The Lion King

Key characters

• Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas (cub) and Matthew Broderick (adult)) - The future ruler of the Pride Lands, son of Mufasa, who exiled himself after his father is killed. The word simba in the Swahili language means "lion."
• Mufasa (James Earl Jones) - King of the Pride Lands, father of Simba and mate of Sarabi, a wise and fair ruler, who follows The Circle of Life. Tragically, his reign is cut short by his cruel brother Scar. Mufasa was reportedly the name of the last king of the Bagada people, who were dispersed during the English colonization of Kenya (see http://www.lionking.org/faq.html). The name could also be derived from "Mustafa," another name of Kemal Atatürk. The hyenas in the movie at one point pronounce the name in a funny way that entered '90s American pop culture.
• Scar (Jeremy Irons) - Brother of Mufasa and Simba's uncle. It is said that Scar's name was "Taka" (Swahili for "dirt" or "trash") before his disfigurement. The villain of the movie, Scar aspires to become king by overthrowing Mufasa and Simba. He succeeds in killing Mufasa, but his henchmen the hyenas allow Simba to escape. Scar rules as a tyrant and goes unchallenged until Simba returns years later to reclaim his birthright. See also King Scar.
• Timon (Nathan Lane) - Comical meerkat who is best friends with warthog Pumbaa. They adopt and raise Simba under the philosophy of "Hakuna Matata" (Swahili for "no worries"). Timon could be named after a Greek philosopher or after the title character of Shakespeare's play Timon of Athens.
• Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella) - Clumsy warthog who adopts Simba with Timon. Pumbaa means "simpleton" in Swahili.
• Rafiki (Robert Guillaume) - Mandrill and wise old shaman, Simba's spiritual guide (Swahili for "friend"). Rafiki's tree is a baobab tree; baobab trees are occasionally known colloquially as "monkey-bread trees".
• Nala (Niketa Calame (cub) and Moira Kelly (adult)) - Friend and future mate of Simba (Swahili for "gift"). According to co-director Rob Minkoff, speaking in 2004, the general assumption during production was that Nala was the offspring of either Scar or Mufasa. The film never specifies this, for obvious reasons of taste, though it is consistent with the real-life behavior of lions.
• Zazu (Rowan Atkinson) - A pompous hornbill who is King Mufasa's majordomo (advisor).
• Shenzi, Banzai and Ed (Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, and Jim Cummings) - Three hyenas who assist Scar in murdering Mufasa and exiling Simba. However in the end, it is these three devious hyenas who kill Scar. Shenzi is Swahili for "uncouth"; banzai means "skulk" or "lurk."
• Sarabi (Madge Sinclair) - Mother of Simba and Mufasa's mate (Swahili for "mirage").
• Sarafina (Zoe Leader) - Nala's mother. Her name is never spoken in the movie, and indeed her dialogue consists only of a single line ("Hm, what do you think, Sarabi?"). Nevertheless, the end credits as well as the vast majority of fan material appear to consider her a major character. This is in contrast to the gopher who also speaks only one line ("Zazu, Sir. News from the underground.") but is generally designated as a minor role.