The Lion King nephew, but Simba manages to toss him from the top of the rock. Scar survives the fall, but is attacked and killed by the hyenas, who overheard his attempt to betray them. Afterwards, Simba takes over the kingship as rain begins to fall. Later, with Pride Rock restored to its usual state, Rafiki presents Simba and Nala's newborn cub to the assembled animals, continuing the circle of life. The idea for "The Lion King" was conceived in late 1988 during a conversation between Jeffrey Katzenberg, Roy E. Disney and Peter Schneider on a plane to Europe to promote "Oliver &
Nala (The Lion King) University of Waterloo's Kinema, Vicky Wong believes that Nala reinforces the film's "take your place" motif, reminding main character Simba of his responsibilities. In his book "Retelling Stories, Framing Culture: Traditional Story and Metanarratives in Children's Literature", author John Stephens credits Nala with teaching Simba about responsibility – "the lesson the hero must learn before he can become an adult". Film critic James Berardinelli identified Nala as "The Lion King"'s "sole significant female character." Including Nala, "The Lion King" has only three major female characters in comparison to the film's total of nine male ones. Shepherd University's Emmylou Allen observed