In the course of the entire The Lion King movie, Simba grows into an adult as the audience watches. You experience his journey and see how far he has come. He claims his talents early on but does not prove them till the end.
Overcoming the evil of his uncle, Simba proves that he is as courageous as he once thought he was. The oppression forced on him by Scar, the death of his father and the courage it took to come back to his pack, takes guts.
If you think about it, Simba has saved someone in every movie of The Lion King trilogy.
He even has a kick-ass theme song.
…and for some fun…
The Disney Den 