and trying too hard to be Mufasa, before leaving to find Kovu. When a battle ensues between the Pride Landers and the Outsiders, Kiara and Kovu arrive and stop them, with Kiara telling them that they are one, helping Simba to realize that despite their hatred for one another they are the same. This convinced Simba to accept the Outsiders back to his pride. When a furious Zira attacks Simba, she is intercepted by Kiara, causing the two to fall over the edge of a cliff. Having landed safely on a ledge, Kiara offers to help Zira, who is struggling to hang on. However, Zira, consumed by her resentment towards Simba, falls to her death. Simba finally approves of Kiara's love for Kovu and reconciles with his daughter, and accepts the two lions as the future queen regnant and king consort of the Pride Lands. The Lion King 1½ In The Lion King 1½, a direct-to-video followup released in 2004, Simba appears as a less prominent character because the film's primary focus is on Timon and Pumbaa's behind-the-scenes role and involvement in The Lion King, in which they appear as supporting characters. Although the two films technically share the same story and timeline, the plot of The Lion King 1 1/2 focuses more on Timon and Pumbaa. The meerkat and warthog unknowingly coexist alongside Simba, and the story fills in the two characters' backstories and events that led up to their long-lasting friendship, coinciding with and often initiating the events that affect Simba's life during the first film. These events include the commemorative bow that occurs during the opening "Circle of Life" musical number and the collapsing of the animal tower that takes place during "I Just Can't Wait to Be King." The film also explores, in further detail, the relationship among the three characters as Timon and Pumbaa struggle to raise Simba as adoptive "parents" and disapprove of his relationship with Nala, portraying Simba as he grows from an energetic young lion cub, into an incorrigible teenager and, finally, an independent young lion. The Lion King (2019) On July 19, 2019, Walt Disney Pictures released a CGI remake of The Lion King. The film was directed and produced by Jon Favreau and written by Jeff Nathanson. In this version, Donald Glover was cast for the role of adult Simba. Glover said that "[The Lion King is] a timeless story,