Nala (The Lion King) is introduced as the childhood best friend of Simba, and ultimately becomes his wife by the end of "The Lion King". Several years after Simba's uncle Scar has killed Simba's father Mufasa and usurped the throne, Nala desperately ventures into the jungle to find help. Upon unexpectedly reuniting with a grown Simba, who she had long been tricked by Scar into presuming dead, Nala encourages him to return to Pride Rock, overthrow his uncle and ultimately become king. As Simba's queen, Nala has a daughter, Kiara, whose story is explored in "The Lion King: Simba's Pride" and also has a
The Lion King (franchise) as Head of Story, Roger Allers joined "The Lion King", as the initial director. Allers worked for 6 months on story development and was then joined by co-director, Rob Minkoff. A 2-day story session was held to revamp the story with the two directors, Allers and Minkoff, joined by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, directors of "Beauty and the Beast", and Producer Don Hahn who presided over the discussion. The creative think-tank produced a character makeover for Simba and a radically revised second half of the film. Irene Mecchi joined the team that summer to help further develop the characters