LK II Thesis and breakdown

[Hatari05]

Hey everyone how's it going, sorry I ask that a lot force of habit.

Anyway I've been thinking of the Lion King II a bit lately and have decided to do a full on Thesis and breakdown of the film regarding the characters themes and plot of the movie explaining just why I find it good I gave an example before but this one will be much bigger and detailed and long quite long this will likely take me a bit to actually be done but will also give the full view I have of this movie and how I feel each scene impacts the progressing character arcs, this isn't a review per say my opinion is clear, this is more a look into the movie itself if you have a different view to sections they're welcomed just be polite which people here seem to be. Well let's get to Thesis.

The LK II is a more divisive film than its predecessor considered great by some mediocre by others, bad, good many opinions all around. I for one really love Simba's Pride I feel it is an incredible followup that in a lot of ways surpasses the original, I regard as one of Diney's crowning achievements mostly due to the mature themes, and parallels to the characters and story.

I see the film as an exploration of revenge and forgiveness, and how the past can control ultimately what path we end up on, I feel the movie really explores this through the character arcs of Simba, Kovu, Zira, and Nuka with Kiara being caught in it and looking only to the present.

The catalyst that ties everything together is Simba as his journey is in many ways paralleled by the main cast, his main struggle in a way being the driving force of the whole film, essentially making Simba the real protagonist. Kiara, Kovu, Nuka and Zira all share similarities with Simba.

Starting with Kovu, Kovu is in a way the anti Simba. He was the heir to a former king who was murdered which sent him into exile. Unlike Simba who lived a carefree life Kovu lived a harsh life he was raised to be a killer and follow in Scar's paw prints which we are told. Both are overwhelmed by the idea of this however Simba strives to live up to his father while Kovu deep down wants nothing to do with Scar.

Both Simba and Kovu are confronted with guilt through the death of a loved one which they are blamed for. Simba breaks and goes into self imposed exile while Kovu refuses to bend to Zira's accusation further showing how he is the anti Simba. This parallel continues through the nature of their relationships when like Simba Kovu is wrongly accused of a crime he didn't commit and sent into exile, Nala ultimately led Simba to the path of embracing the destiny his father gave him, while Kiara leads to Kovu rejecting the destiny his family gave him. Finally at first Simba refuses to listen to his lover while Kovu does.

In the end both were dominated by the past and chose to turn away from it their journeys were similar but Kovu usually reacted in the opposite way making him the anti side of Simba. Kovu's arc not only paralleled Simba's from the first but also the second as Kovu's struggle with Scar's legacy is the same Simba is facing with Mufasa yet once again with opposite results. Ultimately in the end despite hating him Kovu was who Simba needed to be he needed to let go of the past and forge his own rather than struggling to be his father.

This could apply to Nuka as well but of course in the worst way, while he has many similarities to Scar who is likely his father, his desire to get his mother's approval is certainly not too different from Simba's own need to make his father proud, which ultimately leads to his death showing that Simba's need to be his father could destroy him in the end.

Kiara is many ways her father's opposite as such her journey while still having some parallels is a little different.

Kiara like Simba is a cheerful and energetic cub like her father, however her relationship with her father is more strained. Simba worshiped his father wanting to follow him everywhere, Kiara wants to be away from him because he didn't give her the freedom she desired. Simba was commanded by his father, Kiara seemed more obedient to her mother. Finally Simba was arrogant and longed to be king, while Kiara was more humble and had no desire to be queen.

The opposite nature of their bound becomes more clear in We are one which is the opposite of look at stars. While Simba is giving Kiara wisdom unlike Simba Kiara isn't certain about it also Simba's wisdom while useful doesn't relate to what Kiara is actually confused about and actually deepens it. The opposites continue and almost reach their peek near the end. Simba in the first is convinced by his father of his mistake however it is the child who convinces the parent of their mistake in the sequel. Despite this Kiara does have similarities to her father from the first movie she doesn't want to embrace her responsibility and she's confused about who she truly is. However Kiara once again contrasts Simba by choosing to go back and embrace her destiny willing another thing being that Simba is motivated by a sense of responsibility and guilt Kiara is motivated by simple compassion.

While Kiara does seem a little to perfect there is a bit of fridge brilliance to it. Kiara is the only character doing what Mufasa would do. She didn't know him but she is she is the only one doing what he would do because despite not wanting to be queen Kiara has one of the most important qualities to be queen, her compassion. Mufasa was responsible but he didn't let a sense of a guilt drive him, Mufasa did not strive to be someone else he simply did the right thing. He did what was best for others what was the morally right thing. Kiara has a similar mentality.

Kiara is the light that inspires Simba and Kovu naturally doesn't leave a lot of room for a heavily flawed character, however Kiara is just the character whose eyes we see the story through ultimately it is Simba and Kovu's story they are the heroes of the story well kind of.

Part 2 coming soon.

[Tsuki]

This was a really interesting read. Thanks for sharing

[Hatari05]

No problem I was considering continuing it however my continuation would contain details I already said in my previous Zira and Simba topic so I might refrain from that maybe put a link to it. Glad you enjoyed it, just my perspective of the movie.

