Simba Zira, consumed by her resentment towards Simba, falls to her death. Simba finally approves of Kiara's love for Kovu and reconciles with his daughter, and accepts the two lions as the future king and queen of the Pride Lands. In "The Lion King 1½", a direct-to-video followup released in 2004, Simba appears as a less prominent character because the film's primary focus is on Timon and Pumbaa's behind-the-scenes role and involvement in "The Lion King", in which they appear as supporting characters. Although the two films technically share the same story and timeline, the plot of "The Lion King 1½"
The Lion King (franchise) relation to "The Lion King" canon is questionable with the introduction of "The Lion King 1½". "The Lion Guard" follows the adventures of Simba and Nala's son Kion as he assembles the titular group of animals to protect the Pride Lands. A total of thirteen supervising animators from Walt Disney Animation Studios and Disney-MGM Studios were responsible for establishing the personalities and setting the tone for the first film's main characters. The animation team studied real-life animals for reference, as was done for the earlier film "Bambi". The animation of the characters counted with supervision by wildlife experts such as