The appeal of Kiara/Kovu/Vitani

[TheBlackCatCrossing]

Okay, here comes The crazy Cat with some of her wild/weird ideas again. I noticed it a few days ago, but due to time constraints and the possibly sensitive nature of the topic, I decided to hold off but I couldn't hold it anymore.

Awhile back, I was browsing for some LK fanfic. I work two jobs, I got bills to pay, and I have a test this weekend. I need something to relax me. I went to the Pit looking for a good LK fanfic but instead I noticed something. At first I just brushed it off as me being an 'older' fan being picky, but upon checking the search engines, well let's just say that some of my suspicions were kind of confirmed. I noticed that Kiara/Kovu fanfic is HUGELY popular. Now, I am not knocking anyone's preferences as we all have our pet theories and ships. However, I do enjoy deconstructing things, even things that I love. However, because I saw about 20 C2s dedicated to Kovu/Kiara and a ALOT, and I mean A LOT of Vitani love, which is cool, I have my theories as to why that is.

I enjoyed Simba's Pride, even if it wasn't perfect. There were a lot of things that I loved about it. However, it doesn't carry the majesty that the first film has. I enjoy SB for the 'novelty' factor. Do I find it fascinating? No, and I swear, here is the meat of my post. :lol

1. Why is Kiara so popular?-Again, this goes to my C2 post. That, and after I checked the search engine, I noticed that the fics with the most reviews had Kovu/Kiara. I wouldn't put Kiara on the same plane as her mom or her grandma Sarabi. In fact, I am pretty 'meh' on her. She doesn't particularly stand out to me as a strong character (Not that everyone has to be a perfect snowflake, mind you). In fact, most of her intrinsic qualities that in my opinion some fans find endearing are what some would call annoying: clumsy, awkward, terrible hunter. She's also the Princess who doesn't seem interested in her responsibilities (as most kids are). Now, you can choose to debate me on this one but this crossed my mind and I am genuinely curious as to what a lot of you think: Does Kiara have 'Sueish' tendencies?

She's a Princess (i.e. a someone, privileged) who has 'clumsy' characteristics and lacks all sense of refinement and sophistication. She also falls in love with the bad boy. I am not bashing Kiara fans. Honestly, I could take her or leave her. My observation stems from what I saw the other day. She doesn't strike me as particularly 'deep' or 'fascinating'. Her shining moments are when she stands up to Simba (twice, mind you). The first one being when she told him 'You will never be Mufasa' was a real stinger. The second one being when she calmly said 'Daddy, this has to stop'.

2. Kovu is the bad boy with a heart of gold. Obviously this was based on Romeo and Juliet with a modern twist. The classic 'Good girl' falls in love with the 'bad boy'. I couldn't watch some of his scenes without imaging Max Goof or little Shere Khan speaking which made it hard for me to take him seriously as a 'baddie'. A few months ago I saw this picture of Kovu and Kiara as anthros and Kovu was a 'gothic' teen. Is that who Kovu appeals to? LOL! I am genuinely curious. I really want to know. I would like to count Kovu as a 'complex' character but because Disney sequel productions are total crap when it comes to production/pacing, it is very hard. So my verdict: Kovu is the Gothic teen. He's popular for the same reason why "Mozenrath" from Aladdin: TAS was popular. He appeals to a....target audience.

3. Vitani-Vitani is snarky, rude, and rotten to the core. I think she is popular because she has that 'bad girl' 'tude to her but she ultimately isn't that bad. She never struck me as particularly evil like her mom or Scar. She was a follower who didn't know better and then saw the light. I do however think that Vitani's popular for the same reason why Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter is: people love a******s.

I am genuinely curious, people! What do you think? Again, as in my 'LK for adults' thread from a few months back: no bashing, no accusations, and be warned: some people will actually dislike your favorite character. I stress the last part because in another fandom I am more or less active in, I saw fans take it extremely personally when someone said something about a fictional character they didn't agree with. I don't want that mess here. If you like Kiara, please share your thoughts. Hate Kiara? Join the party! As always, be respectful people.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

I found the whole of that post a really interesting read ^.^ I like how you see things, and I agree 100% with the Vitani part (I <3 Draco Malfoy), and I agree to what you are saying on the other two characters as well.

