Simba

Simba is the protagonist of Disney's 1994 animated feature film, The Lion King. He is the son of Mufasa, who was destined to rule the Pride Lands, as King. When Mufasa is killed in a wildebeest stampede, Simba is blamed for the tragedy and is exiled from the kingdom. He finds refuge in a jungle oasis with a meerkat and warthog, but the Pride Lands fall to disarray during his absence. With the kingdom in peril, Simba is forced to confront his troubled past to take his place in the "Circle of Life". Simba is one of The Heroes of Auradon

Before Auradon
At the break of dawn, the royal couple Mufasa and Sarabi welcome the arrival of their newborn cub, Simba, and, at his birth, is presented to the kingdom as their future king. Rafiki, a wise mandrill who was an old friend of Mufasa, heads the ceremony, performing a ritual before presenting Simba.

Months later, Simba grows up into a clever and kind 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 of being royalty. Suddenly, Mufasa is alerted by Zazu of hyenas in the Pride Lands. Mufasa goes to deal with the situation and tells Zazu to take Simba home, much to the cub's disappointment.

After Simba returns home, he tells his uncle Scar about the trip. Taking advantage of the cub's naive nature, Scar tells Simba what the forbidden place is (tricking him into going there). It is in fact, the elephant's graveyard, where only the bravest lions travel. Simba wants to prove himself brave, and Scar makes this their "little secret." As of that moment, Simba's journey to kingship had begun.

Later that afternoon, Simba meets his best friend Nala, and they 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 and make every animal from Pride Rock obey him. Having been found by Zazu after the hyenas had their fun shooting him out of a geyser, Mufasa saves the two cubs, foiling Scar's plan, but is disappointed in Simba for disobeying him. After sending Nala and Zazu back to Pride Rock, Mufasa lectures Simba on the line between bravery and bravado, and he forgives and forgets. Afterward, 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 so-called "surprise" was another evil plot of Scar's, this time with the goal of killing both Simba and Mufasa. Scar's hyenas drive a herd of wildebeest toward Simba. Mufasa successfully saves Simba but does 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, to his shock and horror. Simba is later tricked by Scar into believing that Mufasa's death was his own fault (as Simba had practiced his roar on a lizard seconds before the stampede started). Scar tells Simba to leave the kingdom and never return, before secretly sending the hyenas to kill him. Simba is able to escape by rolling down a big hill into a bed of dense thorn plants that the hyenas were too afraid to enter. Simba then continues to run far away from home through a desert. As for Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed, they call after him that if he ever returns to the Pride Lands, they'll kill him, before returning to Scar and lie to him that Simba is dead (confident that he would probably die out in that desert anyway), leaving him clear to explain to the lionesses that Mufasa was killed in the stampede and claim the throne as the new king.

He runs far from home and while going through the desert he passes out from heat exhaustion. A flock of buzzards try to eat him, but Timon and Pumbaa chase the buzzards away and find Simba's unconscious body. They take Simba to the edge of the jungle where Timon splashes water in his face. When Simba regains consciousness he thanks them for their help and they offer to let him 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 worries" and successfully cheer him up. Simba takes this to heart and survives by eating bugs. But they also teach him a very important life lesson, how to put your past behind you, which would become a key role later on in the young prince's life.

After years of living an enjoyable easygoing life in the jungle, Simba has grown up into a fairly carefree young adult lion but is reminded of his father's death one night while he, Pumbaa, and Timon are stargazing. One day, Simba is called upon to save Pumbaa from a mysterious lioness, only for him to discover that the lioness is Nala. Though Nala is happy, as Simba being alive means that Simba can become king, Simba is hesitant because he still feels guilt about Mufasa. After Simba and Nala spend time alone, they discover their friendship has blossomed into a romantic relationship. However, Nala tries to get Simba to return with her to the Pride Lands by telling 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 when he hits him with his stick and Simba then avoids the second attempt.

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, Timon, and Pumbaa. While Timon and Pumbaa distract the hyenas and Nala rallies up the lionesses, Simba goes to find Scar. Simba reveals himself to his uncle after seeing Scar strike down Sarabi. Scar is fearful at first, mistaking Simba for Mufasa upon first seeing him, but is able to force Simba to admit guilt in Mufasa's death to the lionesses. 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 himself killed Mufasa, not Simba. Enraged upon learning the truth, Simba breaks free of Scar's grip, and pins him down, leaving Scar terrified for his life, and forces him to admit his treachery to the rest of the pride. Alongside the lionesses and his friends, Simba leads a subsequent battle against Scar and his hyenas. After a fight with Scar at the top of Pride Rock, Simba is able to flip his villainous uncle over the ledge. There, Scar is mauled to death and consumed by his hyena henchmen as revenge for pinning the death of Mufasa on them as well as his lies, derogatory treatment, and broken food promises. With Scar overthrown and deceased, Simba ascends Pride Rock as the lionesses Timon, Pumbaa, Zazu, and Rafiki watch on. With a roar, Simba ushers in his reign as king of the Pride Lands.

By the time the kingdom is restored to its former glory, Simba has taken his rightful place as king. He goes on and starts Dating Nala.

Descendants: Rotten to The Core
Mackenzie Rose mentions his name in the first book.

Descendants: Ways to Be Wicked
Simba appears in the book as a major character.