The Lion King
 

How long was Simba away from the prideland? Months? Years? What's the life expectancy of lions?

it's a cartoon.

Might as well ask how the hell a lion can survive on bugs alone and still grow up to be strong and as big as he was. In reality he would have eaten the pig and used the merkat as a tooth pick.

Five years.

I made that up.

But it could be true, I guess, if anyone cared. The life expectancy in the wild is 9-10 years, and male lions reach sexual maturity in 5 years.

Edited to add: since Simba is the alpha male, he would be expected to live longer. In captivity, lions can live up to 25 years.

Whats with all the animals talking?

You'll have to watch Lion King 1/2 to find out!

Then play the Lion King 1/2 video game to delve deeper into the Lion King mythos!!

rotfl

I'm going to say 40 years in the desert. You know...like Moses. Damn Di$ney plagarizing the bible.