Animation Source Forums

well simba did look up to his father alot.

Right. Look at Kodi, for example. Or Bambi. The list goes on and on. Most kids (especially boys) who don't have a father (or at least a father-figure) to show them right from wrong usually end up with mental problems. You wouldn't want Simba to have those, would you?

I didn't say always, I said usually. But now that you bring it up, "often" would probably be a better word. But I'm not saying you have mental problems. Sorry.

It only means that they'll have a slight disadvantage in life compared to those that did have that, really.

If you want to be politically correct, you might say it like that. But childhood is a crucial time for mental development, and those that don't have the proper direction growing up tend to get messed up. It's like planting a grapevine or a bean plant and not setting up something for it to "climb." since vines can't stay up on their own, it'll just sprawl all over the place and be easy pickings for bugs.
That said, we're getting off the subject.

i think simba has like...issues.. i mean..i like the dude, but he's old.. he needs to get over his father's death and let go...it's called " relaxation" really simba...gosh! omg...that was AWESOME!

HEy, he spent most of his life thinking it was his fault Mufasa died. That's gonna take some time to get over, you know?

yea he also had alot on his plate at the time he was really unsure of himself

Exactly.

I think he did. (He was too trying, I'll agree to that!)

I mean, Simba didn't have his father while growing up and maturing (because he watched his father die in front of his own eyes and dealt with the guilt of believing that he was to blame for it), but he's a first-time father - he, just like many others, isn't a perfect character. I mean, Mufasa himself wasn't perfect either, but he was the only patrarchial figure he had as a cub. And besides, Mufasa was the King - every creature looked up to him . . . and I guess for Simba, those are some large paw-prints to fill, eh?

But when you talk about style, Simba did need to develop his own style, but during TLK2, he always would say things like "My father's law will prevail . . ." and look up to the stars for guidance from his father . . . He was a bit of a lost cause, one may think. However, Kiara was the one that looked up to him (duh, she's his daughter, of course) and with her headstrong personality and all, she was the one that somehow made him realize his flaw - he was too dependent on his own father's example. Simba did say that Kovu was to follow in Scar's paws, and he (Simba) was to follow in his father's, and Kiara told him, "You will never be Mufasa" - which was a total wake-up call to him. She was right, of course - Simba was not Mufasa, just like Kovu wasn't Scar.

I guess everyone has the choice of whether to follow by example or not. So I suppose Simba only followed his father's example because there wasn't anyone else he could follow that was a male role-model (I mean, nobody would want him to be like Scar, right?).

- Juuchan17

I think Simba sometimes seemed to be... well, unable to take his own decisions.
I mean, he was always wondering: "What would my father do?" and that didn't let him be the king he could be. Because he is Mufasa's son, not Mufasa himself.

I'm not sure, but I think this topic is quite well explained in a videogame: "Kingdom Hearts 2"