How old was Simba when Disney fans were watching him grow throughout the story of The Lion King? As one of the timeless Disney animated classics, The Lion King remains an unforgettable favorite for those of certain generation, while a worldwide musical production and recent big-budget movie remake have kept the animal kingdom’s interpretation of Hamlet very much alive. With gorgeous animation, fully-realized characters and a soundtrack courtesy of Elton John, The Lion King will no doubt continue to enrapture audiences long into the future.
At the center of The Lion King is Simba. In the opening scene, the young, newborn prince is held aloft on Pride Rock by Rafiki to mark the beginning of a new era and the continuation of the circle of life. The Lion King then jumps forward to Simba as a cub, where he’s forced to watch his villainous uncle Scar steal the throne, casting Mufasa to his death in one of cinema’s most iconic scenes. As Simba leaves his home and ventures out into the wild, he befriends Timon and Pumbaa. Over the course of singing “Hakuna Matata,” Simba grows into a fine young adult lion and finally confronts Scar, taking his rightful place on the throne of the Pride Lands. The Lion King ends with Simba welcoming a child of his own into the world.
During “The Circle of Life,” Simba has only just been born. Lions don’t actually open their eyes for between 7-14 days after birth, meaning Simba would have to be at least a week old when Rafiki holds him up like the World Cup. After the first time jump occurs and takes Simba into childhood, the youthful cub is most likely around 3 months old. This assumption is largely based on Simba’s size relative to his mother – much older and there wouldn’t be such a different in their heights. Nevertheless, there is some leeway, which could put Simba anywhere up to 6 months. In human terms, young Simba is around 8-10 years old.
Once Simba leaves and joins up with Timon and Pumbaa, he emerges as a young adult lion, it appears that 3 years of eating grubs and singing catchy tunes have passed. Although Simba is an adult, his appearance still shows signs of youth in the face and mane, which would imply he’s not quite fully grown. This would put Simba between 3.5 and 5 years old, given that he had already been alive for a few months before he left. In the animal kingdom, this is the point at which a young lion might challenge for leadership of the pride, which fits with Simba coming to reclaim the crown from Scar. Compared to a human life cycle, adult Simba is the equivalent of a young man in his late teens/early 20s.
In The Lion King‘s closing number, Simba’s own child is presented. A lion pregnancy only lasts 3-4 months, so depending on how quickly he and Nala got down to it, Simba has aged by that much at least since defeating Scar. Consequently, it would be reasonable to assume Simba is approximately 4 years old by the end of The Lion King, but could be a little older. Lions typically live between 10 and 15 years, but some can survive for up to 30 years, meaning the Pride Lands would’ve had many years of peace under Simba’s rule.