Nala (The Lion King)
Nala | |
---|---|
The Lion King character | |
First appearance | The Lion King (1994) |
Created by | |
Voiced by |
|
Inspired by | Ophelia |
In-universe information | |
Species | Lion |
Gender | Female |
Family |
|
Spouse | Simba (husband) |
Children |
Nala is a fictional character in Disney's The Lion King film franchise. Introduced in the animated film The Lion King (1994), Nala subsequently appears as a less prominent character in the film's sequels The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998) and The Lion King 1½ (2004), and serves as a recurring character in The Lion Guard (2015–2019). In the original animated film trilogy, the adult Nala is voiced by American actress Moira Kelly. Young Nala's speaking voice in the original film is provided by actress Niketa Calame, while singers Laura Williams and Sally Dworsky provide the singing voices of young and adult Nala respectively. Nala is introduced as the daughter of an unnamed lion and Sarafina, the best friend of Simba, and ultimately becomes his wife as well as the daughter-in-law of Mufasa and Sarabi and the niece-in-law of Scar by the end of The Lion King. Nala becomes Simba's wife as well as his Queen Consort. Nala is also the mother of Kiara and Kion, and in The Lion King: Six New Adventures, she is the mother of Kopa.
Several years after Simba's uncle Scar has killed Simba's father Mufasa and taken the throne, Nala desperately ventures into the jungle to find help. Upon unexpectedly reuniting with an adult Simba, who she had long been tricked by Scar into presuming dead, Nala encourages him to return to Pride Rock, overthrow his uncle and ultimately become king. As Simba's queen, Nala has a son, Kopa, an adventurous cub in The Lion King: Six New Adventures, a daughter, Kiara, whose story is explored in The Lion King: Simba's Pride and another son named Kion, who serves as the protagonist of The Lion Guard.
Nala is the most significant female character in The Lion King. As the film was inspired by William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, Nala is considered to be The Lion King's equivalent of Hamlet's love interest Ophelia, although differences remain between the two characters. Many early concepts first developed for Nala were eventually abandoned, including a brother and father for the character, as well as her being romantically pursued by Scar. While critical reception towards Nala has been generally mixed, Kelly's vocal performance has been praised.
Nala appears in the Broadway musical adaptation of the film, first played by singer Heather Headley. The character also appears in the television series The Lion Guard, with Gabrielle Union replacing Kelly as the voice of Nala. Beyoncé and Shahadi Wright Joseph voice the character in the 2019 CGI live adaptation of the original film directed by Jon Favreau.
Development
Conception and creation
Screenwriter Linda Woolverton conceived Nala "as part of a gradual progression ... which have driven recent public conversation about what young girls should be able to expect from their cinematic role models".[2] In early versions of Woolverton's script, Nala has a younger brother named Mheetu, who enjoys joining her and her best friend Simba on their adventures.[3] Pronounced "me too", the character's name references this specific personality trait.[3] Simba was intended to save the cub from a wildebeest stampede,[4] and Nala would eventually become responsible for protecting Mheetu from Simba's tyrannical uncle Scar.[3] Nala also had a fox friend named Bhati.[4] According to Woolverton, Mheetu and Bhati were written out of the film because their stories were beginning to distract from Simba's, in addition to the Mheetu-Scar subplot making the film too dark when combined with the death of Simba's father Mufasa.[3] At one point, Nala also had a named father; the character was similarly abandoned. In addition, in another script, Sarafina (then named Naanda) was Sarabi's younger sister, and Mufasa was implied to be her mate, and thus Nala's Father. This implication was censored in the final draft as it would lead to incest between Simba and Nala as half siblings as well as first cousins.[5]
Because The Lion King was originally conceived as a much more mature and adult-oriented film, Nala was intended to have been
The character has a mother, whose name is never mentioned in the film;
Voice and music
The speaking voice of adult Nala is provided by American actress Moira Kelly,[12] who had learned that Disney was auditioning actors for the role from her agent.[13] Despite not being the directors' first choice, Kelly was granted an audition because the filmmakers were interested in hearing different voices at the time.[14] Kelly believes the directors had been searching for an authoritative, warm voice to complement Nala's sensible yet nurturing personality.[13] After attending a series of callbacks, Kelly was selected as one of two finalists.[13] She was officially offered the part several months after her audition; Disney's first choice remains undisclosed.[14] Actor Matthew Broderick, the voice of Simba, had already begun recording opposite a different actress who had been cast as Nala before she was replaced with Kelly.[15] Broderick was not informed that his original co-star had been recast, and only learned that Nala was voiced by Kelly at the film's premiere.[15]
