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
Simba 2013. In its list of "Top Popular Pet Names," BabyNames.com placed Simba at number 64 on its list of most popular dog names out of the 100 that were considered. Simba Simba is a fictional character who appears in Disney's "The Lion King" franchise. Introduced in Walt Disney Animation's 32nd animated feature film "The Lion King" (1994), the character subsequently appears in its sequels "" (1998) and "The Lion King 1½" (2004) as well as the upcoming 2019 remake of the original film directed by Jon Favreau. Simba was created by screenwriters Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts and Linda Woolverton. While