Disney love stories are often tarnished by the speed with which the fair maiden and hunky male lead fall in love. With The Lion King, Simbas and Nalas childhood friendship makes their happy ending feel much more natural and lessquestionable. They already cared. Best of all is that neither Simbas nor Nalas arcs are driven by the romance. They fall in love very quickly, but their eyes stay on the prize. Simba does not heroically retake his place in the pride for the sake of his love for Nala, and Nala does not start swooning upon her reunion with Simba. Neither spends the epic final battle worrying about the other. From the start to the conclusion, its surprisingly egalitarian for a romance in which one of the parties happens to be a king. Besides, Simba used her flip move to send Scar careening down a cliff. If thats not the sign of a healthy relationship, I dont know what is. Also, they're super cute and their love song won an Oscar.