The Lion King 1½ under the hyenas. However, the last few get stuck, prompting Timon to dive underground and break them himself. The cave-in commences, and the hyenas are ejected through the tunnels. Immediately afterwards, Scar is defeated by Simba. Simba accepts his place as king of the Pride Lands, thanking Timon and Pumbaa for helping him. Timon takes Ma, Uncle Max, and the meerkat colony to live in the predator-free jungle to complete his "Hakuna Matata"; and he is praised as their hero. Once Timon finishes his backstory, Ma, Uncle Max, Simba, Rafiki, and eventually many other Disney characters join him and Pumbaa
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