Simba like them, Simba is "born into royalty, is then exiled, and has to return to claim [his] kingdom." Unlike the studio's three previous films "The Little Mermaid" (1989), "Beauty and the Beast" (1991) and "Aladdin" (1992) which are essentially love stories, "The Lion King" revolves around Simba's relationship with his father instead, which Allers identified as "The real heart and emotional underpinning of the whole story". In April 1992, the filmmakers hosted a "brainstorming session" in which much of the film's original story was largely re-written, particularly Simba's personality. Originally, Simba was intended to remain with the pride after Mufasa's
Scar (The Lion King) Beast "(1991)" "and "Aladdin "(1992), respectively. Initially, Deja had been considering the idea of animating a hero as opposed to a villain for a change, contemplating taking on the task of animating Simba instead. However, Deja soon relented upon learning that Scar would be voiced by Irons, feeling that it would be "fun" to animate a character voiced by such a prestigious actor. Meanwhile, Minkoff and Allers had already had Deja in mind for animating Scar long before the animator approached the directors about the position. The level anthropomorphism used in "The Lion King" exceeded that of any Disney animated