[quote="zerodix"]to be honest, I was 12 when the movie came out, and I actually thought Vitani was a dude
I realized I was wrong when she grew up and became a, well, female lioness
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Really? I never thought so, and my 7 year old cousin just watched the movie last week and referred to her as a girl before she grew up. I have heard a few people say they initially thought she was a guy, though, so I guess it's more common than I'd think.
[quote]I still wonder why Vitani was put in the movie.. I really like her as a character, but I never found out what her role was in the story..[/quote]
She has a role, it's just not a very big one. She is the one who reports to Zira. You could say "why can't Nuka do what she did?" Well, because of his personality. He wouldn't necessarily provide trustworthy information to Zira. The two of them sort of served the same purpose as Scar's hyenas, with Nuka being more like Banzai and/or Ed, and Vitani being the brains of the outfit, like Shenzi. She also had the purpose of being the one to turn against Zira first in the final battle. She was Zira's own child, and so it made more of an impact when Zira said "if you will not fight then you will die as well." It wouldn't have been as powerful if the lioness who had rebelled was not her flesh and blood. For the plot, it was necessary for Nuka to have died and Kovu to have betrayed Zira by this point. Another lion needed to exist for this role, ergo, Vitani was needed.
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As to the topic itself, I don't think it is just Vitani's appearance that makes some people assume she has tomboyish qualities. I always saw her as very akin to myself and rather tomboyish, and part of the reason was certainly her demeanor, her attitude, and her appearance. She doesn't carry herself the way the other lionesses do, she doesn't talk the way they do, she doesn't act the way they do. I do agree that her tomboyishness dissipates as she grows into an adolescent, and that one should not be judged entirely by their looks or character design. At the same time, in animated shows, often the design of a character can be revealing about their personality, as it is done this way on purpose. It's complicated.
As a general rule, I agree that she seems a bit of a tomboy at parts, and that she grows out of it a bit by adulthood, and that's based on, as I said, her demeanor and attitude as well as her appearance.
I never thought about this but I really like your point there! I've always thought that Kiara would be better in combat rather than hunting, and I never noticed the whole aspect of Kovu being considered more 'feminine' because of his skill in hunting, but it definitely makes sense!
