My Lion King Forum

Okay. We all know that at the end of The Lion King, a cub is presented. I beleive thats its the cub in The Lion King: Six New Adventures who was known as Kopa. Others beleive that it was Kiara but how could a cub change from boy to girl? That doesn't make any sence at all.

But if it was Kopa, what happened to him?

Others say (and I kinda beleive this) that Disney didn't think that The Lion King would be as successful so they didn't bother thinking about the cub, then, as they realized that TLK was more popular than they thought, they named to cub "Fluffy" as a joke.

Disney always leaves the important stuff out and it drives me insane!

So, I'm REALLY confused right now: Kopa? Fluffy? or Kiara?

Also, (I beleive) that throughout TLK2, Simba hints of Kopa's disappearence (or murder )
Of course it could just be the murder of Mufasa.

I'm confused.

QueenVitani wrote:Others say (and I kinda beleive this) that Disney didn't think that The Lion King would be as successful so they didn't bother thinking about the cub, then, as they realized that TLK was more popular than they thought, they named to cub "Fluffy" as a joke.

I believe this too. Pochahontas was supposedly going to make the big splash so the idea of even doing a sequel seemed far fetched. With the whole theme of father and son, it only made sense for Simba to have a male cub of his own at the end of the film. Once they realized a sequel could be made, I'm sure they had to bounce ideas around in terms of refreshing the plot. Said father/son theme was already done, but what about an inquisitive daughter?

As with most franchises, there will always be alterations to storylines and retcons of others. Don't even get me started on Star Wars and George Lucas...

Yeah. I just hope that Disney eventually gives us SOME explanation. Maybe if the rumor about the TLK4 movie in 2012 is true, it might offer some explanation on Kopa.

When TLK was made, they had no plans for a sequel. In my opinion, the cub at the end of TLK looks very much like a male, but Disney didn`t plan on continuing the story at that point, so the cub wasn`t really important, it was just there to mark that the Circle of Life continues.

The official story from the movies is that the cub at the end of TLK and Kiara is the same cub. Simba only has one cub: Kiara.
When SP was made, the writers decided to make Simbas cub a girl, because it`s never stated in the movies that he had a son.

(And Fluffy is of course not a real name, just a jokey nickname the animators used for the cub at the end of TLK)

Yes. But how in the world could a cub change from boy to girl and Simba and Nala go from young adults to...adults?

It just doesn't make any sence.

QueenVitani wrote:Yes. But how in the world could a cub change from boy to girl

It was never officialy stated within the movie that the cub was a boy.

QueenVitani wrote: and Simba and Nala go from young adults to...adults?

Well, that could mean, if you think about it, that time has passed. That maybe, the ceremony wasn't the one at the end of TLK, but a different one? They had to make Simba and Nala look older, people would complain that they were too young to be parents? xD

QueenVitani wrote:Yes. But how in the world could a cub change from boy to girl and Simba and Nala go from young adults to...adults?

It just doesn't make any sence.

I know. The cub at the end of TLK and Kiara is supposed to be the same cub..
But before SP was made, Kopa appeared in the book series, and Simba and Nala look way older in SP. This just underlines the theory that their first-born cub was not Kiara, but Kopa.
But the official story from the movies remains the same: Kiara is the only cub of Simba and Nala. As far as the writers of SP is concerned, Kopa never existed, and the cub at the end of TLK is the cub that in SP became Kiara.

Confusing.

Hmm...I'd say Fluffy.

Fluffy is not a separate character, though. It`s just a name the animators gave to the cub at the end of TLK as a joke. The cub at the end of TLK is supposed to be Kiara.

Seriously, I don't understand how is it confusing?

1.) The cub's creators called it Fluffy and didn't give it a gender, so it's not Kopa! They did so in 1995 after Kopa already existed in the books. As in, if they meant it to be Kopa, they would've said so. But they didn't. So it's certainly not Kopa. Couldn't be more simple!

2.) As Fluffy isn't an identity and we are talking about who the cub is, and SP is an official sequel, the answer becomes: the cub in the end of the first film is Kiara. Again, very simple.

3.) Kopa wasn't even created, written or developed by Disney at all, which is likely the reason why the cub in the end never was Kopa and why he wasn't taken into the movie universe even later. The first book in the series, 'A Tale of Two Brothers' wherein Kopa first appears, is an original story created and written by the writer Alex Simmons, who isn't part of The Walt Disney Company. Alex Simmons' personal web site, provides that information.

PS. And I don't see how do Simba and Nala look older in SP than in the end of TLK? And even if they did, the most likely reason for it would be the combination of the fact that the animators were not the same as the first film's and the whole style of the animation had obviously changed.