The film's entire recording process was completed over approximately three years, during which Kelly's sessions were held in both the United States and Canada, while her co-stars Broderick and Jeremy Irons, voice of Scar, recorded in the United States and England, respectively.[14] Each main cast member recorded their dialogue separately,[14] which took Kelly some time to adjust to because she had grown accustomed to working with several other actors at a time on the sets of her live-action films.[13] For The Lion King, a director would often take the place of another actor for Kelly to act opposite of.[13] Vocally, Kelly decided to approach the role as though she were reading to a child, which she admitted is different than how the actress would approach a live-action role.[14] Because Nala is a "very straight character", determining what kind of voice she would use for her was not a particularly challenging task.[13] Additionally, the filmmakers would also film Kelly's performances in order to incorporate her own facial expressions into her character's design, the process of which impressed the actress.[14] In her film debut, actress Niketa Calame voices young Nala.[16][17] According to Calame's official website, Nala remains the actress' "biggest role to date".[18]
A classically trained pianist and chorister, Laura Williams provides the singing voice of young Nala, which can be heard in the song "
When asked by Disney if she was interested in reprising her role as Nala in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, Kelly immediately accepted, joking, "Sure, you wanna do a third, fourth, fifth? I'm right there".[14] In the case of The Lion King 1½, it took the actress only a couple of days to record her character's dialogue due to Nala's comparatively smaller role in the film;[21] much of Nala's footage from the first film was simply reused accordingly.[14] Elton John's official website cites Kelly among the film's cast of actors who "would grace any red carpet."[22] Kelly's performance as Nala is responsible for introducing the actress to a younger audience. Previously, she had been better known for appearing in more adult-oriented live-action films at that time.[23] In 2011, Kelly revealed that fans of the film rarely recognize her speaking voice as the voice of Nala,[24] although Robert DeSalvo of NextMovie.com claims that the actress "has a ... distinctive voice that The Lion King fans will instantly recognize as the voice of adult Nala."[25] In 2023, Kelly reprised her voice role as Nala for the first time outside of the animated trilogy in Disney Dreamlight Valley.[1]
Characterization and themes
A straight woman character, Kelly described Nala as a sensible and nurturing yet authoritative character,
Film critic
Alongside
Appearances
Film and television
A young Nala debuted in
Nala does not appear in the spin-off television series The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa.
In the film's first direct-to-video sequel
Voiced by actress
On November 1, 2017, it was confirmed that Beyoncé Knowles-Carter would voice adult Nala in Jon Favreau's The Lion King, which was released on July 19, 2019.[54] Favreau felt that "part of [her joining the film] is that she's got young kids, part of it is that it's a story that feels good for this phase of her life and her career, and she really likes the original very much. And then, of course, there are these wonderful musical numbers that she can be involved with, and my God… she really lives up to her reputation as far as the beauty of her voice and talent".[55][56] The same day Shahadi Wright Joseph was cast as young Nala in the film.[57] Joseph reprises her role from the Broadway production.[58] Joseph choose to work on the film because "[she knows] Nala inspires little girls because that happened to [her] when [she] was younger. [Joseph] literally said that [she] wanted to be her. She's a great role model".[55] Joseph said that, upon learning that Beyoncé would be voicing the grown-up Nala, she "really had to step [her] game up and think about what Beyoncé would want".[55] The film marks the comeback of the singer since her pregnancy and her first musical film since Dreamgirls in 2006.[citation needed]
Nala's role in the 2019 remake is slightly expanded. As a cub, Nala is portrayed as more wary and reluctant when venturing the Elephant Graveyard with Simba, sensing the danger lurking in the place. During Scar's reign, adult Nala develops a rivalry with Shenzi due to their first encounter. She also suggests to Sarabi that they should fight back or leave Pride Lands, but Sarabi turns down both suggestions. This leads Nala to sneak out of Pride Rock the following night so she can get help. Zazu uses himself as a diversion to allow Nala to leave without being caught by Scar and the hyenas. She reunites with Simba at the jungle like in the original but leaves immediately after Simba refuses to return, only for Simba to follow her soon after changing his mind. During the climax, Nala fights against Shenzi and emerges victorious. She then ends up becoming the Pride Lands’ new Queen by marries Simba and gave birth to a cub whom she and Simba named Kiara just like when Nala gave birth to an unnamed newborn female cub in the original film.
