My Lion King Forum

In TLK, when Nala tells Simba everyone will starve, and he says "it doesn't matter, Hakuna Matata". Does it seems like he wants them to die? Or does he just not care and assumes that they are probably on death row anyway?
I think he just didn't want to face Scar, what are your opinions?

I think he was more afraid to face them than anything. After all, he thought it was his fault that Mufasa was dead. He was just justifying his decision through Hakuna Matata.

He just didn't want to face the responsibility...or his past.

Well, I don't think Simba was actually that heartless. All the problems of that stampede were brought up again when Nala showed up, whether she realized it or not. And the impact was hardly lessened when the subject of the pride and his mother came up as well. He was scared to face them, when he thought he'd killed his own father. Hakuna Matata was, as others have said, his justification. And he was also trying to convince himself of it, which he probably still didn't believe.

[quote="Moka"]I think he was more afraid to face them than anything. After all, he thought it was his fault that Mufasa was dead. He was just justifying his decision through Hakuna Matata.[/quote]

Definitely, he just wanted to avoid them in fear that they'd kill him!

He was just kind of hoping those problems would go away, like they had in the past thanks to Hakuna Matata. But everyone knows ignoring your problems won't make them disappear. Like everyone else said, he was just so terrified of the responsibility and fear of going back that he couldn't imagine facing Scar and his pride again after so long. It's not that he didn't care; he was just too scared.
In a way Simba's reluctance to help his people really reminds me of Aang from Avatar.. if anyone watches that show they'll know exactly what I mean.

I don`t think Simba wanted his Pride to die, he was just scared of facing his past and confronting everything he`d been running from. (as he mentions in the next scene) "I can`t go back, you can`t change the past.."

Like the others said, Simba fully believes Mufasas death was his fault, and so all the fear, guilt and shame around his fathers death stops him from confonting his past. Going back to the Pride Lands would mean facing the problems he`d been running from, and that scares Simba more than anything.

Simba had been living the motto of "Hakuna Matata" for so long, it had become his way of solving (or choosing NOT to solve) things. Actually dealing with an issue and confronting a challenge would go against his lifestyle of no worries and no responsibilities.

Also, Scar was the one who put the idea of Simba killing Mufasa into Simbas head, and told him to run away and never return. Going back AND facing Scar and the rest of his pride? Simba couldn`t do it. Not before Nala, Rafiki and Mufasas Ghost had all put some sense into him.

So I think Simbas seemingly careless attitude towards the Pride`s problems originated from fear of his own past, and he just used Hakuna Matata to hide it. It`s easier to not care than to deal with stuff.

I think that he was more like that he didn't want to face the pride when they knew that he was "responsible" for Mufasa's death,

He most likely didn't want to go back to them. Not with him thinking that he murdered Mufasa. He was probably too ashamed. Of course, he didn't want them to die, he just didn't want to go back to his past.

*agrees with what everyone else said*