The Lion King Characters That Just Aren't There

Trying to address what I think is this fandom's basic problem.

I originally published this at Fanpop's TLK club as bendaimmortal. This is a slightly improved version.

I'm not denying the characters' existence in the general TLK universe. This speaks of the movie universe only.

There's a reason why there are the different terms; canon, semi-canon, fanfiction. Because there's a difference and the difference matters. I personally welcome fanfiction with open arms into my interests in fandoms - but I do find it also awfully important that the facts are kept straight in official/canon vs. fanfiction. And in this fandom the facts are so messed up.

"Scar killed Mheetu! It is true! Just search google!" Since when was random Google search results the Truth? I think you'll find the truth a whole lot less dranatic. And "Zira killed Kopa and that's why--" But wait! Then why doesn't the film refer to any cub or murder with so much as half a word? Perhaps because Zira DIDN'T kill a cub. "Why haven't they made a movie where they explain what happened to Kopa?!" Because nothing happened to Kopa for Kopa has never existed in the movie universe.

You know what I think is this fandom's problem?

This:

"Mheetu,Sarafina's son by an unknown male is never mentioned in the movie. But he does exist! So what do you think is his story? Here is my opinion..."

As in that every character who has ever been mentioned in The Lion King universe in the slightest official shape or form--whether it was originally intented into a film or simply has Disney's stamp on it--has to have an official story for why they don't show up in the film(s). And then too many blindly believe any story they read online if it makes any sense at all at the first thought. (Like the most popular fan theory for Kopa, which in a little deeper look turns out to be horribly illogic. See my article "Kopa was killed/disappeared theories = impossible".)

In fact Mheetu doesn't exist and he doesn't have a story for not being in the movie(s) because he was cut out with no references. Hence, CUT out, not written out. And Kopa doesn't appear in the Simba's Pride film because he never existed in the first place as is evident by the commentary track and the first movie's content itself.

Boring? Yes, I agree. But that's the reality of film making; Mheetu is a victim of how lots of stuff is intented but then cut out as unfitting, unneeded, or just out of the way of better ideas, and thus not meant as part of the final outcome's universe in any way. Becomes non-existent without a story for it.

Kopa wasn't created by Disney but by an outsider comic writer after the film was released, and he was evidently never intented by the film makers. The general Disney gave its stamp on the books but so it did to many other books that contradict those books. As in the book universe is evidently a collection of profit fanfiction stories and nothing more. Disney has never taken into their movie universe, stories and characters created by fans even if they held the copyrights. Their movie production teams like to create their own original characters or base the characters on some epic, old fairytales. And thus Kopa got ignored and literally denied by all film makers and remains an official fanfiction character who never existed in the film universe, and so doesn't have a story for it.

Mheetu just isn't there and Kopa is a never-was.

It's cool and fine if you want to create and share fanfiction views for why they don't appear in the films--those made-up stories may be even interesting. But for heaven's sake, they don't REALLY have a story other than that they just aren't or never were there. So please stop spreading the stories as official because not one of them is, and please stop saying / giving the impression that the characters officially exist in the movie universe - because they don't.

There are many fans out here who actually care about the facts and discussing the true canon world - and even more importantly, when new people come asking questions they naturally want THE FACTS and not your personal believes, not your fantasy world and fan visions. And when they come and get your theories at their face, based on no real facts, they get confused.

CANON = the first film's content as in the authentic The Lion King.
- Does the first film's content show or mention Mheetu? No.
- The cub looks like Kopa but does the content actually say it's name is Kopa or that it's a male? No.
----> Mheetu and Kopa are not canon.

OFFICIAL SEQUEL = the only official movie sequel made by Disney, Simba's Pride.
- Does the sequel's content show or mention Mheetu? No.
- The cub and ceremony looks different from the first film's but does this film show or mention Kopa? No.
- Does the sequel's official trailer use the first film's cub for baby Kiara? Yes.
- Does the sequel's animator say that the cub at the end of the first film is a queen? Yes. (Here.)
-----> Mheetu and Kopa are not official movie characters. They don't exist in the movie universe.

