Scar (The Lion King) the pride that both father and son died in the stampede before becoming king and allowing the hyenas into the Pride Lands. Years go by as Scar squanders the kingdom's resources and allows his army of hyenas to wreak havoc upon the Pride Lands, which turn barren. Meanwhile, an alive and adult Simba is visited by Mufasa's ghost, who encourages him to return to the Pride Lands and take his rightful place as king. Aided by his friends Nala, Timon and Pumbaa, Simba arrives at Pride Rock and witnesses Scar striking his mother Sarabi and confronts Scar, who demands that
Nala (The Lion King) University of Waterloo's Kinema, Vicky Wong believes that Nala reinforces the film's "take your place" motif, reminding main character Simba of his responsibilities. In his book "Retelling Stories, Framing Culture: Traditional Story and Metanarratives in Children's Literature", author John Stephens credits Nala with teaching Simba about responsibility – "the lesson the hero must learn before he can become an adult". Film critic James Berardinelli identified Nala as "The Lion King"'s "sole significant female character." Including Nala, "The Lion King" has only three major female characters in comparison to the film's total of nine male ones. Shepherd University's Emmylou Allen observed