Who is the best mother?

[PrincessKiara]

I think this belongs in the TLK section, though it includes characters from both films.

So of the lionesses: Sarabi, Sarafina, Nala, Kiara, Vitani and Zira, who is (or would be) in your opinion, the best mother?
We all know Kiara and Vitani do not have cubs in the films, but try to imagine them as a parent...

You can change your vote and pick two options.

I`ll post my personal opinion later.

[Elton John]

always have been very fond of sarabi, she always had a very gentle and caring, and loving look and demeanor towards simba

I also loved how she stood up to scar and his BS

[TheLionPrince]

Because The Lion King placed more focus on the father-son relationship, scenes between Simba and Sarabi are few with exceptions to the "Dad, wake up" scene followed by the little bump she gives to Simba to catch up Mufasa, the bathing scene, the scene where Simba comforts his mother who was slapped across the floor by Scar, and even the brief moment where Simba nods heads with Sarabi in the rain before ascending Pride Rock should not be taken for granted as a moment to congratulate her victorious son. I also liked the little exchange she had with Mufasa in the first half of the movie:

[quote]Sarabi: "Your son's awake."
Mufasa: "Before sunrise, he's your son."[/quote]

She seems very laid-back, though she is not too lazy of a parent to see through Simba's lies and give him a chaperone. I also think she may have felt some relief following the hyena encounter in the Elephant Graveyard knowing she appointed Zazu as a chaperone to watch over her son. Even after Mufasa died, she carries herself with grace and dignity, isn't afraid to defend herself against Scar, and is arguably the most sympathetic character in the entire movie. Even when her character has little to do in the story, there is some depth you can digest from her character.

There is not too much you can say about Sarafina as a mother other than she makes sure her daughter is properly clean.

Nala, as a mother, has even shorter scenes with Kiara than Sarabi does with Simba. Other than "Yes, mom" reply, they don't exchange much dialogue together. For most of the movie, when Nala says something to Kiara, Kiara redirects her attention back to Simba. It isn't too much of a stretch that Nala taught her daughter how to hunt, though I theorize her effectiveness in hunting was lessened thanks to Simba's overprotectiveness. At the end, she is surely concerned that her daughter is in danger and somewhat helps Simba by warning him about the forthcoming river and tells Kiara to hang on. Other than that, she is rather passive about Kiara's growing relationship with Kovu even though she clearly hates Zira, but I assume she somewhat trusts Kovu following his rescue of her daughter from the wildfire outbreak. There isn't too much to explore about Nala's actions as a mother since the film is more focused on the father-daughter relationship and the forbidden love story.

Zira was a terrible mother, and I don't believe I have to evaluate any further.

Kiara and Vitani haven't had their cubs yet, and I'm too lazy to create a fan fiction story about it, though a story about Vitani wanting to be a better mother than Zira was to her is a great concept to explore.

My vote goes to Sarabi.

[Titanic-Wyvern]

Out of all the mothers in canon for TLK, my vote goes for Sarabi. Zira is no doubt a crappy mom, Nala is okay though rather distant as it seems to me during TLK 2, we don't get much for Sarafina in the only moments she has in the main movie, and I'm not sure how Vitani and Kiara would be as moms. Vitani, I think, would probably try to be a better mother than Zira was. Kiara, I'm not sure exactly. She'd probably be a good mom but I see her having some hit and misses but what parent doesn't?

Out of all of them (plus Vitani and Kiara, I guess), Sarabi is the best mom, at least in my book.

[SimbasGuard]

I voted for Nala and Sarafina. I can only base this on how their daughters turned out. Kiara always does what she believes is right, regardless of what anyone else says. So obviously good job Nala.
Nala is viewed by many to be the perfect lioness. So obviously good job Sarafina.

[PrincessKiara]

^ Well said, SimbasGuard!

My personal opinion:

My vote on the poll went to Sarabi and Nala.

My top pick is Sarabi because she seems like (to me) the most wise parent. I feel like she and Mufasa are pretty much perfect characters, and as a mother I feel Sarabi has the same style/approach to parenting as her mate: She too can be both stern and playful depending on the situation. She`s clearly a loving mother, but she won`t accept any nonsense! I think she, similarly to Mufasa, demands respect and is not afraid to put her cub (or anyone else) in their place with verbal correction.