They should first be mentioned in the movies in order to have any base for a story for their absence.

As in, boring but true - there are no official stories for Mheetu and Kopa, and there's no conspiracy.

They just aren't there.

Last comments


Kieran	April 03, 2013

UltimateScarFan101:

"Just because characters aren't mentioned doesn't always mean they don't exist..."

No, but the fact that Disney mentions on TLK's Laserdisc release (1995) that Mheetu was CUT OUT of the story in early production, does mean that he doesn't exist in the movie's storyline.

Entertaining fanfiction vision you have there, though.


Ultimate ScarFan1 01	March 01, 2013

I agree with Kopa not existing (But I imagine him to be Nala and Simba's second cub that is born after TLK 2) but with Mheetu I'm afraid I have to disagree. I really think that shortly before Nala left the lionesses were forced to plot against their (supposed) king because everyone was starving. Sarabi taught Nala's brother, Mheetu how to be a ruler and Mheetu knew he would probably be forced to kill King Scar and he was very reluctant but he knew he had to save his Pride. Zira eavesdropped on them and told Scar who came up and attacked Mheetu. The fight had begun, and Mheetu, a much stronger lion, was winning, but of course Zira intervened, and Mheetu was killed. Nala left to find help shortly after, hating Scar for killing her brother.
Just because characters aren't mentioned doesn't always mean they don't exist...
P.S. I think that Nala and Mheetu's father who mated with Sarafina is Tojo.


Kieran	February 21, 2013

Vicci and SarabiMirage123,

would you please read the article carefully before commenting. The first sentence clearly says that this article speaks of the movie universe only and that I don't deny the characters' existence in the general TLK universe. Yes, Kopa is real in the general TLK universe, but not in the movie universe. He is not canon.


Vicci	December 30, 2012

Kopa IS real. He is mentioned in OFFICIAL books.


SarabiMi rage123	December 26, 2012

Kia> I am afraid you are wrong, though I understand your point. Disney invented Mheetuh, but scrapped him and deleted his scenes. So technically, he did exist. But Kopa is Canon.


Kia	December 26, 2012

Mheetu and Kopa DO NOT exist, end of story. I think
in the second movie it is worse animation, that's why
Simba looks different. I prefer the first movie over all
of them, but the stories about Kopa are fun.


DannyPha ntomess	September 15, 2012

You're welcome, ElChivato. If that was your theory, thanks for showing me the truth about Kopa

-DP, Die Hard Lion King fan


Queenspi ritwolf	September 10, 2012

rawr


Kieran	August 24, 2012

@ Blue Eyes: Who are you quoting and talking to?

@ DannyPhantomess:
Thank you.
And I think that theory is originally mine from a long time ago. Later I came to conclusion cub Kovu is more likely intended to be 9-11 months old in the movie, as in 3-5 months older than Kiara. He is way too small to be 2 years old as a cub but could more realistically be meant as a small 9 months old, while lion cubs actually do start to get a little fuzzy already around 9 months of age.


Blue Eyes	August 19, 2012

"And Scar killed Mheetu, so..."
No he didn't. He was CUT out! From the scripts!
Scar's designs did not walk out of the paper, surround Mheetu's designs and pounce. It's both impossible, silly.


