The Lion King telling him the Pride Lands have become a drought-stricken wasteland under Scar's reign. Feeling guilty over his father's death, Simba refuses and storms off. He encounters Rafiki, who tells him that Mufasa's spirit lives on in Simba. Simba is visited by the ghost of Mufasa in the night sky, who tells him he must take his rightful place as king. Realizing that he can no longer run from his past, Simba decides to return to the Pride Lands. Aided by his friends, Simba sneaks past the hyenas at Pride Rock and confronts Scar, who had just struck Sarabi. Scar taunts
Simba by the character Bambi from Disney's "Bambi" (1942), as well as the stories of Moses and Joseph from the Bible. Additionally, several similarities have been drawn between Simba and Prince Hamlet from William Shakespeare's "Hamlet." In 1997, "The Lion King" was adapted into a Broadway musical, with actors Scott Irby-Ranniar and Jason Raize originating the roles of the cub and adult Simbas, respectively. "Simba" is a Swahili word for "lion". It also has other definitions, such as "king". The idea for "The Lion King" originated from Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg in 1989 and was originally conceived under the title "King