him into a pit, where he is cornered and killed by the hyenas, who overheard Scar blaming them for what he'd done. With Simba king and the Pride Lands returned to its former glory, the inhabitants welcome the birth of his and Nala's firstborn. The Lion King II: Simba's Pride A direct-to-video sequel released in 1998, Simba's Pride picks up immediately where the first film left off, depicting Simba and Nala as king and queen of the Pride Lands. In a ceremony at Pride Rock, the Pride Lands commemorate the birth of Simba and Nala's daughter Kiara, whom Simba is overprotective of. One day when Kiara is a young cub, Simba discovers that she has disobeyed him by visiting the forbidden Outlands, home to an enemy pride of Scar's followers known as the Outsiders, and befriending a young member of the pride named Kovu. After a close confrontation with Kovu's mother Zira, the leader of the Outsiders and Scar's most loyal follower, Simba separates the two and reminds Kiara of her responsibilities as the future queen. Meanwhile, Zira plots to manipulate Kovu to exact revenge on Simba for Scar's death. Several years later, Simba grants an adolescent Kiara's request to embark on her first hunt, but has Timon and Pumbaa follow her in secret. Realizing this, Kiara rebels and pursue her hunt outside of the Pride Lands, where she nearly falls victim to a wildfire. Kiara is rescued by Kovu, who returns her to the Pride Lands, which is actually part of Zira's plan to overthrow Simba. Saying that he has left the Outsiders, Kovu asks Simba to let him join his pride. Simba reluctantly accepts, but distrusts Kovu because of his similarities to Scar, and continues to treat him ruthlessly. That night, Simba has a nightmare about attempting to save his father Mufasa from falling into the stampede but is stopped by Scar who turns into Kovu and throws Simba off the cliff into the stampede. While Kiara and Kovu's friendship continues to grow, Simba, encouraged by Nala, attempts to show Kovu kindness by spending a day with him. Realizing that Kovu is beginning to side with Simba because of his love for Kiara, Zira ambushes and attacks Simba. Convinced by Zira that Kovu is responsible for the ambush, Simba exiles him and forbids Kiara to see him, but she makes her father realize that he is acting irrationally