DannyPha ntomess	August 16, 2012

Wonderful article. sure, it is fun to make up fanfiction, but it is sad to see something Disney intended NOT TO EXIST AT ALL to grow in to something 'real'. Kopa is NOT REAL. Kopa is not 'real everywhere'. I am a die hard Lion King fan. Mheetu does not exist either, I am sorry to say. I would have liked to see Nala have a brother, but he is not there. Sorry you Kopa fans.
fluffy was NEVER EVER EVEEER (I can not emphasize enough) mentioned by Disney to be Kopa. Fluffy was Kiara.
My theory:
Kopa had a hair tuft, meaning he had to be at least two years old. So was Kovu. Kovu was born before he was exiled. (And by the way, he was not exiled for his mother, Zira, killing Kopa. She was exiled because she was loyal to scar, which was a dumb reason to exile someone. That is why she complained so much about being exiled and why she still wanted to get revenge for scar so much.)
Anyway, Kiara had a tail tuft, which means she had to be at least seven months. If Kovu was 13+ months older than Kiara, and Kovu was older than Kopa, Kopa simply did not fit in the timeline. (this theory is not mine. I got it offa some website.)
He could not be born after Kiara because for one, Simba knows about what happens when hard feelings come about about being heirs to the throne with his own father and uncle, so he would not have more than one cub.

-DP, Die Hard Lion King Fan
P.S. I AM NOT trying to hurt any Kopa fan's feelings.


Kieran	April 28, 2012

@ BambixRonno

The reason for the over-protectivness is directly explained in the movie in the very same scene the over-protectiveness is pointed out. No Kopa needed.

Simba being a lot sadder; likely b/c at the end of The Lion King he found out that his dear uncle murdered his father and that he'd carried false guilt for many years. Oh, and because the animators were different than in the first film. No Kopa needed.

Simba looking older is only an opinion, the fact is that he looks different. And again the different looks are caused by new animators.

Indeed the two cubs look different but it has been confirmed by Disney in in video footage and magazine interview that they both are Kiara.

"They are too different to ignore."

Not really. All you have to do is get over a few lines on paper. After all the cub at the end of the first film hangs around for only 10 seconds. As for the ceremony scene over-all...Again, easily ignorable. All you have to do is accept the fact that remaking and retroactive continuity is a common practice in creation of movie series.

Both versions of the cub are equally calm up to the point we even see of the first film's ending. The sequel version's non-calm movements start not before the point when in TLK's ending, the end credits hit. Some things in common with Fluffy and Kiara are; no fruit juice on their foreheads when they're lifted up, and they look around the same way just after lifted up. So they did not completely ignore the details.

"Also, is it just me or does Rafiki lift Kiara up quicker than Fluffy? They must be different cubs, there are too many differences and hints to ignore."

He does, but they're not different cubs. Fluffy is Kiara in essence. See the TLK2's official trailer and read the magazine interview with one of the TLK2's animators.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUW_p8YMq50


Rebekah_ the_Lion	April 17, 2012

I think Kopa is real because think about it, Simba is over-protective about Kiara, he seems to be a lot sadder in the lion king 2, he looks older. The two cubs look different in the lion king and lion king 2. They are too different to ignore. Fluffy has the ear rims, has a different fur colour and is a lot calmer. Timon and Pumbaa are next to Nala and Simba, who look younger, and Rafiki is skinnier in the lion king. Kiara, to me, looks a little plumper, has different colours, no ear rims, is not completely calm, Simba and Nala look older, Timon and Pumbaa are not there, and Rafiki is not as skinny. The presentations are different too. In the lion king Simba and Nala are already outside when Rafiki comes in between them, holding Fluffy. In the lion king 2, Rafiki is outside and Simba and Nala approach him. Nala is holding Kiara in her mouth and Rafiki takes her from Nala. Also, is it just me or does Rafiki lift Kiara up quicker than Fluffy? They must be different cubs, there are too many differences and hints to ignore.
I'm just simply pointing out thinks that I have noticed that make the two of them different. I have said Fluffy instead of Kopa because I do not wish to start an argument saying that it is a genderless cub named Fluffy. If that is your opinion, I'm fine with that. As for Mheetu, I only found out about him two or three years back and, as not being that interested in him, I decided to ignore him and not find out about him. Kopa, however, caught my attention. For the fact about Mheetu being cut out, the whole of finding out about how Scar ruled the pridelands was never mentioned. So Mheetu could not exist anyway. By not telling us anything about it lets us be able to come up with our own idea's and think what we want, and there is no point in arguing about it, there is no point in changing anyone's mind. Anyway, I'm going on again, so I'll shut up now.


