My Lion King Forum

OK, I`ve never really noticed this until a couple of days ago.. I was doing some work on my website, writing about the other characters in SP and Kiaras relationship with them.
Then I realized something.

Kiara hardly interacts with other characters besides Simba, Kovu and Timon/Pumbaa.

Zira - They meet face to face twice. At the end of the movie, they fight, and Kiara offers to help Zira.

Nuka - He and Kiara never even meet!

Vitani - They meet as adults, at the very end, but they don`t really speak to each other.

Zazu - One moment of direct interaction, when Simba returns after the ambush: "Zazu, get help!" (By direct interaction, I mean that Kiara asks a question to another character, or responds to something they tell her)

Nala - Several times in the movie, Nala says something to Kiara (You`ll be fine," "Kiara, you`re allright!) but Kiara doesn`t respond. The only time Kiara actually says something to Nala is the very beginning of the movie, when Nala tells Kiara to listen to her father. ("Mind your father, Kiara." "Yes, Mom.") It`s almost as if they threw that line in there to confirm that Simba and Nala were Kiaras parents.

Rafiki - He is of course there at Kiaras presentation, and later in the movie he does his cheesy Upendi stunt.. At one point in the song, he and Kiara talk to each other.

I just thought this was strange, although I have never really noticed it before. What I find particularly strange is the lack of interaction between Nala and Kiara.. How Kiara fails to respond to her mother when she talks to her, and how their relationship is generally very underdeveloped in the movie.


I just wanted to throw this out there, I`m sure more observant people have noticed this.

Seeing how aside from Kovu, all the other Outlanders aren't even allowed to step paw into the Pride Lands, it would be quite difficult to have Kiara interact with any of them, nor would it really add much to the plot of the film.

As for Kiara's interaction, or lack there of, with Zazu and Rafiki, I guess that's just due to how minor of characters they both were. Again, Disney could have added in a little more interaction with the both of them, but it wouldn't have progressed the story along any further. Unlike the first film, it seems like Zazu was demoted from cub-sitting duties now that Timon & Pumbaa were around, so his only job seemed to be to give his reports to Simba, and nothing more. As for Rafiki, well...he's there. lol.

Now then, when it comes to Nala and Kiara interacting, the only thing I can think of, is that in order to down-play Nala's character, much like I felt Disney was trying to do in this film so that the main focus would be upon Kiara, they had to lessen Nala's screen time, as well as her role throughout the film. She was basically just portrayed as being the motherly type, always being there to support Kiara without actually stepping in the way. Again, as far as the overall plot of TLK2SP goes, Nala and Kiara's relationship takes a back seat to that of Kiara and Simba's, so I think that's why there wasn't a whole lot of interaction with Nala when it came to Kiara, and in every scene where Kiara was supposed to respond to something her mother had stated, she was always pre-occupied with a previous event that focused her attention back to her father or Kovu. Just my view of things though. :)

I would completely agree with you; she has no meaningful relationships within the movie aside from Kovu and Simba, except perhaps Timon and Pumbaa. It's just one of the many flaws in the movie.

One thing that's kind of bugged me regarding Kiara's "interactions" is the way she reacts to Timon and Pumbaa when they first meet in the film (and vice versa) -- they know her and she knows them (she calls Timon by name, so it follows that she should know who Pumbaa is)...why would she scream when she turned and saw them? I just can't make sense of that reaction. What was going through her mind at that moment? ("AAAAH, those two animals that I've seen nearly every day at Pride Rock are now in a different place where I didn't expect them to be and I'm scared!!")

Then there's that "I'm not just a princess!" line that's sort of alluded to later in "We are One" ("Can I still just be me?") but never really gets resolved...yeah, I think I'll stop before I start getting too negative.

You've never been snuck up upon by someone you know while you're mind is elsewhere? It doesn't seem that odd to me that a young girl would react like that if she was suddenly startled by anyone, even if she did know them. Sure, it was a little bit dramatized, but so was the music that went along with the accompanying scene.

I rarely scream like a banshee when it happens.

Perhaps if you were like 7 years old then, and weren't expecting to be stalked by two individuals concealed in the grass behind you?

[quote="Akril"]One thing that's kind of bugged me regarding Kiara's "interactions" is the way she reacts to Timon and Pumbaa when they first meet in the film (and vice versa) -- they know her and she knows them (she calls Timon by name, so it follows that she should know who Pumbaa is)...why would she scream when she turned and saw them? I just can't make sense of that reaction. What was going through her mind at that moment? ("AAAAH, those two animals that I've seen nearly every day at Pride Rock are now in a different place where I didn't expect them to be and I'm scared!!")

