by Carl » February 1st, 2013, 4:17 pm
At one point Kiara says, "Upendi means love doesn't it?" after which it seems like (it's been a while since I've actually seen the film so I could be a little off) Rafiki says "Welcome to Upendi". That would suggest to me, if the other things that Regulus and TLP pointed out didn't already, that it was a fantasy place. Further evidence on this point is the fact that at the end of the song, all of the animals become stars, and then it pans down to show Kiara and Kovu walking along in the grass, with no trace of the brightly colored "Upendi" anywhere to be seen. To me, that seems like they didn't really physically go to Upendi, merely that it was a place, for lack of a better phrasing, "in their hearts."
Or, you know, Rafiki coulda drugged 'em and it was just a trip.