Nala (The Lion King) accompanying her and her best friend Simba on their adventures. Pronounced "me too", the character's name is a reference to this personality trait. Simba was intended to save the cub from a wildebeest stampede, and Nala would eventually become responsible for protecting Mheetu from Simba's tyrannical uncle Scar. Nala also had a fox friend named Bhati. According to Woolverton, Mheetu and Bhati were eventually written out of the film because their stories were beginning to distract from Simba's, in addition to the Mheetu-Scar subplot making the film too dark when combined with the death of Simba's father Mufasa. At one
Simba "The Lion King"-related products. The character's likeness has been used in and adapted into a variety of items, including plush toys and figurines, clothing, bedding, household decor and appliances. The success of the Broadway musical has also led to its own line of merchandising, including the Simba beanbag doll, based on the character's appearance and costume in the Broadway show. Since the film's 1994 debut, Simba has appeared as a playable character in a variety of video game releases, both directly and indirectly associated with the franchise. The character's first appearance as a video game character was in "The Lion