Sgz500	March 08, 2012

some people make a maaaaaajor deal on non-cano characters that they think are real.
I mean, so what If you don't know why Zira and her followers were exiled? (best assumption is that she and her followers were loyal to Scar)
and I've heard the whole Mheetu thing, but once a character is cut, they're GONE, non-existant, discontinued etc.


Someone	January 30, 2012

True. They could of been an idea but not one to be used


Kieran	January 30, 2012

In the following post capslocks are not mean as shouting but just to put emphasis on the words.

@ Feathervenom:

---"Now, that cub in the end of TLK WAS real. He WAS intented to be used hould there be a sequel."---

Except that IN ESSENCE that cub was not a he as its creators called it a unisex nickname "Fluffy" and did not have the movie verbally confirm a gender. As in it was unisex which the sequel's creators could turn into anything without contradicting the canon story-wise.

---"And look at Simba's mane. In the second, he's noticeably older.
...Explain that one. Because that was NOT Kiara."---

The correct term 'different'. That Simba looks noticeably different. Because one of that movie's creators has said that the sequel starts off where the first film left us. As in NOTHING IN BETWEEN the first film's ending and the sequel's opening. Thus Simba CAN NOT be a second older and that cub IS Kiara. The mane length is just a a matter of slobby design.

---"And Mheetu was intended, and is existant, just not... there. He is in files. He was scratched but.... I don't know what to think there."---

The point was that he's non-existent in the movies' literal storyline and that's why he does not have any story for why he's not shown in them.


Featherv enom	January 22, 2012

Now, that cub in the end of TLK WAS real. He WAS intented to be used hould there be a sequel. And look at Simba's mane. In the second, he's noticeably older.
...Explain that one. Because that was NOT Kiara.
And Mheetu was intended, and is existant, just not... there. He is in files. He was scratched but.... I don't know what to think there.


Me	January 22, 2012

People!
only the characters made by Disney are the real caracters. every caracter who is not made by Disney is a fan made caracter and is not real.
and personaly i like the stories about Kopa and the others but just stop saying they are real and made by Disney when they are not. everone is getting so confused and soon no one will even know the real Lion King story anymore. sad right?
just make your own caracters and stories about them but stop saying they are made by Disney! and if you really think they are find a proper proof!


Huh?	January 02, 2012

like-I-care, then why you smile?


Like-I-c are	January 02, 2012

I hate these kinds of articles that have to make me loose my faith in these characters


Kopa	December 23, 2011

Kopa does exist there's a lot of proof he does!


TLKfan#1	December 23, 2011

Scar didn't kill Mheetu he's alive in TLK comics by Kati


Troll Berserke r	July 03, 2011
	Site Builder (Content), Site Builder (Co...
	Big Bad Mod

Kopaisreal1 > Please stop being so immature and deal with the facts


DeeDee96	May 14, 2011

-Claps- So true!
Although I'd prefer a son for Simba, Kopa just doesn't exist. Nor does Mheetu.


Simba_Ha rry123	May 14, 2011

Kopa is real everywhere.


Typo	May 14, 2011

	AppleDash>You

Hmm... very interesting. Never thought about it that way.


Kieran	May 13, 2011

@ H�cate:

"But what's the mater if fans want to make them a story for them ?"

Nothing in itself. Did you actually read this article through? Especially the ending makes literally clear that I'm talking about fans claiming their made-up stories as official and "what really happened". And that that needs to stop.

"For Kopa, you speak about him only. But why don't you talk about all the other comic's characters like Ni or Tojo ?"

