by SuperBabySimba » December 23rd, 2010, 4:25 pm
[quote="crystally"]So we're sure Disney didn't ask them to write these books based on the outlines provided by Disney themselves?[/quote]
So what if they asked? The point is that the beginning part of the book series is an original story by an author who didn't work at Walt Disney Company, as in the new characters, names and story were not Disney's idea and work: Disney didn't make them up, Disney didn't create them, Disney didn't write them, and Disney didn't develop them. Disney only put its stamp on them to gain the full copyrights and profit. Just like it did to numerous other contradicting books.
[quote="crystally"]How did several professional writers wrote separate books in TLK6NA and all have named characters like Kopa and Taka the same? Surely they got it from somewhere if they use the same names.[/quote]
Because by the time the second book was to be written, Disney held copyrights for those characters Simmons had created. Disney may have wanted a book series all along but Simmons and no one wanted to write it all, or Disney wanted each part written by a different author, for whatever reason. The key facts are that Alex Simmons started the book series while he wasn't part of Walt Disney Company and the novel is his original story and not Disney's idea or work at any point (apart from the outlines the film gives.)
[quote="crystally"]If Disney really don't have anything to do with the books, now how official are the names Taka, Ahadi, Mohatu, Uru, and the others? I understand some of them were mentioned in the laser disc version or whatever behind the scenes (I've never watched them) so I'm not sure which characters are official and which aren't?[/quote]
While that mentioned-on-the-laserdisc rumour may be true, a mere mention of them doesn't make them official to the movie. And, the chances are they mentioned them as the book universe characters they are, only in means to promote the then-new book series. Because the commentary track is also on the Laserdisc and thus, if they had decided them to official connect to the movie's story and characters, they would've mentioned at least Kopa on the commentary track too - but they didn't.
1.) Kopa, Taka & stuff are original work of a man who wasn't part of Disney + on the 1995/2003 commentary track, the film's makers have literally denied Kopa, the main character of that book series, and through that the entity of the book series = the movie Scar's name was never Taka, he didn't get his scar from a buffalo and Kopa never existed.
2.) Disney indeed later approved the very same way also many other storybooks that contradict the content of that book series, and they can't all apply to the movie. And if they wanted the book universe to connect to the movie, they wouldn't have messed it up by having it contradict itself.
And:
As long as someone provides such document from the Laserdisc to public (like at YouTube) for anyone to check out, even that mention remains a rumour possibly spread by a fan of the book series. I mean, just look at all the "Zira killed Kopa" and "Lion King 4" crap people spread as official though they're totally not. But as said, the mention may be true but certainly not to connect them to the movie's story.

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