Musical
In the Broadway musical adaptation of The Lion King, the role of Nala was originated by Trinidadian-American singer Heather Headley. Her Broadway debut,[59] at first auditioning for the role proved a challenge for the singer due to her Ragtime contract, which her agent was eventually successful in getting her released from.[60] Director Julie Taymor felt that Nala's journey in the film was underdeveloped and among the story's weaker elements, and thus decided to "strengthen" the character's narrative for Broadway.[61]
Her role in the musical remains the same as the film except for a scene where during the song "The Madness of King Scar", Nala comes to Scar to urge him to do something about the drought in the Pride Lands, only for Scar to try and seduce her into becoming his queen and mother of his children. Nala refuses since she's already been betrothed to Simba, prince of the Pride Lands as an infant by their parents, Sarafina, Mufasa and Sarabi and flees the Pride Lands to find help.
Reception
Critical reception towards Nala has been generally mixed; both film and feminist critics have accused the film of lacking
Nala's role and demeanor during the film's romantic "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" sequence has drawn criticism in regards to her "submissive behaviour".[27] The New York Times' Janet Maslin cited the film's lack of a strong heroine among its weaknesses, dismissing Nala and Simba's interaction throughout "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" as "obligatory" and "gratuitous".[62] Joel W. Martin wrote in the Journal of Religion and Film, "One song later, [Nala and Simba] have fallen in love. Playing one day, they literally tumble down a hillside in the jungle, and he ends up on top of her. This time, she does not bear her teeth, but instead, shows 'bedroom eyes'". Martin ultimately accused the scene's "reversal of positions" of "establish[ing] male dominance."[36] Criticizing the film for "being merely distracting when it could have been both meaningful and instructive", Robert Humanick of Slant Magazine wrote, "Small potatoes, then, when Simba's former childhood friend and betrothed queen Nala ... unexpectedly reappears in his duty-free, protein-rich life, demanding he return to his kingly responsibilities and coaxing the lion to sleep tonight with arguably the most blatant 'fuck me now' face to ever appear in a PG-rated film."[64] Kathryn LeBey Davidson of Her Campus believes that Nala's reputation is harmed by her limited screen time and role, ranking her the 19th greatest Disney heroine.[65] More recently, the possibility of an
However, the character has garnered positive reviews as well. Sara Franks-Allen of ScreenCrush wrote that "If being a Disney princess is about being a good role model for little girls, then Nala has a lot in her favor", elaborating, "She's strong enough to take down Simba, ventures out on her own to find help for her pride and calls Simba out for ignoring his responsibilities."
Review of Beyonce's Nala in 2019 remake is generally positive. Brandon Zachary from CBR Exclusive praised Nala's growth in the film is better than the original due to her unexpected rivalry with Shenzi. He enjoys the final fight between Nala and Shenzi at the climax, commenting it "has more weight than any of the other nameless fights that happen in the frenzy" and gives bigger moment for Nala's character.[75] Brian Truitt from USA Today praised Beyoncé's performance as Nala for bringing "all the necessary fire as Nala, a lion willing to do anything to protect her pride." Peter Debrug from Variety commented that Nala is an improvement from her animated version.[76]
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