Sarabi is the leader of the hunting party throughout Mufasa and Scar's reign, and the queen alongside Mufasa until Scar's tyrannical takeover, as well as Simba's mother in The Lion King.
Sarabi is a heavily built, dark beige lioness who stands nose height to Scar, which makes her one of the larger queens to rule.
Her nose is brown and her chin is prominent, but the rest of her features are graceful and feminine, especially her orange eyes and ears, which are rimmed with brown, which is also something she passes onto her son, Simba. Her paws are also colored.
Personality
She is shown to be cool, calm, and collected in most situations, and is also shown as a proud and loving mother. Her personality is firm, and she refuses to bend to anyone, not even Scar.
She is also shown to be outspoken when she tells Scar that he isn't half the king Mufasa was and understandably vengeful as she is the second right behind Nala to lunge forward upon hearing that her mate Mufasa was killed by Scar.
Information
The Lion King
Sarabi: "Your son's awake." Mufasa: "Before sunrise, he's your son."
—Sarabi and Mufasa
Sarabi is first seen outside the den of Pride Rock with baby Simba where she holds him in her forepaws. Mufasa affectionately nuzzles her, and she licks the cub's head, revealing the prince to Rafiki. He anoints the cub, carrying him off as the King and Queen look lovingly at each other, watching their son be presented to the land.Sarabi, Mufasa, and infant Simba
She is later seen sleeping beside Mufasa as Simba tries to wake his father, telling him their son is awake. Mufasa tries to stay asleep as long as possible, but eventually they both relent. Sarabi walks by Mufasa, nudging Simba ahead towards his father when the cub stops to nuzzle his mother as the both ascend to the summit.
After Simba is told about the Elephant Graveyard from Scar and comes to greet Nala, Sarabi, previously snoozing on a small rock, snatches him up and gives him a bath, amused at his attempts to get away. She inquires her son about the "cool place" he's so eager to show Nala, and consents to the two cubs going to "the waterhole". Knowing her son's mischievous nature however, she is sure to send Zazu along with them.
After the stampede, Sarabi is devastated after Mufasa's death, and is seen being comforted by Zazu when the news is broken.
Years later, she is summoned by King Scar. The former queen strides fearlessly past the hyenas who growl and nip at her heels.
Scar angrily questions her about why the hunting party refuses to do their job, and she replies that there's no prey left due to the hyenas, but Scar passes their failure off as not looking hard enough.
Sarabi also adds that there's nothing left, and that they have to leave Pride Rock in order to survive, in which Scar replies, "We're not going anywhere." Sarabi points out he is sentencing them to death and Scar replies, "Then so be it," saying that he is the king and can do whatever he wants. Sarabi angrily replies, "If you were half the king Mufasa was you would--" but she is cut short by Scar when he strikes her with his paw, causing the lioness to fall onto her side. Seeing this, Simba (who was watching closely from a high rock) jumps down to defend his mother. She mistakes him for Mufasa at first, but soon realizes it's her long-lost son, though she asks how it is possible. Simba replies to his mother that it doesn't matter because he has returned home.
When the lionesses begin rising up against Scar and the hyenas, two lionesses are shown helping Sarabi up. When Scar pressures Simba into admitting it is his fault his father is dead, Sarabi says in a quiet voice "It's not true, tell me it's not true." Soon after that, Scar admits that he killed Mufasa, and she and Nala are the first lionesses to lunge forward.
Finally, after Scar and the hyenas are defeated, she nuzzles her victorious son, and proudly watches him take the Pride Lands back, accepting him as their new king.
In the Broadway musical based on the original film, Sarabi is portrayed by a human actress in an African-style garment with a lion-face headpiece mask wore on the actress's head. Sarabi was originally portrayed in the Broadway production by Gina Breedlove, and by Dawn Michael in the original London West Coast cast.
Sarabi's role is considerably the same, though she takes part in the musical number, "The Lioness Hunt". She is also seen mourning Mufasa (and Simba) when Scar reports their deaths to the pride. Lastly, she is called by her brother-in-law to question why the hunting party has stopped hunting. Sarabi tells him that there is no food or water, the herds has move on, and that they need to leave Pride Rock to survive. Scar refuses and when Sarabi snaps at him about not being half the king Mufasa was, Scar strikes his sister-in-law saying that he was ten times the king Mufasa. Simba, hearing this, comes from hiding, and comforts his mother.
Sarabi appears in The Lion King: Six New Adventures. She and Mufasa are spending quality time together in the waterhole, without the bothersome company of Zazu, Mufasa having something important to say to his queen.
When the hornbill leaves, a water cobra slides in and creeps up on them. Zazu returns just in time to alert them.
A young adult Sarabi is trapped in a large hole (that seems to be part of the gorge) and found by Zazu. She is later rescued by Mufasa after Zazu reports her condition, and leads the prince to his future Queen.
Sarabi gives Zazu a thanking nuzzle on his bill for saving her life. She and Mufasa walk side by side, while Zazu flies overhead.
Sarabi doesn't specifically appear in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, since her voice actress died, but:
Another Disney website states she was banished alongside Scar's followers[2] although this is unlikely as she is the King's mother and was not a follower of Scar.
She could possibly be the lioness who tells Kiara, "My, how you've grown!" They share similar eye color and have similar pelt fur though it is more widely believed that the lioness was Sarafina. However, while she's certainly built like her, she lacks ear rims, and her paws are uncolored whereas Sarabi's are colored.
During early production, Sarabi and the other lionesses had a single stripe on their foreheads, similar to that of Zira's. In one Lion King storybook, Sarabi is even pictured with one.[3]
After Simba's encounter with the hyenas, Sarabi was to sing a song called "The Lion in the Moon" to calm her upset son. The song talked to the Spiritual Lion, perhaps The Great Spirit, that watched over them all.
Sarabi appears oddly colored (with Sarafina's colors) on the 10th cover of one of the "The Lion King: A Nature Fun and Learn" magazine series.[4]
In The Lion King: Bloopers and Outtakes, Sarabi is missing her ear rims.
The character of Sarabi is inspired by Queen Gertrude in William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and Eliza in Osamu Tezuka's manga/anime, "Kimba the White Lion."
Quotes
Scar: "Well, Simba, now's your chance to tell them! Tell them who is responsible for Mufasa's death!" Simba: "I am." Sarabi: "It's not true. Tell me it's not true." Simba: "It's true"
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