Nala (The Lion King) age difference between Nala and Scar. Nala means "gift" in Swahili. The character has a mother, whose name is never mentioned in the film; however, she is credited as Sarafina during the film's end credits. Candice Russel of the "Sun-Sentinel" believes that Nala contributes to the film's love story – "an indispensable factor in Disney cartoon features" – in addition to convincing Simba to return to Pride Rock. It has been observed that, unlike Disney's three previous animated efforts ("The Little Mermaid" (1989), "Beauty and the Beast" (1991) and "Aladdin" (1992), the romantic relationship between Nala and Simba is not
Nala (The Lion King) mind. However, John lobbied in favor of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" being a love song performed as a duet by Nala and Simba, with which the filmmakers ultimately agreed. When asked by Disney if she was interested in reprising her role as Nala in "The Lion King II: Simba's Pride", Kelly immediately accepted, joking, "Sure, you wanna do a third, fourth, fifth? I'm right there". In the case of "The Lion King "1½, it took the actress only a few days to record her character's dialogue due to Nala's comparatively smaller role in the film; much of Nala's