[quote="DGFone"]The real world to the rescue! The Lion King, The Lion King 2, and TLK:6NA were all made by three different studios. It is highly probable that the creators of Simba's pride never came across 6NA before.[/quote]
I agree, but that doesn't help me tie things together in my mind!
_____________________________________________
This is a bit of a tangent but it's kinda interesting:There's a discussion related to the Lord Of The Rings as to whether the eagles could have flown Frodo to Mordor, thereby eliminating much of the difficult jouney of the first and second books. There are several arguments as to why this
isn't a plothole, but the general consensus is that it is. One of the main objections is as follows; this is a quote from
[http://www.sean-crist.com/personal/pages/eagles/index.html]:
[quote]
"If the eagles could fly the Ringbearer to Mt. Doom so easily, it wouldn't be a very good story."I agree. Clearly, The Lord of the Rings wouldn't be nearly as good a story if the dreadful travel into Mordor by Frodo and Sam were neatly snipped out and replaced by a flight with the eagles.
However, this is a story-external reason, and it does not solve the hole in the plot. The characters in the story, behaving within their own plane of reality, would not choose their course of action based on what has the best dramatic or literary effect; they would seek to eliminate the threat from the East with the least effort and risk, and if it appears to them that the "eagles" plan is the best one, it is the one they would choose. [/quote]
_____________________________________________
I don't know if I'm the only one, but I like to have a full timeline in my mind, and story external reasons for events happening just don't cut it in my opinion. As to the original topic, I don't believe Kopa died (I do believe he existed; he may not be canon, but being in books accepted by Disney, he could at least be considered 'official' * , and I like his character), and these points in the OP just serve to reinforce this opinion, although as mentioned previously, some of the arguments are stronger than others.
In fact, I am in the camp who like to believe that Kopa was born after Kiara, for reasons oulined here:
http://www.mylionking.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=216&start=982. I think Kopa being born first and then dying is unnecessary and sad, as well as not believable in my opinion.
* My perspective regarding what is considered canon and official:
http://img90.imageshack.us/i/tlk.png