Criticism of The Walt Disney Company feature the theme of the circle of life. Alleged similarities in the characters, beginning with the protagonist lion cubs "Kimba" and "Simba", include the evil lions, the one-eyed Claw and Scar, the sage baboons Dan'l Baboon and Rafiki, the animated birds Pauley Cracker and Zazu, and the pair of hyena sidekicks (it was a trio in the Disney film). "The Lion King" co-director Rob Minkoff deflected criticism of similarities in the characters by stating it was "not unusual to have characters like a baboon, a bird or hyenas" in films set in Africa. Both films feature the protagonist looking up
Nala (The Lion King) to "disguise [the film's] essential boss-daddy ethos." Bacher believes that had "The Lion King" featured Nala as the Pride Lands' hero as opposed to Simba, the film could have avoided having a "patriarchal structure." Leab concluded that "the main and most problematic aspects of the film" remain that "The Lion King" "boils down to the fact that an entire group of strong female characters are unable to confront a single male oppressor; to do so, they need to be led by a dominant male." Leab continued, "It almost sucks more that Nala is such a strong ... female character and