I also voted for Nala. In SP, the focus is on Simbas relationship with his daughter, and so Nala gets pushed into the background, barely interacting with Kiara. When she does, she`s shown to be a very loving and trusting mother. I think Nala has still retained her fierce side from her youth, and would no doubt tell Kiara off like she did with Simba if she felt it was needed. Otherwise it seemed as if Nala was perfectly fine with leaving the lecturing to her mate (after they had rescued Kiara from the Outlands). She seemed satisfied that Kiara was safe and I didn`t get the impression Nala would adress it with her daughter, which is a little strange... In comparison, I imagine Sarabi had a word or two for cub Simba after he had lied to her about going to the waterhole! All in all, I think Nala is a relaxed mother with plenty of wisdom and life experience to pass on to her daughter.

Sarafina - She`s not exactly a very central character in the TLK universe, but I want to dedicate a part of my post to her in any case. I`ve read snippets of dialogue from an early draft of the film (the bathing scene) where Sarafina is telling Nala to stay clean for once, and be home before sunset! I think Sarafina is a gentle, protective and perhaps a bit fussy mother. Nala obviously turned out amazing, so she must have done her job right!

Kiara - We haven`t had a chance to see Kiara as a mother, but I think it`s fun to imagine her as a parent anyway... With her cubhood being so sheltered, I think Kiara would be more laid back than Simba was, and take a similar approach to parenting as her own mother, Nala, did. I think Kiara would trust her cubs and let them explore the Pridelands, though making sure they stayed within the borders. I imagine she`d be quite playful, definitly loving... I struggle to see her as a stern mother, I think it would be Kovu mostly handling the discipline. I picture Kiara being quite soft-hearted and would likely spoil her cubs.

Vitani - let`s just say she better do a better job than Zira did! And I`m sure she will. We don`t know much about Vitani, aside from her being loyal and strong... I find it hard to think about how she`d be as a mother. I do think she`d give her cubs more love than she recieved growing up, but she`d certainly not coddle them.

Zira - not much to say about her, she really wasn`t mother material.

[Shadowfax]

My vote goes to Sarabi as she is pretty much the only mother we see interacting with her cub on a regular basis. I think she copes with motherhood well and you can tell she really loves Simba. I would have voted Nala too, but SImba seems to be the main parent in Simba's Pride and Nala sadly hardly gets a look in.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Who is the best mother? Sarabi. There is so much love there for Simba it's kind of hard not to vote for her.
Who would be the best mother? Vitani, because:
[quote="TheLionPrince"]Vitani wanting to be a better mother than Zira was to her is a great concept to explore.[/quote]

[Marizzle]

My votes go to Sarabi and Nala.

Similar to her mate, Sarabi seems to be the wiser Mother and is perfectly mix between "stern" and "playful". She is a loving mother, but, just like PrincessKiara said, "she won't accept any nonsense". This is clear on the moment she allows Simba and Nala to go to "the waterhole", as her condition was taking Zazu with them, meaning she knew something was up and worried about her son's safety.

Next is Nala. Well, Nala, in SP's, is somewhat "furniture". She usually stays in the background and rarely interacts with Kiara. The times she does, though, she seems and sounds sweet and caring and the look in her eyes just show how much she loves Kiara. Personally, I don't think the lack of interaction is completely Nala's fault, since, most of time she spoke to Kiara, the last would usually turn to her father. She obviously wasn't ignoring her mother, but she seemed to rely more on Simba, as if his decisions were the most important.

[PrincessKiara]

[quote="Marizzle"]Personally, I don't think the lack of interaction is completely Nala's fault, since, most of time she spoke to Kiara, the last would usually turn to her father. She obviously wasn't ignoring her mother, but she seemed to rely more on Simba, as if his decisions were the most important.[/quote]

The lack of interaction between Nala and Kiara has always bothered me, but it makes perfect sense that the writers wanted to focus on the father-daughter relationship between Simba and Kiara. The fact that Kiara doesn`t respond to Nala when they hug before Kiara leaves on her first hunt (when Nala says "you`ll do just fine,") has particularly irked me, why couldn`t they just make Kiara say "thanks,mom" or whatever before her attention turned to Simba? I know Kiara got distracted when she saw how worried Simba was looking, but still..
OK, I`m not gonna rant about this here.. from the little interaction we do get between Nala and Kiara in SP, I personally think that they have a good, loving relationship, but that Kiara is closer to her father.