Created by screenwriters Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton, Simba underwent several changes as the film's story was revised, including making him a more sympathetic character and establishing his familial relation to Scar.

[5] Years later, Simba's childhood friend Nala finds him and convinces him to return to the Pride Lands which has grown barren and starving under Scar's rule.

Zira attacks Simba as he is about to accept the Outsiders back into his pride, but he she is intercepted by Kiara, causing the pair of lionesses to tumble over the edge of a cliff.

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".

[40] In an earlier version of the script, Simba was meant to lose his final fight to Scar, being thrown from Pride Rock before his uncle ultimately dies in a fire.

[43] Story artist Chris Sanders explained that the key to this was eventually accepting that a young child in an extremely emotional state would simply believe what their uncle told them.

[44] Although Woolverton admitted that songs such as "Hakuna Matata" were non-essential to the plot and arrived later during the writing process, she confirmed that it helps demonstrate Simba during his "lost boy" phase.

[58][57] Due to his busy schedule, Thomas recorded some his dialogue on the Home Improvement set, the sitcom on which he was starring at the time,[57] since both productions were filmed on Disney's Burbank lot.

[58] Hahn recalled "rough[ing Thomas] up" during certain recording sessions when his character was intended to sound active or out of breath, in order to deliver a convincing performance.

[53] Although Broderick recorded his character's songs twice, the studio opted not to use his vocals in the final film, which the actor attributed to Disney being interested in a poppier sound than he was capable of delivering.

[69] His meeting with Disney in Burbank was intended to only be an audition but he ultimately recorded "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" in two takes, completing his work before he had to fly back to Chicago.

[85] Aquino based his early drawings of Simba on Broderick,[86] whose voice he said offers the character "a lot of humor and vulnerability ... which really gave me something to go on and made it easier for me to flesh out my performance".

[48] Because the adult version of the character is introduced mildly depressed, Aquino originally drew him with sad, soulful eyes and a disheveled mane, but redesigned him to look more heroic at Hahn's request.

[20] Before The Lion King, his experience as a supervising animator was limited to predominantly female characters, having previously worked on Ariel from The Little Mermaid, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, and Jasmine from Aladdin.

[20][88][89] He initially campaigned heavily to animate the film's villain, Scar, because he wanted to do something different than the princesses he had become known for,[20][90] but Hahn convinced him to work on Simba due to his experience with main characters.

[91] Hahn reminded Henn that the success of the entire film hinges on Simba's design, since he is considered the most important character in The Lion King,[20][90] and the animator found it a welcome departure from leading ladies nonetheless.

[88] Recalling their efforts to make his character as realistic as possible, Henn said that, unlike domestic cats, lion cubs “have a power ... underlying that seemingly soft exterior".

[87] When it came to animating the "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" musical sequence, Henn insisted that Simba remain on all-fours, despite the character exhibiting human characteristics by dancing.

[20] Although Henn and Aquino did not spend much time discussing the character's design with each other, both artists referenced live lions and received input from the same research team to determine how Simba should look and behave.

[102][103] James Berardinelli of ReelViews enjoyed that the film prioritizes Simba's personal growth over his romantic relationship with Nala, but found Broderick's performance "nondescript".

[105] Hal Hinson of The Washington Post gave the character a negative review, questioning Simba as a hero and nicknaming him "the Lion Country incarnation of Fabio".

[112] In 2022, Rachel Ulatowski of Screen Rant wrote that despite differing opinions about the character, "Audiences cannot deny that Simba's design perfectly embodies his role as the tragic hero" with "an intriguing appearance that is heroic, bold, charming, but also weary and disheveled at times.

[139] Publications such as World Animal Protection, the Los Angeles Times, Wilmington Star-News, and the Birmingham Mail consider Simba to be one of the most famous lions in popular culture.

[169] Kayla Cobb of Decider theorized that Disney wanted audiences to know that "in the lion world, Simba is a babe" by drawing him with traditionally attractive and masculine features.

[172] During the film's opening song, "Circle of Life", Rafiki introduces a newborn Simba to a large crowd of onlooking animals gathered at the foot of Pride Rock by standing towards the edge and holding the cub high above their heads, while Mufasa and Sarabi observe from behind them.

[176] Several fans have recreated the image using their own children or pets,[177][178] including, controversially, singer Michael Jackson in 1992,[179][180] and Brendan Fraser at the end of the film George of the Jungle.

[181][182] During the third season finale of Once Upon a Time, the main character Emma Swan asked her parents Snow White and David Nolan if they were going to hold up her yet unnamed baby brother like in The Lion King.

[210] Actors Scott Irby-Ranniar and Jason Raize played young and adult Simba, respectively, in the original Broadway cast of the stage adaptation of The Lion King (1997).

[220] The success of the stage musical has also led to its own line of merchandising,[221] including the Simba beanbag doll, based on the character's appearance and costume in the Broadway show.

Simba was also the main character in "Legend of the Lion King," a former Fantasyland attraction in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, which retold the story of the film using fully articulated puppets.