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Description
Pretty much inspired by this pic: but I wanted to add two more renditions of Simba that people rarely talk about for some reason, so I crowded them all in and here's the result to better put things in perspective. And I want to discuss each of them how I see each very different versions of this one character.

THE LION KING: The original and (most would agree) best looking out of all of them, he's the one all the rest are trying to replicate to mixed results. Not much else to say about this one, I love his soft design, his warm colors and stylized Bon Jovi mane. He was animated fluently, he was expressive and a memorable character.

SIMBA'S PRIDE: I've gone on and on about this one! I really don't like his muggy colors, his fat...everything, his lifeless and chunky mane etc. etc. I'm tired of talking about it, and I'm sure you're sick of hearing me complain. He wasn't animated TOO badly, and I understand different animators and whatnot, it's just the colors that mostly bother me. But he's certainly better animated than some of the others on this list. And based on the fact that Simba's Pride was animated by a studio that was mostly used for TV cartoons, I understand why he doesn't look too good and am somewhat impressed by the end result considering this. But the fact is, those ugly colors were intentional. And all I can think about is whhhyyyy??! But I won't dwell on it anymore. It's over, I'm done.

THE LION KING 11/2 (3)
OK, people rarely talk about this one. And I understand that a lot of us are trying to forget this movie even happened, it's hated more than any of the TLK sequels/spin offs! But, as controversial as this may be...I'm going to defend some of it. The fact is, if you look at it OBJECTIVELY, this film looks brilliant and is animated better than all of the sequel films and shows. And its Simba is shockingly accurate to the original! His colors are slightly muted at times, and highly contrasted at others, but as far as anatomy and expressions go...I'm damn impressed! Honestly. You can tell they really tried to match the scenes from the first film into the new story seamlessly, and or the most part; it actually works! I won't defend the story, the premise is stupid, and I'm not a huge fan of Timon and Pumbaa in general. But beyond all that, I think I'm going to ease up my hate on it a bit. Its story was never meant to be taken seriously anyway, think of it as a parody of the first film and try and appreciate its aesthetics. To quote the film: "Look BEYOND what you see."

TIMON & PUMBAA SERIES: People rarely talk about this one too. I don't understand why people tear into The Lion Guard the way that they do for being 'poorly animated' and making no sense from a canon standpoint, yet this old series gets a free pass; even though it was more ridiculously inaccurate and animated very poorly. On second thought, I won't pretend like I don't know why people overlook it...bloody nostalgia. A lot of people have a soft spot for this show because it's from our childhood (it was from mine too) and was released not long after Simba's Pride, Lion King in general was still popular and fresh in people's memories. But....LOOK AT IT! That Simba sticks out like a sore thumb! Yes, it had a very low budget. Yes, it was animated by amateur animators. And yes Simba rarely even appeared in it, and when he did; it wasn't for very long. But come on guys...really? This gets a free pass?
If you're wondering where exactly I got reference for this Simba from, it comes from a music video that the show created. Timon (once again) sings 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' to Pumbaa as they search for grubs in the night, as Rafiki paints their adventures on the way. It's not well animated really, but it's still quite cute; I'll admit. And the song is very catchy and well sung. Yes, I have a soft spot for this show too, but I can still look at things objectively and say that's the ugliest Simba on this list. Am I mad about it? No. It was a long time ago, and I know they did the best they could with what they had. But I am annoyed that people overlook this and still glorify the show regardless of its very obvious flaws, and only because it's nostalgic.
If you're interested in seeing the music video clip from the series, here's a YouTube link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPXrdo…

THE LION GUARD: Sigh. Where do I start? No, I DON'T hate his design entirely. But I understand why some people do, he IS a bit wonky and his anatomy is really off at times. But I'm not angry about it, it's a different medium of animation. It's really hard to properly animate complex movements in Flash animation, which is why characters from Flash animated shows are simplified and don't contain complex shapes. MLP is a good example of this. Simba is still bright and colorful, the first time he's been accurately colored in a long time. And yes, those eyes and eyebrows are huge and a little distracting! But I like to think of Lion Guard's animation as a different STYLE, that's not really trying to accurately mimic the original film (or Simba's Pride), it's trying to have its own identity yet trying to faithful to the franchise. And I would also love to point out the backgrounds in this series, another "look beyond what you see" deal here. Take a minute and appreciate the gorgeous hand painted backgrounds from obviously very talented artists who worked hard to capture the majestic setting of The Lion King.
It's different, and it's here to stay for a while. Best get used to it, guys!

So in (objective) order from best looking to worst, here's my opinion:
1. Original (duh!)
2. TLK 11/2
3. Simba's Pride
4. Lion Guard
5. Timon and Pumbaa cartoon

----------------------------------------------------

The Lion King (c) Disney

Description
Pretty much inspired by this pic: but I wanted to add two more renditions of Simba that people rarely talk about for some reason, so I crowded them all in and here's the result to better put things in perspective. And I want to discuss each of them how I see each very different versions of this one character.

