The Lion King characters are adored by many and hold a special place in our hearts–mainly because they’re so iconic and the 1994 Disney movie was such a huge hit. Yeah, we’re going to skirt around the 2019 film for now, as it was kind of a hit-or-miss, but it still had most of the same characters, with a few exceptions to name-changes.
I can’t say that there was a character I didn’t like in The Lion King, but I can say that I wish some of them had a bit more time on the screen.
Mainly the mothers of the cubs that grew to be the main protagonists.
If you don’t know much about The Lion King characters, then I’m here to shed a small bit of my opinions on them–not a whole lot of information. Maybe you’ll think the same thing about them, maybe not.
We’ll see.
The Lion King Characters
Azizi (aka Ed)
Ed has one of the lowest IQs of the trio of hyenas that are part of Scar’s posse, and to prove my point on that, he can’t even speak words. He just giggles and laughs like a laughing hyena is meant to do when they get excited about something.
Azizi stars in the 2019 The Lion King film, replacing the cartoon version of Ed, and he actually does speak, making him a bit more intellectual than his animated counterpart.
Azizi is voiced by Eric André in the 2019 film.
Gopher
Gopher is exactly that.
A gopher.
He doesn’t get a lot of screen time in The Lion King, but he plays a pretty vital role in warning Zazu of the hyenas prowling the Pride Lands, who then warns Mufasa of the danger, interrupting pouncing lessons. And that’s about it for our friend Mr. Gopher.
What do you expect from a creature that listens to news from the underground?
Gopher is voiced by Jim Cummings in the 1994 film.
Mufasa
Mufasa is Simba’s dad, Sarabi’s mate, and Scar’s older brother.
He’s the king of the Pride Lands and you can see how all the creatures around him show their respect, especially when Simba is born. He teaches Simba what it’s like to be king, gives him lessons, and even comes to his cub’s rescue just in the nick of time.
But caught between jealousy and hatred, he’s murdered in a plot to overthrow him from his kingship with Simba’s head on the line, later coming back with his head in the clouds to give advice to his son once more.
Mufasa is voiced by James Earl Jones in the 1994 film.
Mufasa is voiced by James Earl Jones in the 2019 film.
Nala
Nala has some sass to her throughout being a cub–which just replicates us young ladies–and while it’s kind of still there as an adult, it’s more diluted. She’s more serious, because Simba’s been gone a long while and the pride is suffering from Scar’s reign and the hyenas’ stalking of the lands.
She’s the daughter of Sarafina, and after a long childhood friendship, ends up being Simba’s mate.
Young Nala is voiced by Niketa Calame-Harris in the 1994 film.
Nala is voiced by Moira Kelly in the 1994 film.
Young Nala is voiced by Shahadi Wright Joseph in the 2019 film.
Nala is voiced by Beyoncé in the 2019 film.
Pumbaa
Pumbaa is the warthog that tags along with Timon and tends to have a spot of gas at times that comes in clutch in dire situations, though doesn’t net him very many friends.
Him and Timon found Simba and shaped him into the lion he’s grown up to be and carries the motto “hakuna matata,” meaning, “no worries.”
He’s not too bright, but he uses his tusks to lift logs to find bugs to eat.
Pumbaa is voiced by Ernie Sabella in the 1994 film.
Pumbaa is voiced by Seth Rogen in the 2019 film.
Rafiki
Beware of Rafiki’s staff, because he likes to swing it around and smack things on the head with it. That’s what wise old sages do, apparently, be they the human kind or mandrills.
Anyway, he’s a bit of a shaman as well as a martial artist and was there to show off Simba’s birth to the animals of the Pridelands. Not only that, but he helped Simba find himself with the words of his father by showing him his reflection in the water.
A wise creature, indeed.
Rafiki is voiced by Robert Guillaume in the 1994 film.
Rafiki is voiced by John Kani in the 2019 film.
Sarabi
Sarabi is Mufasa’s mate, Nala’s mother-in-law, Simba’s mother, and Scar’s sister-in-law.
Awkwardly enough, in the 2019 live action film, Scar makes an advance on her to make her his mate once Mufasa is dead, but Sarabi rejects his offer. Incest happens to be a thing in the animal kingdom.
Also, holy crap, I have this plush of Sarabi!
Sarabi is voiced by Madge Sinclair in the 1994 film.
Sarabi is voiced by Alfre Woodard in the 2019 film.
Sarafina
Sarafina is Nala’s mother and Simba’s mother-in-law. She doesn’t really get much screen time, but we catch her at one point in the 1994 giving Nala a bath just before the two of them head off to the Elephant Graveyard.
Sarafina is voiced by Zoe Leader in the 1994 film.
Sarafina is voiced by Penny Johnson Jerald in the 2019 film.
Scar
Suitably named for the scar on his face, this black-maned sarcastic and disgruntled lion is Mufasa’s younger brother and Simba’s uncle. He may not have gotten the brawns, but he believes himself to have gotten the brains in the family, and thus plotted Mufasa’s death and put the blame on Simba, causing the cub to run away.
Since that made him King of Pride Rock, he used his hyena followers as pawns to feed from the wildlife, leaving the lionesses with nothing, in order to do his bidding.
Scar is voiced by Jeremy Irons in the 1994 film.
Scar is voiced by Chiwetel Ejiofor in the 2019 film.
Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed
Scar’s three main lackey hyenas that tend to do his bidding the most and torment Simba whenever possible–specifically being the cause for the wildebeast stampede.
They aren’t the most clever creatures, and they’re primarily stuck to the Elephant Graveyard, as they’re strictly banned from going anywhere else in the Pridelands, lest Zazu or Gopher finds out and rats them out to Mufasa.
You can think of them as Ed, Edd, and Eddy, if you’ve ever seen that cartoon show.
Banzai is voiced by Cheech Marin in the 1994 film.
Shenzi is voiced by Whoopi Goldberg in the 1994 film.
Shenzi is voiced by Florence Kasumba in the 2019 film.
Simba
Simba is the protagonist in The Lion King and the son of Mufasa and Sarabi, and nephew to Scar, plus the future king, and the movie is all about him coming to terms with that and making his way back home.
He has to face his former pride and how they’ll regard him with the knowledge of what he’d done with the death of his father, and how he ran away. Plus the battle with Scar. And the romancing with Nala.
As far as a coming of age movie in a cartoon lion form, Simba couldn’t have done any better.
Young Simba is voiced by Jonathan Taylor Thomas in the 1994 film.
Simba is voiced by Matthew Broderick in the 1994 film.
Young Simba is voiced by JD McCrary in the 2019 film.
Simba is voiced by Donald Glover in the 2019 film.
Timon
Timon is a meerkat that is almost always seen with his partner in crime Pumbaa. He’s the more clever part of the duo, but still not the smartest. He also cracks a lot of jokes to ease the tension around the party. Whether that’s intentional or just part of his character is open to interpretation.
He was the one that was afraid if Simba fell in love their group of three would fall back down to two.
Timon is voiced by Nathan Lane in the 1994 film.
Timon is voiced by Billy Eichner in the 2019 film.
Zazu
Zazu is the king’s royal advisor and “a little hornbill,” as covered in the song Simba sings in I Just Can’t Wait To Be King while ditching the royal dodo to head to the Elephant Graveyard with Nala. He’s often on the short end of the stick when it comes to bad situations, and it kind of makes you feel bad for the bird.
Thought he does kind of have a bad attitude about him.
Zazu is voiced by Rowan Atkinson in the 1994 film.
Zazu is voiced by John Oliver in the 2019 film.
