Nala (The Lion King) Nala ultimately becoming his queen. In the film's first direct-to-video sequel "" (1998), Nala appears in a less prominent role as Queen of the Pride Lands and mother of Kiara, the spirited daughter of her and Simba. Nala observes that Kiara, of whom Simba is very protective, has inherited her father's rebellious personality and love of adventure. When Kiara befriends Zira's son Kovu, a young lion from an exiled pride of Scar's followers known as the Outsiders, Nala is much more tolerant of their relationship than Simba, and convinces him to offer Kovu a chance to prove himself trustworthy.At the
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