Despite this, Nala is an encouraging friend, kind to Simba even when he makes an error, no matter what he says or does, she maintains the friendship, grieving heavily when he supposedly dies. Though Simba sometimes tries to claim her ideas as his own, Nala will not stand for being overlooked and is clever and strong enough to do something about it. This scene is largely included in the musical version, minus Scar banishing Nala.Īs a child, Nala is sassy, defensive of her own accomplishments, and giving her best friend cheek when prompted. He then summons the hyenas and banishes her as punishment for rejecting him. Scar then demands Nala to be his queen, which she refuses. Just then, Nala arrived to complain about the Pride Lands' wasteland appeal. In an earlier draft of the film, there was initially meant to be a scene where Scar felt that to be a beloved ruler and continue his monarchical legacy, he will need a queen to ensure that children will be born. He is mentioned in the book The Art of The Lion King where he is referred to as "Mee-Too".
Nala's main animators were Bob Bryan and Gilda Palinginia and her supervising animators were Aaron Blaise whilst she was a cub and Anthony de Rosa upon becoming an adult.ĭuring early production, Nala was given a younger brother named Mheetu.