Simba's design theory

[KiarasBiggestFan]

In the first movie as an adult he's really skinny. I assume that he was so thin from only eating bugs.

However, In Simba's Pride he looks more ... fuller.... perhaps because he's eating zebras and antelope again.

[SimbasMate]

I thought that he was always just a healthy adult lion in the first movie. As for the second, he does appear to be a bit more chubby-ish. But then again, maybe some years did pass, so he was meant to look like he aged a bit.

[Lauren]

I thought that he was always just a healthy adult lion in the first movie. As for the second, he does appear to be a bit more chubby-ish. But then again, maybe some years did pass, so he was meant to look like he aged a bit.

That is true. Plus, as a father and king, he has more of Mufasa's figure like in the first movie, representing a strong and dignified ruler of authority.

[MooLion]

Yeah, as said above, and of course if he had just kept eating bugs while with T & P then naturally back on mainly meat would broaden him.

[juhouh]

He aged and his digestion slowed down

Well obviously they wanted him to look like a real king and not a teen like in the first movie. None of SP's characters look bad. When you'll learn to like them, they're all cool

Spoiler: show

[The Spirit of Life]

Simba really filled out in SP, both in terms of overall body bulk and the fullness of his mane. They had to make him project an image of power, impressiveness and regality. As others have mentioned, he has aged since the end of TLK, and with his metabolism slowing down, he was bound to get bigger. He's looking a lot more like his father in SP than the young adult lion he was when he first assumed the throne.

[DGFone]

I think it comes down to a simple fact that the artists on the SP team didn't have the experience of drawing lions as much as the original team, nor the time and money to really get the hang of it. They had to get to a "good enough" state on a TV movie budget and go with that compared to the TLK team, which had:

A lot more money and time to get practice in.

Actual lions in the studio to look at and draw. This is a much better tool compared to still photos or even footage taken of lions.

The lack of a previous movie to copy the art style of.

Not only did the SP team have less resources, they also needed to make sure that SP looked acceptable to the TLK crowd. At the same time, I think they wanted to make both Simba and Nala look older, hence the fuller mane and general bulkiness of the characters.

[zinxscar]

Something I see a lot is that Simba was a young adult in the first movie, and a full grown adult in the second. They both grew up, got their final touch-ups of growth and age, and are probably in their prime.

[EdtheHyena]

I guess that may be one upside to the hyenas being MIA in this movie. The artists might have screwed them up (although they did a fantastic job with them in LK 1 1/2)