THE LION KING: The original and (most would agree) best looking out of all of them, he's the one all the rest are trying to replicate to mixed results. Not much else to say about this one, I love his soft design, his warm colors and stylized Bon Jovi mane. He was animated fluently, he was expressive and a memorable character.

SIMBA'S PRIDE: I've gone on and on about this one! I really don't like his muggy colors, his fat...everything, his lifeless and chunky mane etc. etc. I'm tired of talking about it, and I'm sure you're sick of hearing me complain. He wasn't animated TOO badly, and I understand different animators and whatnot, it's just the colors that mostly bother me. But he's certainly better animated than some of the others on this list. And based on the fact that Simba's Pride was animated by a studio that was mostly used for TV cartoons, I understand why he doesn't look too good and am somewhat impressed by the end result considering this. But the fact is, those ugly colors were intentional. And all I can think about is whhhyyyy??! But I won't dwell on it anymore. It's over, I'm done.

THE LION KING 11/2 (3)
OK, people rarely talk about this one. And I understand that a lot of us are trying to forget this movie even happened, it's hated more than any of the TLK sequels/spin offs! But, as controversial as this may be...I'm going to defend some of it. The fact is, if you look at it OBJECTIVELY, this film looks brilliant and is animated better than all of the sequel films and shows. And its Simba is shockingly accurate to the original! His colors are slightly muted at times, and highly contrasted at others, but as far as anatomy and expressions go...I'm damn impressed! Honestly. You can tell they really tried to match the scenes from the first film into the new story seamlessly, and or the most part; it actually works! I won't defend the story, the premise is stupid, and I'm not a huge fan of Timon and Pumbaa in general. But beyond all that, I think I'm going to ease up my hate on it a bit. Its story was never meant to be taken seriously anyway, think of it as a parody of the first film and try and appreciate its aesthetics. To quote the film: "Look BEYOND what you see."

TIMON & PUMBAA SERIES: People rarely talk about this one too. I don't understand why people tear into The Lion Guard the way that they do for being 'poorly animated' and making no sense from a canon standpoint, yet this old series gets a free pass; even though it was more ridiculously inaccurate and animated very poorly. On second thought, I won't pretend like I don't know why people overlook it...bloody nostalgia. A lot of people have a soft spot for this show because it's from our childhood (it was from mine too) and was released not long after Simba's Pride, Lion King in general was still popular and fresh in people's memories. But....LOOK AT IT! That Simba sticks out like a sore thumb! Yes, it had a very low budget. Yes, it was animated by amateur animators. And yes Simba rarely even appeared in it, and when he did; it wasn't for very long. But come on guys...really? This gets a free pass?
If you're wondering where exactly I got reference for this Simba from, it comes from a music video that the show created. Timon (once again) sings 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' to Pumbaa as they search for grubs in the night, as Rafiki paints their adventures on the way. It's not well animated really, but it's still quite cute; I'll admit. And the song is very catchy and well sung. Yes, I have a soft spot for this show too, but I can still look at things objectively and say that's the ugliest Simba on this list. Am I mad about it? No. It was a long time ago, and I know they did the best they could with what they had. But I am annoyed that people overlook this and still glorify the show regardless of its very obvious flaws, and only because it's nostalgic.
If you're interested in seeing the music video clip from the series, here's a YouTube link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPXrdo…

THE LION GUARD: Sigh. Where do I start? No, I DON'T hate his design entirely. But I understand why some people do, he IS a bit wonky and his anatomy is really off at times. But I'm not angry about it, it's a different medium of animation. It's really hard to properly animate complex movements in Flash animation, which is why characters from Flash animated shows are simplified and don't contain complex shapes. MLP is a good example of this. Simba is still bright and colorful, the first time he's been accurately colored in a long time. And yes, those eyes and eyebrows are huge and a little distracting! But I like to think of Lion Guard's animation as a different STYLE, that's not really trying to accurately mimic the original film (or Simba's Pride), it's trying to have its own identity yet trying to faithful to the franchise. And I would also love to point out the backgrounds in this series, another "look beyond what you see" deal here. Take a minute and appreciate the gorgeous hand painted backgrounds from obviously very talented artists who worked hard to capture the majestic setting of The Lion King.
It's different, and it's here to stay for a while. Best get used to it, guys!

So in (objective) order from best looking to worst, here's my opinion:
1. Original (duh!)
2. TLK 11/2
3. Simba's Pride
4. Lion Guard
5. Timon and Pumbaa cartoon

----------------------------------------------------

The Lion King (c) Disney