Sometimes a family can be a meerkat, a smelly warthog, the lion cub they adopted who ended up being king, and the lonely honey badger they adopted on accident.
Plus the lion's two kids and his wife who tried eating the warthog the first time they met.
And eventually also the heir of the guy who killed the lion cub's father
YOOOOOOOOO KIARA/VITANI???? That was like one of my first baby ships holy shit you just punted me back into my childhood
My first unknowing shipper experience was probably me going
"OMG Kiara smiled at Vitani!! OHHH AAAHHHH VITANI SAID KIARA'S NAME AAAGHGHGHHGHGHGHGHG"
that was it. that was all I needed. Now here I am decades later, still wandering over to youtube and hopefully scrounging for any possibly new kiara/vintai amvs. I'll never be free <3
something something the daughters of leaders of two prides at war, both trained from childhood to follow in their parent's paw prints but they're the only two lions here who seem to see the bigger picture and CARE about it more than the personal stuff, more than their safety or their own happiness. One of them reaches out to offer peace, and the other one (who is the MOST warlike) hears her, and risks everything by reaching back
"But they-"
"Them? Us. Look at them, they are us. What difference do you see?"
.....
"Vitani! NOW!"
"No, mother! ....Kiara's right. Enough."
oh wow i wonder why little kid me kept kicking their heels over this tiny bit of dialogue hmmm it's a complete (coughGAYcoughcough) mystery~
also bloodthirsty warrior lady + dorky wise princess is a huge GAY mood for me apparently. amazing
Many said waiter there is a fly in the soup but there it is there is a monkey in the soup
Rafiki, seriously, you need to take a bath. in simba's soup
poor simba couldn't eat his soup
If there was a house of mouse reboot and they had this episode I hope makini doesn't do the same thing on kiara's plate while she would feel uncomfortable
And if there was a reboot there Kiara and Kion would say I lost my appetite
At least Bunga would finish his soup along with his uncles Timon and Pumbaa.
So I’m about to rant about some shit that nobody is gonna care about considering it’s about an almost 20 year old movie and a cartoon that’s technically over(?) but I need to get it out of my system
One of the coldest takes (in my opinion) on the internet I’ve seen since dabbling in the TLK/TLG fandom is that Simba isn’t a good dad to Kiara, hypothetically compared to Kion his younger son especially.
Granted he’s not a perfect dad, nobody is, and I mean, he’s got some big shoes to fill regarding Mufasa as a king and as a father. Then again, we never got the chance to see him really mess up because he never had the chance to see Simba grow up or the challenges that come with that tragically.
But like, Kiara is like under 10 years old at the TLK2. He’s protective of her then, sends Timone and Pumbaa to watch her (like Sarabi sent Zazu, not really that different).
She deliberately loses them and almost gets eaten by crocodiles and encounters someone who very well might’ve killed/kidnapped her given the opportunity, Zira.
Then the scene that follows mirrors the scene from TLK where his father chastised him for putting himself in unnecessary danger and gives him a narratively potent lesson about the Circle of Life.
He overreacts a bit at the prospect of Kiara being out in danger. But the thing is he doesn’t do it for no reason. Yes there’s past trauma there from his childhood, but because of the Outlanders the Pridelands aren’t as safe as they were when Simba was a cub.
Kiara doesn’t look for trouble, trouble finds her because there are factions willing and able to exploit the fact she’s Simba’s only heir (especially with Kion absent). Both times Kiara went out on her own the Outlanders used her against him and she almost died the first time. Even though he freaks out initially and is like “no more hunts for you!” he still lets her go out alone with Kovu.
He doesn’t know what the audience (or Kiara) knows about Kovu. His worst fears were confirmed and his reaction to Zira (and seemingly Kovu as well) using Kiara to get to him was to protect her. He’s ultimately in the wrong and is stubborn, but he does learn in the end and apologizes to Kovu for misjudging him instead of doubling down. He’s an okay dad and becomes a better one by the end of the film.
So how does this relate to Kion? Well the arguement I’ve seen is Simba not being as protective/showing favoritism to Kion over Kiara in TLG.
I strongly disagree. I think Kiara and Kion are very different children with very different responsibilities. Plus by TLG they’re both older than Simba or Kiara at the beginning of their films.
Kiara is princess regent, the next in line to the Pridelands throne, this a bigger target than Kion, a bigger target who also has more complex responsibilities.
In the TLG pilot, Simba is about as overprotective and mistrustful of Kion as he’d been with Kiara, he still lets him play, he’s an older cub and isn’t alone (because Bunga).
Then it turns out Kion has the Roar of The Elders, and has an entire group of friends he’s assembled and travels with. Not only does tradition (something Simba holds in VERY high regard) demand his son lead The Lion Guard, he also has a group of friends who can and do protect him. He’s not going around all alone with no protection (be it ancestral gifts or allies) picking fights with Hyenas just because he wants to.
