Simba Henn animated the character's first appearance as an adult that occurs near the end of the "Hakuna Matata" musical number. Released in theaters in 1994, "The Lion King" marks Simba's first appearance. All the animals in the Pride Lands gather at the foot of Pride Rock to commemorate the birth of Simba, who will eventually succeed to the throne and take his father Mufasa's place as king. Furious by the fact that he is no longer next in line, Simba's jealous uncle Scar refuses to attend the ceremony. While Simba grows into a rambunctious lion cub who frequently boasts about
Simba Simba is "both man and beast." He said, "The tendency is to sacrifice one for the other, but you can't." Although hundreds of children auditioned for the role of Young Simba, the casting process was far less grueling for Irby-Ranniar who, according to Taymor, simply "walked in and he had the part." In 1994, a six-volume book set titled "The Lion King: Six New Adventures" were released. Set after the events of the first film, they featured a cub named Kopa, who was the son of Simba and Nala. As part of the franchise's merchandising, Simba has appeared in various