Because they go without saying by being in the same category with Kopa. Plus, I don't know of anyone who'd tried to claim teh comic characters as existent in the movies. Hence, no sense in turning an article into more complicated than it needs to be.

"And you want to know somethink who's really true ? Fans LOVE character who don't have a full story in a movie, .... It's normal ^-^ what's the interst to remake part of the movie ( or for showing an other feeling or something new )?"

Again, the point of this article is that those fans are not just expressing their love through making up the stories but they're trying to make everyone believe their stories are what really happened. And that's the matter. That's what's wrong. Not the story-making but the way the stories are passed on.

"They're not a fan invention."

Mheetu isn't. Kopa is. As Mheetu was invented by the canon makers but Kopa by an outsider comic writer who didn't even work at The Walt Disney Company. What happened to Kopa when his books got the Disney stamp was that he got official. He's still nonetheless fan-invention.

"But it's not with this little article you'll stop the fan made in this site xD"

I'm not trying to. All I mean is that people should just accept that there is no official stories for certain characters and thus should stop acting like their fan made stories were official because they're not official.

"Meethu and all the characters from the comic will never be in the movie, that is real. But say they don't exist is not the true."

And I have never said that. This very article begins with me saying that I am not denying their existence in the general TLK universe. That this article speaks of the movie universe only. Tell me honestly now; did you read this article?

"The characters comics are in a some comic = they exist BUT NOT IN THE MOVIE.
Meethu has some project, character sheet and I think storyboard = he was made to exist but no time to Prensent him in the movie, so exist BUT NOT IN THE MOVIE."

Seriously? If you'd read this article you'd know that's exactly what I'm saying with this article all along.


Simba_Ha rry123	May 13, 2011

Kopa is Cannon!


H�cate	May 13, 2011

	Chasseuse de voleurs

Yeah, it's true. But what's the mater if fans want to make them a story for them ? It's not like kopa and Meethu was made by a fan who say they're official. Meethu was a project from disney. A movie for child just can't make more than 1:30 cause more is too long. So yeah, he was cuts, just like other part of the movie and likes in ALL the movie in the world. BUT, they make the project. So, what's the mater ?

For Kopa, you speak about him only. But why don't you talk about all the other comic's characters like Ni or Tojo ?

And you want to know somethink who's really true ? Fans LOVE character who don't have a full story in a movie, a comic, a book, a game or wathever. Look to all the fans of the lion king, the most of them likes to draw ( or make fanfictions ) with something is not showing in the movie cause they want to put a part of them there. It's normal ^-^ what's the interst to remake part of the movie ( or for showing an other feeling or something new )?

Now take Simba, sorry but most of the people say ' it's my fav character ' but he don't have a really big place in the fan made xD why ? Cause we already now a long part of his story. Now take Mufasa and look all fans made. Cause we only have the end of his life. So, they can imagine just as they want. And it's the same with other movie/book. I take Harry Potter for example, they all draw or make fanfiction about many characters, but not Harry, Herminie and Ron.

But I go away from what your article xD

All I want to mean is that those characters are ' offical ' ( more meethu than Kopa cause it's not the same compagnie than for the movie ). They're not a fan invention. And when they made 'disney comics' from some movie, they always creat new characters. You don't like them or the fan made, it's your mind and I respect it. But it's not with this little article you'll stop the fan made in this site xD

Meethu and all the characters from the comic will never be in the movie, that is real. But say they don't exist is not the true.
The characters comics are in a some comic = they exist BUT NOT IN THE MOVIE.
Meethu has some project, character sheet and I think storyboard = he was made to exist but no time to Prensent him in the movie, so exist BUT NOT IN THE MOVIE.

( I hope you'll understand my bad english XD )


Kieran	May 12, 2011

I would've liked if they kept Mheetu in but I do understand that he would've served no purpose in the final story. After all, he was intended before they'd decided what the story really would be about.

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The Lion King Characters That Just Aren't There

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