino was placed in charge of animating the character as he appears as an adult. The Lion King was Disney's first animated feature film to feature absolutely no humans since Robin Hood (1973). According to Aquino, animating four-legged creatures is difficult because the artists are faced with the task of drawing "twice as many legs ... as you do with human characters" and must also attribute to them both human and animal-like qualities. For assistance, Aquino drew influence from previous animated films that feature four-legged creatures as their main characters, citing Bambi, Lady and the Tramp (1955) and The Jungle Book (1967) as his main sources of inspiration.

Before The Lion King, Henn's experience as a supervising animator was limited to predominantly female characters; he had just recently completed work on Ariel from The Little Mermaid (1989), Belle from Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Jasmine from Aladdin (1992). When he became involved with The Lion King, Henn initially expressed interest in animating the film's villain, Scar, because he wanted to do "something different." However, producer Don Hahn felt that he was better suited for animating Simba. Henn approaches animating new characters by "put into the character’s situation." Simba proved to be a challenge because Henn was faced with the task of creating an animated character who would both appear and behave like a real lion cub. To achieve this, Henn visited zoos, sketched and studied live lion cubs that were brought into the studio for research, and frequently consulted with wildlife experts.

When it came time to animate Simba during the "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" musical sequence, Henn felt it essential that the character remain on all fours at all times, despite the fact that he is meant to be dancing. In terms of personality, Henn aimed to depict Simba as a "cocky, confident character" at the beginning of the film, who must eventually mature and learn to take responsibility. The animators would often observe and document the voice actors while they recorded their dialogue, using their movements and mannerisms as a visual aid. Actor Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who provided the voice of Young Simba, served as inspiration for the design and personality of Simba. Henn said, "I loved watching Jonathan Taylor Thomas when he was a boy on Home Improvement, and getting to meet him and observe him." Although Aquino was responsible for animating the majority of Simba's adult sequences, Henn animated the character's first appearance as an adult that occurs near the end of the "Hakuna Matata" musical number.

The Lion King

Released in theaters in 1994, The Lion King marks Simba's first appearance. All the animals in the Pride Lands gather at the foot of Pride Rock to commemorate the birth of Simba, who will eventually succeed to the throne and take his father Mufasa's place as king. Furious by the fact that he is no longer next in line, Simba's jealous uncle Scar refuses to attend the ceremony. While Simba grows into a rambunctious lion cub who frequently boasts about the fact that he will someday rule over the Pride Lands, Scar secretly plots against him.

Scar plots regicide and familicide against Simba and Mufasa by luring Simba into a vast gorge, where he triggers a wildebeest stampede. Notified by Scar that Simba is in danger, Mufasa rushes to his aid and manages to place him