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
The Lion King (franchise) with Rafiki who gives him wisdom by narrating the past tales of the Pridelands. The story of the books was completely ignored by Disney in "The Lion King" sequels and isn't considered canon. "The Legend of the Lion King" was an underground stage performance retelling the story of the film using fully articulated puppets in Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland. This attraction ran from June 1994 to February 2002. A Broadway-caliber short-form stage musical named "Festival of the Lion King" is performed live in Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World, Florida and in Adventureland at Hong Kong Disneyland. It uses the