[TheLionPrince]

Aside from grammatical errors such as missing commas, this was a really good essay thesis. Your arguments were well-thought so much I cannot say that I could challenge them, and there were character and plot parallels I have noticed in the past (particularly the Kiara—Simba parallel and the Kovu—Simba parallel), but were never given a full, thorough analysis by anyone until now. I do look forward to your second thesis analysis about the story themes.

[Hatari05]

Thanks commas and punctuation has always been something I struggle with and unfortunately remain a problem with my written stories, sorry it's a flaw I'm trying to improve but can't seem to.

[SimbasGuard]

Very impressive. you raised some parallels that I would never have considered.

[Amur_Tiger]

I agree with a lot of what you're saying here, though in the case of Simba being the real protagonist I don't think that does the film any favors. Screen time and the way the story is structured suggests Kiara should be the protagonist, but due to her lack of meaningful growth through the film she comes up short in that role.

Which brings me to where I disagree, Kiara.

What she shows through the film and never really shakes is a fairly narrow perspective on things and an unwillingness to really listen to anyone. These don't make for a flawless character, and the course of the movie only goes to reinforce these flaws.

1. Simba isn't in action any more strict then his parents were, Simba & Nala got a Zazu escort. You can question his choice of escorts ( Timon & Pumba weren't well suited to this ) but it's not like she's being kept in a gilded cage or anything.

2. The threats are real, moreso then in Mufasa's time. A pride of lions is a more dangerous foe then a pack of hyenas. Caution is really warranted.

3. Kiara's more reckless then Simba was, by far. Important to understanding why Simba isn't just pants-on-head dumb about the trouble he gets himself into is he does sorta have an uncle leading him along. Without that Kiara comes off as blissfully unaware that there are threats out there.

4. Kiara's compassion doesn't drive her affection for Kovu, love does. Compassion would have had her stick around with nearly-killed and still injured Simba after the ambush and at least asked herself some serious questions about how this all came to be. Instead she comes off as really not caring about her father's life which... yeah that's uncomfortable.

5. The arrogance of not listening is a real problem. While Simba comes off as arrogant early in TLK he actually ends up listening and taking heed of a remarkable number of people through the movie. Even when he argues with Nala it's clear he's listening to her otherwise he wouldn't be arguing with himself about it soon thereafter. Kiara doesn't really do this, where she may not be overbearing in a desire to be queen she instead arrogantly assumes better judgement then everyone else around her, in spite of evidence that she should at least consider a perspective other then 'Kovu is hot' .

I don't think SP was terrible overall, there were some good moments in there, I just don't think that Kiara does the plot or herself any favors with how she acted and is portrayed.

[Hatari05]

Actually there is a term for what you described not everyone frequents TV tropes so it's unreasonable to assume everyone knows this, this is not an insult. Kiara is the definition of Supporting protagonist. A supporting protagonist is a character whose eyes we see the story through but ultimately they're not who the story actually is about. A good example would be Batman in TDK, he's the hero we follow but in the end TDK when you look at it as a whole is the tragic story of Harvey Dent, that's who the movie ultimately revolves around.

Finally a Disney example and a very definitive one is Return of Jafar, Aladdin is the hero we follow he has the most screen time but he's definitely not the main character. Return of Jafar deep down is absolutely the story of Iago's redemption, he's the real hero and main character, it's his story.

Kiara is the same while driving the cub sections the moment we reach the adult sections it clearly becomes Simba and Kovu's story as they are the ones most effected by everything we just see it through Kiara's perspective. Sorry for the lesson I wasn't certain if the supporting protagonist idea was well known, if you did know it I apologize for wasting your time, I meant no offense by it.

As for her portrayal can't argue with your points entirely clearly she was meant to be compassionate but I can understand many thinking it wasn't done well. I've said this once a while back the story of LK II on paper goes a lot deeper than the first but there was nowhere near enough time to actually develop it all. 75 minutes is not enough time to give each arc it's proper due. LK worked for so many because it had one goal tell Simba's story nothing else as such Simba's story was flawless. SP bites off more than it can chew and everything arc just isn't given it's proper due which can be a deal-breaker for some people nothing wrong with that.

[Amur_Tiger]

I see what you're saying, though I still think that Kiara as written is ill-suited to the role. Batman is a character we know and can relate to from a previous movie, likewise with Aladdin. Kiara's the new character in the mix of the pridelands, making her the perspective character on Simba's ongoing arc ends up pretty awkward, especially when it's clear that Kiara herself has some growing up to do.

Nala's perspective might have been a better one to use if you were going to try to watch Simba's arc from a perspective other then his own, she's someone we know from the first movie to a degree and it would have injected her presence into the movie a fair bit more.

Nothing you said was offensive though, don't worry. Likewise I'm merely expressing my view on these things and not saying that you're absolutely wrong or that your essay is mislead, art is in the eye of the beholder and all that.

[Hatari05]

That's what this forum is for to allow people to give their thoughts I get where you're coming from and appreciate you giving me your view as well.