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) mind. However, John lobbied in favor of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" being a love song performed as a duet by Nala and Simba, with which the filmmakers ultimately agreed. When asked by Disney if she was interested in reprising her role as Nala in "The Lion King II: Simba's Pride", Kelly immediately accepted, joking, "Sure, you wanna do a third, fourth, fifth? I'm right there". In the case of "The Lion King "1½, it took the actress only a few days to record her character's dialogue due to Nala's comparatively smaller role in the film; much of Nala's