Nala
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Character Information
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Nala is the female protagonist of The Lion King, and one of the supporting characters of the show, The Lion Guard. She is currently queen consort of the Pride Lands. She is the daughter of Sarafina and unknown male lion and mother of Kiara and Kion.
Personality[]
Nala is assertive and determined, with a sense of responsibility. She's confident and always has faith in her loved ones, of whom she is very complimentary and encouraging. She never hesitates to offer her support, guidance and affection when it is needed, and strives to keep her whole family happy.
Despite her usually gentle demeanor, she's bold, sharp, and firm in the face of enemies, and though it is not her first choice, she will fight if she needs to. She is also calm and understanding.
As Queen consort of Pride Rock, Nala often acts as a voice of reason for Simba, trying to get him to see the light when his protective judgment gets the best of him.
Looks[]
Nala is a fully grown lioness with a dark tawny coat, pale tawny muzzle and underbelly, turquoise eyes, and a very dark pink nose. The tuft at the end of her tail is brown. She is built somewhat more narrowly than Simba, and is slightly shorter. Unlike most lions, her toes are not paler than her primary fur colour. In addition, the area between her eye and her eyebrow is paler than this color rather than darker. Nala has slender dark brown eyebrows.
Backstory[]
As an infant during Mufasa's reign, she was betrothed to Simba, the prince of the Pride Lands. Nala is first seen asleep, cradled in Sarafina's paws as Simba runs through the den, intent on waking his father for a morning lesson.
Later that day, Nala is being bathed by her mother, Sarafina. Simba greets her, whispering to her that he's just heard about a great place which they can explore. Nala points out through clenched teeth that she's in the middle of a bath, accepting her mother's cleansing licks while Simba is abducted by Sarabi and given a bath of his own. While her mother washes her lower back, Nala remarks that the place they're going to had better not be dumb. Simba reassures her that it's really cool, but Sarabi gets suspicious. Nala disapproves of this "place" being around the water hole, asking what's so special about it. Simba whispers through clenched teeth that "he'll show her when they get there," hinting that they aren't really going to the water hole. Nala realizes this immediately, asking her mother for permission to accompany Simba. She then joins him in charming Sarabi into letting them go, and equally disapproves of Zazu keeping an eye on them.
As they tread toward the water hole, Nala asks Simba in a whisper what their true destination is, to which Simba responds that it's an elephant graveyard Nala responds with excitement, but Simba shushes her, reminding her that Zazu is hovering just above them. Nala asks how they can get rid of him, and the two cubs begin to whisper a plan to each other, something Zazu mistakes as them being romantic.
The cubs glance at each other, shifting in confusion when Zazu mentions them being "betrothed" and similar terms they don't understand. Nala asks for clarification, and both cubs recoil in disgust when they realize that they are to be married someday. Nala comments that them being married would be "weird" and points out that since Simba is the future king, Zazu must do what he says when Simba states to do away with the betrothal. Zazu says he doesn't, not yet anyway, telling Simba that he's shaping up to be a pretty pathetic king.
The two cubs proceed into the song"I Just Can't Wait to be King" in order to distract Zazu, trapping him underneath the underside of a rhino and bounding away. Nala happily remarks on how they lost Zazu, pointing out to Simba that the plan was her idea and pinning him when he decides to tackle her. He pushes her off, and he tackles her again, only to be pinned again.
A geyser interrupts the two, and the cubs realize that they've arrived at the Elephant Graveyard. Nala wanders into the hyenas' home, wondering if the elephant's brains are still inside its head. Simba begins to trot forward to find out. Zazu has caught up to them, though, and demands that they return to the Pride Lands, very aware that they are in danger. Before they can return, Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed exit the large skull the two cubs were intent on checking out and accuse the trio of trespassing.
Zazu begins to herd the two out of the place, but the hyenas corner them, making it apparent that they desire the cubs as food, and while they're distracted, Nala and Simba make a run for it. Zazu is snatched from the air, and the cubs go back to find him, challenging the hyenas and ending up running for their lives again. Nala and Simba scale up a mass of bones, but the young lioness slides down toward the menacing jaws of Shenzi, but before the hyena can do any harm to her, Simba slashes the hyena across the face while Nala gets away. The two cubs attempt to climb an elephant skeleton but can't get a good grip, weakening the slim strip of flesh that they are jumping on. They fall through and are cornered in the deceased animal's ribcage.
Nala hides behind Simba as he tries to scare the hyenas off with his kittenish roar, but Mufasa comes to the rescue, drowning out Simba's roar with his own powerful one. He beats, pins, and scares off the hyenas, turning his fury on Zazu and then Simba for disobeying him. As they trot away, Nala quietly tells Simba that she had thought he was very brave. The cubs walk through the clearing in silence, and Mufasa commands Zazu to take Nala home. She glances back at Simba, leaving the father and son alone.
Nala is last seen as a cub the following night when Scar breaks the news to the rest of the pride about Mufasa and Simba's deaths in the gorge. She nuzzles against her mother's leg and sheds a single tear, looking on in shock and fear as the hyenas close in on Pride Rock.