Editing Simba (section)

{{short description|Main character of The Lion King}}
{{Other uses|Simba (disambiguation)}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox character
|name = Simba
| series = [[The Lion King (franchise)|The Lion King]]
| image = Simba ( Disney character - adult).png
| image_size = 165px
| caption = Simba, as he appears as an adult in the original film and related media
| first = ''[[The Lion King]]'' (1994)
| creator = {{Plainlist|
* [[Irene Mecchi]]
* [[Jonathan Roberts (writer)|Jonathan Roberts]]
* [[Linda Woolverton]]
}}
| voice = {{Plainlist|
* [[Matthew Broderick]]<br>(adult; main 3 films)
* [[Jonathan Taylor Thomas]]<br>(cub; [[The Lion King|1st film]])
* [[Joseph Williams (musician)|Joseph Williams]]<br>(adult; singing in [[The Lion King|1st film]], ''The Lion King II: Simba's Pride Active Play'' and ''[[Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse]]'')
* [[Jason Weaver]]<br>(cub; singing; [[The Lion King|1st film]])
* Evan Saucedo<br> (cub; singing; 1st film (''The Morning Report'' only))
* [[Ryan O'Donohue]]<br>(cub; ''[[Disney's Animated Storybook: The Lion King]]'' and ''[[Disney's Activity Center|Disney's Activity Center: The Lion King]]'')
* [[Shaun Fleming]]<br>(cub; ''[[The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure]]'')
* [[Bret Loehr]]<br>(cub; ''[[Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure]]'')
* [[Matt Weinberg]]<br>(cub; ''[[The Lion King 1½]]'')
* Oliver King<br>(cub; singing; ''[[The Lion King 1½]]'')
* Kathryn Haywood<br>(cub; ''The Lion King: Simba's Big Adventure'')
* [[Colin Ford]]<br>(cub; ''[[Disney Friends]]'')
* [[Cam Clarke]]<br>(spin-offs, merchandise and singing in ''[[Simba's Pride]]'')
* [[Rob Lowe]]<br>(''[[The Lion Guard]]'')
* [[Donald Glover]]<br>(adult; [[The Lion King (2019 film)|2019 remake]] and ''[[Mufasa: The Lion King]]'')
* [[JD McCrary]]<br>(cub; 2019 remake)
}}
| lbl1 = Inspired by
| data1 = {{Plainlist|
* [[Prince Hamlet]]
* [[Moses]]
* [[Joseph (Genesis)|Joseph]]
}}
| species = [[Masai Lion|Lion]] (''Panthera leo'')
| family = {{Plainlist|
* [[Mufasa]] (father)
* [[Sarabi]] (mother)
* [[Sarafina (The Lion King)|Sarafina]] (mother-in-law)
* [[Kovu]] (son-in-law)
* [[Rani (The Lion Guard)|Rani]] (daughter-in-law)
* [[Scar (The Lion King)|Scar]] (paternal uncle)
* [[Ahadi (The Lion King)|Ahadi]] (paternal grandfather; in ''Six New Adventures'')
* [[Uru (Lion King)|Uru]] (paternal grandmother; in ''Six New Adventures'')
* [[Mohatu]] (paternal great-grandfather; in ''The Brightest Star'')
* [[Bunga (The Lion Guard)|Bunga]] (adoptive brother) 
}}
| spouse = [[Nala (The Lion King)|Nala]] (wife)
| children = {{Plainlist|
* [[Kopa (The Lion King)|Kopa]] (son; in the books)
* [[Kiara (The Lion King)|Kiara]] (daughter)
* [[Kion (The Lion King)|Kion]] (son)
}}
}}
'''Simba''' is a fictional character in [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|Disney]]'s ''[[The Lion King (franchise)|The Lion King]] ''franchise. First appearing as a cub in ''[[The Lion King]]'' (1994), the character flees his homeland when his father, [[Mufasa]], is [[Regicide|murdered]] by his treacherous uncle, [[Scar (The Lion King)|Scar]], who [[Gaslighting|manipulates]] Simba into believing he is responsible. Several years later, Simba returns home as an adult to reconcile his [[childhood trauma]], confront Scar, and reclaim his [[birthright]] as King of the Pride Lands. He subsequently appears in the sequels ''[[The Lion King II: Simba's Pride]]'' and ''[[The Lion King 1½]]''. 

Created by screenwriters [[Irene Mecchi]], [[Jonathan Roberts (writer)|Jonathan Roberts]], and [[Linda Woolverton]], Simba underwent several changes as the film's story was revised, including making him a more sympathetic character and establishing his [[Blood relative|familial relation]] to Scar. Although conceived as an original character, Simba was inspired by [[Moses]] and [[Joseph (Genesis)|Joseph]] from the [[Bible]], as well as the [[Prince Hamlet|title character]] from [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Hamlet]].'' Despite sharing similarities with the title character from the [[anime]] television series ''[[Kimba the White Lion (TV series)|Kimba the White Lion]]'', Disney maintains that Simba was not inspired by Kimba. [[Mark Henn]] and [[Ruben A. Aquino]] were supervising animators for the cub and adult Simba, respectively, with both animators researching live lions and drawing inspiration from the character's voice actors. Simba was originally voiced by actors [[Matthew Broderick]] and [[Jonathan Taylor Thomas]] as an adult and cub, respectively; various actors have voiced the character in sequels, spin-offs, and related media.

Simba has received a mixed reception from film critics, some of whom praised his design but found him uninteresting as a main character. However, several publications have ranked Simba among Disney's most iconic characters, and consider him to be one of the [[Cultural depictions of lions#Film|most famous lions in popular culture]]. The character's likeness has been used in several [[tie-in]] products, including merchandise, television series, and video games. In 1997, ''The Lion King'' actors [[Scott Irby-Ranniar]] and [[Jason Raize]] originated the role on [[The Lion King (musical)|Broadway]]. In 2019, [[Donald Glover]] and [[JD McCrary]] voiced the character in a [[The Lion King (2019 film)|photorealistic remake]] of the film.