The Lion King Iceberg

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I made a Lion King Iceberg based off The Mario 64 Iceberg.  Here I will try to explain it. I also plan to make a Youtube Video on it.

Above The Iceberg

The first film being based on Hamlet and the second film being based on Romeo and Juliet

 This one is pretty common knowledge. Most of the plot points of The Lion King were based off of the Shakespeare play Hamlet. The Lion King 2 Simba's Pride wasn't originally based on Romeo and Juliet during production, but as they continued it was decided that would be the best story for the movie.

                                                          Character Comparisons

                                                               Hamlet 

                                                           Hamlet- Simba

                                                           Claudius- Scar

                                                            Gertrude- Sarabi

                                                   Ophelia- Nala (Albeit with a happier ending)

                                                   The Ghost- Mufasa

                                                              Romeo And Juliet 

                                                               Romeo-Kovu

                                                                Juliet-Kiara

                                                                Friar Lawrence- Rafiki

                                                                Mercutio- Nuka

                                                                Capulet and Prince- Simba

                                                                Lady Capulet- Nala

                                                                Montague\Lady Montague- Zira

                                                                Benvolio- Vitani

                                                               Sampson and Gregory-Timon and Pumbaa

Other comparisons:

Forbidden love between two people from opposing families

Kovu\Romeo getting exiled by Simba\Prince

Nuka\Mercutio's death

Simba meaning "Lion" and Mufasa meaning "King"

Most names in The Lion King have a meaning:

Kovu means Scar

Zira means Hate

Nuka means Stink

Vitani means War

Sarabi means Mirage 

Nala means Gift

Tip of The Iceberg

Nala's Father

Due to Mufasa and Scar being the only males in the Pride, this has unfortunate implications about who Nala's father is. Disney and the fanbase tend to take different routes when talking about Nala's father to avoid incest.

Disney doesn't like the idea of incest in their media (which is good!) and Michael Eisner himself pointed out Nunka (The original version of Kovu) would have been Shani\Aisha (Kiara)'s cousin and had them change it to Kovu being Scar's heir instead of his son.

The fanbase also adopted the idea what Nala's father could have simply been a rogue lion, or that her mother Sarafina came from another Pride.

Although we don't directly get to see who it is, Nala's father is mentioned in an episode of The Lion Guard, being saved from falling off a tree branch by the guard of his time.

Kovu Meaning Scar

This name meaning is a little less commonly known than Simba and Mufasa's name meanings, but it isn't too obscure. 

This name choice is obviously supposed to show that Kovu was born to be Scar's heir, despite him not wanting to. He's sensitive about it and out of most likely anxiety, he sees himself in his own reflection as Scar when he is exiled.

                                                            

During production when Kovu was still named Nunka, he was supposed to be Scar's biological son, until Michael Eisner shot down the idea, pointing out it would make him and Kiara cousins. The final film portrays him as Scar's chosen heir. 

Timon and Pumbaa Cartoon

From 1995 to 1999 The Lion King's Timon and Pumbaa aired on Disney Channel and later Toon Disney. The show focuses on the duo Timon and Pumbaa and their various adventures. However it's debated as to if it is Canon or not, given that they travel to many different locales and often interact with humans. It's more likely the show is non canon than anything, given how out of place it would fit in The Lion King Universe. It also shows how Timon and Pumbaa met, along with a different version of Timon's mother, and the leader of Timon's meerkat colony, all made none canon by The Lion King 1 1\2.

Zira's Exile

In The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride there's not really any clear explanation about Zira's exile. Zazu calls them "Backstabbing, murderous Outsiders." implying something really bad happened. Some theorize Zira murdered Kopa, Simba and Nala's son in The Lion King 6 New Adventures. However the film implies she was exiled just due to her loyalty to Scar.

The Lion Guard manages to go more into depth about Zira's exile, explaining Simba tried to explain to her he was the rightful king, but he was attacked by her and exiled her and her family.