Kiara has always been one of my favourite characters, because she is alot like me. Clusmy, a little dumb, stubborn but with a kind-heart, sense of humour and generally hyper-active and annoying x) I can see why people dislike her, and prefer Nala/Sarabi/Sarafina/Vitani, even Zira, as a preferred favourite lioness character. I can see why people would dislike/like pretty much every character in the movies...apart from Timon & Pumbaa.

They're just, well, ugh. Sorry to T&P fans lol, I think T&P only appeal to a few people here. I did use to find them funny when I was little though. Now when I just look back on it, I wish more screentime was given to Simba, or Nala, or Sarafina who's name didn't even get mentioned. Ah well.

Going back to Kiara, I know she isn't a well developed character, and sometimes she gets on my nerves when I re-watch SP, but I can't help but love her. My favourite character often changes, lately I've been taking much more interest towards Sarafina, but Kiara has been one that's stuck with me I guess.

[SimbasGuard]

As for why Kovu, Kiara, and Vitani are popular in fanfictions, I think because they have only appeared in one move, writers are more comfortable taking the characters where they want simply because there is less known about them.

As for why I like Kiara: I hope this doesn't sound like a cop-out, but if I love Simba And Nala I don't see how I could not love their daughter. For me it is very interesting to see what aspects of her parents' personalities she has. As for her lack of hunting skill, I think that could be a case of Simba not letting her train too extensively.

As for why I like Kovu: he chose to trust his heart and follow it, despite being brainwashed into believing that he did not have a heart (metaphorically speaking).

As for why I like Vitani: It is very similar to why I like Kovu, Without Vitani having the courage to tell her mother that she need to let the hatred end. The Outsiders may have fought The Pridelanders to the death.

[KentuckyWildcat]

Interesting thoughts. I guess I'll go point by point here.

1. Why so many Kiara/Kovu/Vitani fan-fics? I've never actually written any stories, so perhaps I'm not the best person to answer this question. I would assume that most writers think that creating their own sequel to SP gives them more options story-wise than working with already established events would. Naturally, some combination of those characters would figure prominently in any such story.

2. Kiara: I'm personally not a huge fan of her character. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I hate her, but she isn't all that impressive either. Her defining moment comes when she realizes that the Outsiders are no different than her and begs for the fighting to stop even if that means standing up to her father. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like she progressed very naturally to that kind of wisdom. Moments earlier in the movie, she was ditching her responsibilities as princess to run away with a lion who from all appearances had led an ambush on her father (of course he actually didn't, but she had no logical reason to think that when she had only known him for a couple of days max). In short, I agree with you that she has "Sueish" tendencies. On the positive side, I think her clumsy, awkward qualities are more cute than annoying.

3. Kovu: He's actually one of my favorite characters even though I realize he's not perfect (and I'm definitely not gothic). Something about him just struck me as being very cool when I watched the movie as a kid. Even now that I'm in my 20s, I guess I see something of myself in him. He's very guarded about his feelings and has a major sarcastic streak, yet deep down, he's caring and chooses to do right.

On the constructive criticism side, I really think he would have benefited from a longer movie because I feel like both of his big opportunities to grow as a character get taken from him. The first is the stargazing scene with Kiara when he asks her if Scar is among the great kings and then reveals he's afraid that there's darkness in him as well. It would be awesome to see him really have to come to grips with those conflicting feelings and emotions ultimately to realize that everything he had ever been taught was wrong. Instead, Rafiki works his magic and makes him instantly choose Kiara.

The second comes when he considers revealing his true intentions for coming to the Pridelands and facing the consequences. Again, I would love to see him actually muster the strength to tell Kiara or Simba, but he's robbed of the chance when Zira's ambush sets the endgame in motion. Despite his rushed character development, I still like him though.

4. Vitani: Honestly, I've never quite understood how so many people can name her among their favorite characters when she barely gets any screen-time. That's not to insult anyone, I just don't really feel like I know very much about her and honestly never gave her a second thought before joining here. She's (presumably) Kovu's sister who has her own role in implementing Zira's plot before joing her brother in putting an end to the madness. That's really about it. We see nothing to develop her personality or show the progression of her feelings like we do with Kovu.

That being said, the very things that make it a bit hard for me to notice her as a movie character are what I think draws people to write fan-fics about her. Since we don't know much about her officially, the writers can have fun taking her in pretty much whatever direction they want to without it conflicting with her established character.

