The Lion King/Who was the cub?

2010-09-12T00:28:54Z

99.182.53.246: /* References */

Before [[Disney]] released any information about the sequel that would eventually become ''[[Simba's Pride]]'', the cub of [[Simba]] and [[Nala]] who appeared at the end of ''[[The Lion King]]'' was the source of much speculation and a character in many works of [[fan fiction]].

For the most part it was assumed the cub was male, and various names for him/her were said to have come from Disney sources. ''Fluffy'' was the name given to it by the animators during the production of ''The Lion King'', according to the director's commentary on the LaserDisc edition (and later on the DVD release) but this was just a convenient way to refer to an unnamed character. Some months after the release of the movie, he appeared in a series of children's books entitled ''[[Wikipedia:The Lion King: Six New Adventures|The Lion King: Six New Adventures]]'' where he was named [[Kopa]] and was the main character of one of the books, ''Vulture Shock''. It appears, however, that these books were either disregarded by or unknown to the developers of ''Simba's Pride'' (the books are not entirely consistent with each other on unrelated points). Two other names said to be considered for him during production of the sequel are Naba and Chaka, and for a while it appeared the latter was going to be the name of choice. Chaka was described in March 1997 as "at this point the closest thing to an official Disney name for the cub".<ref>[http://www.lionking.org/text/Encyclopedia.txt The Unofficial Lion King Character Encyclopedia] March 1997 Edition at lionking.org. Retrieved July 25, 2006.</ref>

As story development continued, Chaka got a sister, ''Shani''. Shani soon overtook Chaka in importance to the story, while Chaka became more marginalized and eventually was written out of the story altogether. With the cub now a female, other possible names for her that were said to be considered were ''Aisha'' (also a [[Neopets|Neopet]]), ''Nunka'', and the one finally chosen for her, ''[[Kiara]]''.

All of this took place over a period of about four years. Fans of the movie didn't wait around that long and soon came up with their own ideas about who the cub was. The most popular non-canonical name for the cub was ''[[Tanabi]]''. Other names were proposed in various works of fan fiction for the cub, who was usually male and sometimes part of a litter that included other cubs, but Tanabi was by far the most widely used name.

Some fans have suggested that the cub at the end of the first movie is not Kiara at all but is in fact Kopa or Tanabi, noting that the appearance and coloration of the cub at the end of the first movie don't entirely match the appearance of Kiara (male and female lions were given different color schemes respectively), and/or citing ''The Lion King: Six New Adventures'' as a canon source. Some have attempted to reconcile the discrepancy by suggesting he may have somehow died or been killed at a young age, possibly by [[Zira]]. Other possibilities include being kidnapped by a lioness of a different pride and taken as her own child. No official statement has been made by Disney regarding the identity of the cub at the end of the first movie. The majority of fans consider it reasonably clear in ''Simba's Pride'' that Disney meant for us to accept that Kiara was in fact the cub we saw at the end of ''The Lion King'', but some fans object that Kiara couldn't possibly be the cub at the end of ''The Lion King'', that would mean she was presented before the pridelands twice, once at the end of ''The Lion King'' and a second time at the beginning of ''Simba's Pride''.

Others feel that speculation is pointless, on the basis that ''Simba's Pride'' contains serious plot holes and internal contradictions such that it is not accepted as a "real" sequel by them.

== References ==
<references/>
kopa is not real! the cub seen in the end of the lion king is a female! and her name is kiara!this is also the cub seen in simba's pride! the books are wrong!

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The Lion King/Who was the cub?