I’m almost certain that had Kiara been the one with the Roar of The Elders, Simba would have a hard time justifying keeping her cooped up. And as we can see, Kiara isn’t quite as cooped up (even in TLK2) as people tend to project.
They’re different kids with different needs, personalities, and Royal duties. Simba, in my opinion, reacts pretty reasonably (if not perfectly) to each of those individual cubs given the circumstances. Parenting isn’t easy, especially if you’ve got trauma and there’s a lot at stake.
TL:DR, cut Simba a break, he’s doing his best, and his best really isn’t all that bad, damn.
It's time I tell you a story. A story of a cub not much bigger than you. Long before they became legends, Mufasa and the prince, who would come to be known as Scar, became brothers.
Noa and Mae as Romeo and Juliet in the Next Planet of the Apes Movie?
Here's why a potential "love story" between Mae and Noa, whether explicit or simply implied, may not be such a terrible idea.
Why? Because Shakespeare told me so, that's why.
"When in doubt, it's from Shakespeare....or the Bible." At least according to a book I had to read for high school, lol.
The biblical references in Caesar's trilogy have been pointed out multiple times already, and these movies have also been described as Shakespearean tragedies. So I thought, 'ok, what kind of Shakespearean tragedy will we have this time around?'
I'm first gonna start off with Hamlet in the Caesar trilogy. I'm also gonna mention other popular movies that are based on Shakespeare's plays. Not necessarily because it's concrete proof that this is what will happen in future POTA movies. This is me simply picking up certain storytelling beats and patterns I've noticed in some of my favorite movies.
It's not 100% the same, but there are some similarities. Also, this isn't anything new. Many have pointed this out before, but I love talking about this stuff!
The Lion King, Black Panther, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes are loosely based on Hamlet. A king or rightful heir is killed. Usually by an evil uncle, cousin, or family member. For some reason this always results in them falling off a very high cliff.
Everyone thinks they're dead, the evil relative takes power, and everything kinda sucks. There is not enough food in the Pride Lands under Scar's rule. Killmonger burns the heart-shaped herbs. Koba leads the apes to war against the humans.
The rightful ruler spends time in exile, recovering from their wounds and trauma. They might even get a visit or have a recollection of their dead father.
Then the rightful ruler comes back from the dead, challenges the usurper, and regains their rightful place upon the throne.
Now lets take a look at their sequels.
The Lion King 2 and Wakanda Forever share some similarities. They both follow another one of Shakespeare's popular plays, Romeo and Juliet.
Like the Montagues and Capulets, we have two rival kingdoms in both movies. We got the Pridelanders and the Outsiders. We also got the Wakandans and Talokanils.
The two heirs/rulers from both kingdoms meet. They hate and don't trust each other at first, but then they start to have compassion for the other. In Kiara and Kovu's case, they fall in love. Namor and Shuri don't fall in love, but after Namor shows her his underwater kingdom and what he has to protect, she softens and begins to understand him more. (They even got the whole Hades and Persephone thing going on, who are a couple in Greek mythology, by the way).
There are losses on both sides. Kovu's brother was killed while going after Simba. One of Namor's people was killed when Shuri was rescued by Nakia, and Shuri's mother, Queen Ramonda, died after Namor's attack on Wakanda. (Starts nervously eyeing Anaya here...)
These losses make things worse, by the way.
In the end, both pairs are able to bring the fighting between their people to a stop. The Outsiders are welcomed into Simba's pride. The Wakandans and Talokanils stop fighting after seeing their leaders return together.
In the end, they realize that they're the same. That they can't let hate and fear of the other side cloud their judgement.
Kiara tells her father, "A wise king once told me we are one....Look at them. They are us. What differences do you see?"
Shuri tells Namor while she spares his life, "Vengeance has consumed us. We cannot let it consume our people."
And I think this goes well with one of the core themes of these POTA movies. The apes are a mirror to humanity. We the audience are seeing us through them, and the characters in the movies themselves must come to the realization that they're the same.
Like when Caesar tells his son, "I always think ape better than human. I see now how much like them we are."
Maybe something similar like this will happen with Noa and Mae and whatever fight will happen between apes and humans. While I'm all for a good romance, it may end up being more like Namor and Shuri's case. There's something there. The tropes are present, but they don't fall in love. (At least not yet. Please Ryan Coogler, give me Nashuri endgame in Black Panther 3, hehe).
This is just a theory, by the way. This doesn't have to happen, but I just think it'd be neat. There would be differences though. What those differences would be, idk, but whatever happens in the next one, I can't wait!
"But but.... aren't you forgetting something?"
What's that?
"Don't they...ya know...both die at the end?"
Besides, they don't have to die. Things can be a little more hopeful for our two heroes 🙈