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
Simba Lion King"s place as an utterly timeless piece of work." James Berardinelli of "ReelViews" enjoyed the fact that the film focuses more on the story of Simba himself as opposed to the romantic relationship developing between the character and Nala. However, Berardinelli criticized Matthew Broderick's vocal performance, describing it as "nondescript." Rob Humanick of Slant Magazine hailed the fact that "it's never laid on [Simba] that his time as king will directly correspond with the eventual passing of his father" as one of the film's "most important facets." However, he criticized "The Lion King"s characters, describing them as well-designed but