Scar (The Lion King) artist Jorgen Klubien. According to the directors, "[a] patronizing quality" was vital to Scar's role in the film. Minkoff told the "Los Angeles Times", "When Scar puts the guilt trip on Simba, that's an intense idea ... probably something that is "not" typical of the other Disney pictures, in terms of what the villain does." Additionally, Scar serves as a departure from previous Disney villains because they "came off at least as buffoonish as they were sinister". Because Scar is the film's main antagonist, supervising animator Andreas Deja believed that "villains work really well when they're subtle", explaining, "to see
Nala (The Lion King) that Nala is introduced "as a dominating young girl" who ultimately matures into "a strong woman" by the film's conclusion. "Mouse Morality: The Rhetoric of Disney Animated Film" author Annalee R. Ward wrote that Nala's role in "The Lion King" reflected "a 1990s feminist reversal". In her book "Biblical Allusions", author Lindsay Bacher acknowledged that Nala is often depicted as a stronger and more responsible character than Simba, despite observations that "The Lion King"'s female characters lack agency. Leab identified Nala as Simba's "equal" who is "a more naturally sound leader throughout the film, while Simba tends to be comparatively