Below The Surface

Kimba The White Lion

Supposedly The Lion King copied elements of Kimba The White Lion. Even the names Simba and Kimba are oddly similar. However the similarities are most likely a coincidence. The Lion King's main inspiration was Bambi and Hamlet. Some "proof" of copying also comes from Kimba media released after 1994.

                                                          

Kovu's Father

In The Lion King fandom the topic of Kovu's father comes up quite a bit. To those unfamiliar with Simba's Pride it's assumed that Scar is Kovu's father, however it is stated multiple times Scar just took Kovu in and chose him as his heir. This also can lead to the question if Zira is Kovu's mother or not.

Kopa

Kopa was Simba and Nala's son in The Lion King: 6 New Adventures books from 1995. They were written by an independent author and approved by Disney to be published. Kopa was meant to represent the cub at the end of The Lion King but since 1998 Disney seems to consider the cub to be Kiara. In canon the only two children Simba and Nala have are Kiara and Kion. Kopa is popular in many fanworks though.

Kiara's Personality Change in Lion Guard

Kiara's personality changed a lot in The Lion Guard. In The Lion King 2 Simba's Pride Kiara had little to no interest in becoming queen ("What if I don't wanna be queen!? It's no fun...") and was focused on having fun despite her father's overprotectiveness. This trait continued into Kiara's adulthood, as she taught Kovu about fun. However in The Lion Guard Kiara is portrayed as serious and not as playful as she was in Simba's Pride. She also wants to be queen, and seems to make queen training her top priority. 

Differences in Kiara's Presentation 

Given that Kiara is the cub at the end of The Lion King the differences in her presentation in the sequel are jarring. In the first film Rafiki carries Kiara out and holds her up. In the sequel Nala brings out Kiara and then Rafiki holds her up. The most likely reason for this change was to make the opening scene of Simba's Pride more dynamic and fit with He Lives in You more. Kiara's design was also changed to look more feminine and more like her design in the film. It's also possible Kiara had two presentations, one directly after her birth and one later on. (Possibly to show that the rightful heir was born and celebrate the true end of Scar's rule). It's possible she had ear rims as a newborn but lost them later on, like how Simba didn't have any as a baby, had them as a cub, and had none as an adult. Note: Kiara's presentation at the end of The Lion King 2019 was basically identical to the end of the first film, except she mews at the end.

Slightly Deeper on the Ice Berg

Jim Cumming's Vocals in Be Prepared

More of a simple one. During recording of Scar's villain song Be Prepared  Jeremy Irons threw out his voice with the line "You won't get a sniff without me!" Because of that Jim Cummings finished the song for him, he was most likely a convenient replacement given he was voicing Ed in the film. Jim Cummings then went on to voice Scar in Simba's nightmare in Simba's Pride.

Scar's Scar

How Scar got his scar was always a mystery. In The Lion King: 6 New Adventures he got it from a water buffalo, in fanon usually his father or Mufasa gives him a Scar. The Lion Guard gives us the most canon answer so far, that he was attacked by a snake on Lion Guard duty. However the sequel planned for the 2019 film is about Mufasa, if it will explain Scar's scar is unknown.

Tojo,Malka,Kula, Chumvi

These are lion cubs who live in The Pride Lands in other Lion King  media such as foreign comics and The Lion King 6 New Adventures. They aren't seen as canon but are used in fanworks as Simba and Nala's cubhood friends.

Why didn't Scar kill Simba?
This is speculation as to why Scar didn't kill Simba after the stampede. One theory is he would be covered in Simba's blood and the lionesses would recognize Simba's scent. Another theory is Scar didn't want to exert the energy to kill Simba and thus sent the hyenas to do it. It might have even been that he felt some kind of pride in making Simba feel guilty before sending him off. Also there's the theory Simba would have died on his own under most circumstances, and he didn't know Timon and Pumbaa would take him in.

(To be updated!)