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 released called "The Lion Guard", featuring Kion, the second-born cub of Simba and Nala. "The Lion Guard" is a sequel to "The Lion King" and takes place during the time-gap within "The Lion King II: Simba's Pride." It was first broadcast on Disney Channel as a television film titled "The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar" in November 2015 before airing as a series on Disney Junior in January 2016. In September 2016, following the critical and financial success of "The Jungle Book", Walt Disney Pictures announced that they were developing a CGI remake of "The Lion King" by the