Then there's that "I'm not just a princess!" line that's sort of alluded to later in "We are One" ("Can I still just be me?") but never really gets resolved...yeah, I think I'll stop before I start getting too negative.[/quote]

The screaming thing really bugs me too. I even started a topic about it in here, because I just couldn`t get why she would scream so much at seeing Timon and Pumbaa coming up behind her.
The conclusion was that it was supposed to be a "funny" moment. They all scream like crazy, Kiara falls in the water and Pumbaa jumps in and lands on top of her. Hilarious.
I think a more realistic reaction from Kiara would be simply "startled." Like, a small exclaim "ah!" and perhaps she jumps a little. I know that`s what I would do if someone suddenly came up from behind me when I was focusing my attention elsewhere. I certainly wouldn`t scream like that. But the writers appearently thought such an exaggerated reaction from Kiara would be amusing.
And there is no doubt that Kiara knows who Timon and Pumbaa are, so she couldn`t possibly be scared because they were strangers.




[quote="KiarasMate"]Seeing how aside from Kovu, all the other Outlanders aren't even allowed to step paw into the Pride Lands, it would be quite difficult to have Kiara interact with any of them, nor would it really add much to the plot of the film.

As for Kiara's interaction, or lack there of, with Zazu and Rafiki, I guess that's just due to how minor of characters they both were. Again, Disney could have added in a little more interaction with the both of them, but it wouldn't have progressed the story along any further. Unlike the first film, it seems like Zazu was demoted from cub-sitting duties now that Timon & Pumbaa were around, so his only job seemed to be to give his reports to Simba, and nothing more. As for Rafiki, well...he's there. lol.

Now then, when it comes to Nala and Kiara interacting, the only thing I can think of, is that in order to down-play Nala's character, much like I felt Disney was trying to do in this film so that the main focus would be upon Kiara, they had to lessen Nala's screen time, as well as her role throughout the film. She was basically just portrayed as being the motherly type, always being there to support Kiara without actually stepping in the way. Again, as far as the overall plot of TLK2SP goes, Nala and Kiara's relationship takes a back seat to that of Kiara and Simba's, so I think that's why there wasn't a whole lot of interaction with Nala when it came to Kiara, and in every scene where Kiara was supposed to respond to something her mother had stated, she was always pre-occupied with a previous event that focused her attention back to her father or Kovu. Just my view of things though. [/quote]


You`re right.
I think it`s natural that the movie focuses on Kiara and Simba (he is the center of the TLK movie universe after all) but Nala is still a very important character in the lives of both these two. I just feel the relationship between mother and daughter is extremley shallow, seeing as they hardly talk to eachother, and every time Nala says something to Kiara it`s something pointless, like "You`ll be fine," and "You`re alright." I mean, when Kiara leaves for her first hunt, Nala could at least have said something like "I`m so proud of you, just try your best, and you`ll be fine," or "I remember my first hunt, I know this is a big day for you," or something like that, something that adds a little depth to their relationship.
And you`re right, KM, every time Nala speaks to Kiara, she`s too preoccupied with something Simba does/has done to give a reply. I just find it really annoying that the writers make Kiara act as if she only has one parent, and that they down-played Nala SO much.

..Sorry, just blowing off some steam.

The only other things I could say to try and justify the scenes with Kiara and Nala would be this.

In the first scene with Kiara as a cub, where she actually talks with Nala, the following scene after Kiara bounds off to play, shows that Nala isn't worried about Kiara as much as Simba, as she is only reminded of how Simba was when he was young, therefore, I guess that's maybe why she didn't fuss over Kiara as much as Simba did in that particular scene.

As for the first hunt scene, I would just assume that Nala was the one who trained Kiara how to hunt, or at least tried to, so if there was any one member of the pride that Kiara already knew, had faith in her abilities, it would be her mother, and visa-versa, so I don't think anymore needed to really be said than what was stated by Nala in that scene. All the other lionesses seemed to be doing a good enough job at gushing overKiara's first hunt anyways. :)

I don't have an explanation for Nala's interactions with Kiara the other two times she talked to her after her daughter's life seemed to be in peril, but her reactions seemed like something a mother would say, and like I said before, both times, Kiara's focus was mostly upon Kovu or Simba afterwards.

Intresting Fact PK ^^ She doesn't even meet Nuka xD