Simba like them, Simba is "born into royalty, is then exiled, and has to return to claim [his] kingdom." Unlike the studio's three previous films "The Little Mermaid" (1989), "Beauty and the Beast" (1991) and "Aladdin" (1992) which are essentially love stories, "The Lion King" revolves around Simba's relationship with his father instead, which Allers identified as "The real heart and emotional underpinning of the whole story". In April 1992, the filmmakers hosted a "brainstorming session" in which much of the film's original story was largely re-written, particularly Simba's personality. Originally, Simba was intended to remain with the pride after Mufasa's
The Lion King released called "The Lion Guard", featuring Kion, the second-born cub of Simba and Nala. "The Lion Guard" is a sequel to "The Lion King" and takes place during the time-gap within "The Lion King II: Simba's Pride." It was first broadcast on Disney Channel as a television film titled "The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar" in November 2015 before airing as a series on Disney Junior in January 2016. In September 2016, following the critical and financial success of "The Jungle Book", Walt Disney Pictures announced that they were developing a CGI remake of "The Lion King" by the