<P> According to Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, they knew that Jones' voice was powerful and similar to the roar of a lion . Jones is scheduled to reprise his role in the upcoming live - action adaptation of the film directed by Jon Favreau . </P> <P> Sarabi (voiced by Madge Sinclair) is Mufasa's mate, Simba's mother and Kiara and Kion's paternal grandmother . Her name means "mirage" in Swahili . In The Lion King, she serves as the Queen of Pride Rock . Years after Scar usurps the throne, Sarabi helps Simba fight against Scar and his hyenas . When Simba defeats Scar, Nala becomes Queen and Sarabi becomes the Queen Dowager . </P> <P> Zazu (voiced by Rowan Atkinson in The Lion King, Edward Hibbert in Timon & Pumbaa, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, and The Lion King 11⁄2, and Jeff Bennett in The Lion Guard) is a red - billed hornbill and majordomo to Mufasa and later Simba . After Mufasa's death, Zazu becomes a prisoner of Scar before Pumbaa breaks the bone cage releasing him when Simba returns to the Pride Lands . He eventually acts as a scout and advises Simba on royal protocol . In the musical, Zazu is a puppet controlled by an actor dressed in blue striped clothes and a bowler hat, much like a stereotypical butler . Zazu's blue feathers have been replaced with white and the puppet is partially constructed from parachute silk with a slinky contained in the neck for ease in movement . </P> <P> Rafiki (voiced by Robert Guillaume in the films and Timon & Pumbaa and Khary Payton in The Lion Guard), whose name means "friend" in Swahili, is a mandrill with an unnaturally long tail . He lives in a baobab tree in the Pride Lands and performs shamanistic services for the lions of Pride Rock . </P>

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