[TheBlackCatCrossing]

Excellent opinions, everyone! I love it!

[Azdgari]

I don't particularly buy Kovu as a gothic teen, I never saw him that way. Just as someone who was conflicted. I like him because he's complex and layered like Simba was in LK1, even though it's not explored as nicely in SP. I think it's fascinating to think about what he must be going through. They touch briefly on how conflicted he is about being related to Scar, but there must be so much more going on. He'd never known anything but a harsh, ascetic lifestyle with Zira, along her with relentless anti-Simba, xenophobic brainwashing. His eyes are seriously opened when he enter the Pridelands, and the process is accelerated tenfold by his fall for Kiara. It's interesting to think about how all that luggage sits with him, since it's not explored in depth in SP. The idea of turning against not only Zira but his siblings, for whom he has to hold a lot of affection.

So, I think that he appeals to a lot of people, not just that audience. :]

[TheBlackCatCrossing]

[quote="AmyMarie"]

They're just, well, ugh. Sorry to T&P fans lol, I think T&P only appeal to a few people here. I did use to find them funny when I was little though. Now when I just look back on it, I wish more screentime was given to Simba, or Nala, or Sarafina who's name didn't even get mentioned. Ah well.[/quote]

It's okay. I dislike Timon and Pumbaa. They were funny as Hell when I was a kid, but I also felt that that took away from the majesty that was TLK. If you ask me, the hyenas were just perfectly fine for the comedy foil. Timon and Pumbaa, well, I got fed up with them being the 'faces' of TLK. Believe it or not, there were times I couldn't believe that a movie with the suave and sophisticated Mr. Irons and Mr. Jones had fart humor in it. That and there were times when I watched the Timon and Pumbaa cartoon where it bothered me that it was too anthropomorphosized. For example, in one eppie, Simba had earplugs. Even as a kid, I understood that it was inspired by the film, but it felt so out of place when I saw Simba use earplugs.

[TheBlackCatCrossing]

[quote="KentuckyWildcat"]

3. Kovu: He's actually one of my favorite characters even though I realize he's not perfect (and I'm definitely not gothic). Something about him just struck me as being very cool when I watched the movie as a kid. Even now that I'm in my 20s, I guess I see something of myself in him. He's very guarded about his feelings and has a major sarcastic streak, yet deep down, he's caring and chooses to do right.[/quote]


I hope you understand I was just pulling your leg when I said the 'gothic' part. It's just that I couldn't help but notice it. It's like those fanarts that draw the Harry Potter kids in emo (is that word still used?) style makeup. I do agree with what you said in bold. Very good points.

[Carl]

[quote="KentuckyWildcat"]That being said, the very things that make it a bit hard for me to notice her as a movie character are what I think draws people to write fan-fics about her. Since we don't know much about her officially, the writers can have fun taking her in pretty much whatever direction they want to without it conflicting with her established character.[/quote]

I'm almost positive that's it exactly.

And as for Kiara and Kovu; I'm not entirely sure what it is about them, but they seem easier to write about to me, although other characters like Sarabi and Scar are fun, the young couple is easier. Also, ever since I was little I felt like I could relate more to Kovu than most of the other characters from the series; he always seemed cool to me for some reason or another.

[MrTitans]

Honestly this was interesting to read.

My take on it is that I find Kiara rather annoying and a misfit to the movie. Ok when see realizes that she needs to stop the war came to her instantly at the end of the movie with no teaching of anything. Simba changed because of his vision with his father and Rafiki helping him. Kiara had none of that and just instantly got it. Some people it may be that easy, but for the rest of us who cannot that hardly if ever happens. So I think her being the lesson to teach Simba was not good at all. Nala or Rafiki could be the one that knows what actually is going on. Rather than oh I know what we should do come on let's go. She is too snobby and stupid to me it seems.(Again not bashing anyone.)

Kovu I never liked. It is just a evil guy goes good the story is always the same. A Romeo and Juliet knock off. I do not think he was a good character. I am not bashing anyone with this. You like them and I respect that. To me he is just not that type it seems like a good story to add to the Lion King. Not just because I am a Nala fan, but she helps support Simba when he is dealing with his issue. That story seems a whole lot better than kovu/kiara love story.

Vitani I really did not notice her that much se hardly had a role in the movie I thought so that is my opinion on the whole thing.