<P> Hal Hinson of The Washington Post gave the character a negative review . Labeling Timon and Pumbaa the only interesting characters in The Lion King, Hinson questioned Simba's role as the film's hero . Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times agreed, "A movie's heroes may have their names above the title, but often as not it's the sidekicks who get the real work done ." Turan went on to pan Simba, describing him as "irritatingly callow ." Chris Hick of the Deseret News complained about the fact that Simba and the other "characters in The Lion King are not as warm and fuzzy as other Disney animated features," crediting this with making "the film a bit tougher to warm (up) to ." ComingSoon.net strongly panned Simba as a lead character, writing, "typically for Disney animated fare, it's the hero who is the weak link being both blandly designed and blandly performed ." Acknowledging the character's Shakespearean origins, The Baltimore Sun's Stephen Hunter gave Simba a negative review, writing, "Alas...Simba stands in for Hamlet, but he's a lot less complicated; in fact, he's less complicated than Morris the Cat or Sylvester ." Hunter continued, "Simba the Exile is even less interesting than Simba the Prince ." Christopher Null of Contactmusic.com was critical of Weaver's performance as the singing voice of Young Simba, writing, "If there's anything annoying about the film, it's the singing . Young Simba sounds like a young Michael Jackson...You almost don't want him to succeed ." However, Null reacted more positively towards Broderick's performance . </P> <P> Despite the character's mixed reception, several critics have awarded specific praise to Broderick for his portrayal of Simba, including the San Francisco Chronicle's Peter Stack and The Washington Post's Desson Howe . Annette Basile of Filmink described Broderick's performance as "excellent," while Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian called it "sumptuous ." Digital Spy's Mayer Nissim described Broderick's portrayal of Simba as "wonderful ." </P> <P> During the film's opening number, "Circle of Life", Rafiki introduces a newborn Simba to the crowd of animals gathered at the foot of Pride Rock by holding him high above their heads while parents Mufasa and Sarabi look on . Since the film's 1994 release, this scene has grown to iconic status . In November 2002, singer Michael Jackson sparked controversy by holding his son over the protective railing of a hotel balcony in Berlin . The event was witnessed by a large crowd of spectators who were watching from below . Some sources have claimed that Jackson was harmlessly attempting to emulate the scene from The Lion King . </P> <P> When Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge went into labor with hers and Prince William's baby in July 2013, the idea that the couple should reenact the famous scene from The Lion King became quite popular among Twitter users . Radio journalist Darren Simpson reportedly tweeted, "when your baby arrives please re-enact the scene from the Lion King". Shortly after Middleton gave birth to a boy, England native Tommy Peto initiated a petition asking the couple to welcome their baby by having the Archbishop of Canterbury emulate the scene by holding him over the balcony of Buckingham Palace . Ultimately, the idea was deemed "outside the responsibility of the government" and was declined . </P>

Who is the voice of simba's mom in the lion king