Kiara

"Tag! You're it!"

- Kiara to Kovu while playing with him.

"A wise king once told me we are one. I didn't understand then, but now I do."

- Kiara to her father Simba

Princess Kiara (simply known as Kiara) is the main protagonist of the 1998 film The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and a supporting character in its 2016 midquel TV series The Lion Guard.

She is Simba and Nala's daughter and eldest child, Kion's older sister, Kovu's best friend and later, his wife, Mufasa, Sarabi and Sarafina's granddaughter, Scar's great-niece, Zira's daughter-in-law and Nuka and Vitani's sister-in-law.

In The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, she is voiced by Michelle Horn (speaking) and Charity Sanoy (singing) as a cub and as an adolescent, she is voiced by Neve Campbell (speaking), who also portrayed Sidney Prescott and Liz Callaway (singing). She is voiced by Eden Riegel in The Lion Guard.

Description
Kiara shares many traits with her parents and grandparents. Like Nala, her fur and belly are both a cream color with a noticeable tinge of gold given to her by Simba, which results in a light creamy gold pelt.

She has brownish-red eyes, which she inherited from Simba and Mufasa. The only other features Kiara seems to get from Queen Nala are her build, eyebrows, tail tuft color, and eye shape. Like Nala, she doesn't have ear rims.

Unlike most of the lionesses in The Lion King universe, Kiara stays one consistent color throughout the film, instead of darkening with age like her predecessors. She closely resembled her paternal grandmother Sarabi when she was an adolescent.

She isn't very large in terms of height either, only coming up to Nala's shoulder and Simba's chest. Kovu easily dwarfs her in size, as well as every other leonine character in the movie. This is probably because, as an adolescent, she hasn't finished growing yet.

Personality
As a cub, Kiara is a bit mischievous as her father was when he was a cub, and disobedient. She gets ignorant and annoyed with her father's overprotective parenting and Timon and Pumbaa's babysitting.

Where Simba went to the Elephant Graveyard merely because he was curious about what was there, Kiara goes to the Outlands because she was told not to.

Despite all this, she is very friendly, trying to make friends with Kovu, an Outsider cub she should be wary of. Unlike Simba, however, she has no desire to be the future Queen.

At some point later in her cubhood, Kiara became more accepting of her destiny as future Queen and became very stubborn and snarky. This attitude would cause her to clash with her younger brother Kion, though she still cared about him.

As an adolescent, Kiara retains the personality of her younger cub self. However, she isn't as approving of her father's supervision as she once was, and wants to be self-sufficient and make her own decisions, thus putting her into a conflict with her father.

She's still friendly and a bit rash in her actions. As the film develops her personality changes.

Kiara saw no problem with Kovu, for she saw his kind character, befriending him when he was a cub, and strongly supporting him when he is an adolescent.

She is also much calmer as an adolescent, as shown when she is dealing with Kovu and Simba late in the film, and later standing up to him and talking sense into him, showing her dedication to the task at hand and also her loyalty to her family and kingdom.

Kiara also was very charismatic as she convinced both prides that they were better unified than fighting each other.

She also proved herself to be incorruptible for despite her desire to avoid being Queen, and her feelings for Kovu, she chose to return to her pride, thinking and putting the needs of both prides above her own goals.

She forgave Kovu and the Outsiders, and tried to save Zira even when she was threatened by her, showing no intent to kill her or any of the Outsiders no matter their acts of cruelty. She also possessed a large amount of heroism and bravery, blocking Zira from killing her father, and then trying to save her. Upon the reunification, she asked for no reward for her actions.

This proves that although she does not want to lead, Kiara possesses the qualities, traits, personality and vision to be the best queen there is, giving her the characteristics of a true heroine.

Cub
In the beginning, Simba and Nala bring a newborn Kiara to Rafiki who presents her to the animals of the Pride Lands and also Mufasa's ghost. Pumbaa and Timon begin to discuss about teaching Kiara and mistakenly believe that she is a male, but Rafiki corrects them causing them to faint.

Months later, Kiara, now a young cub, prepares to go off to play, but is stopped by Simba who tells her to be careful (something he has told Kiara many times as she knows it all off by heart) and to stay away from the Outlands, the home of the Outsiders. After Kiara leaves, Simba, against the advice of Nala, sends Timon and Pumbaa to keep an eye on her. Kiara starts to chase a butterfly which leads to the Outlands. Just then, Timon and Pumbaa appear behind and she falls into water and Pumbaa drives in to save her but ends up landing on her. After getting out of the water, Kiara sneaks away whilst Timon and Pumbaa are arguing about what grubs are better; slimy or crunchy. Eventually Kiara reaches the Outlands where she mets another cub named Kovu.

In the lands, she and Kovu get attacked by hungry crocodiles until they escaped. After escaping the two cubs start to play, but then Simba (along with Nala, Timon, Pumbaa and two lionesses) appears, then Kovu's mother and the Outsiders' leader Zira, who talks of how Kovu was chosen by Scar to be his heir, prior to Simba banishing the Outsiders.

After returning to the Pride Lands, Simba scolds Kiara for wandering off and says that she has to be careful as future Queen. Kiara then asks what if she doesn't want to be Queen to which Simba replies saying that it's like saying she doesn't want to be a lion and it's in her blood as he is before singing We Are One, which means the species they are.

Adolescence
Years later, Kiara, now an adolescent, is preparing to go on her first hunt and is assured by Nala that she will do just fine. Noticing her father's uneasiness, Kiara asks Simba to let her do it on her own. Though he promises to, he goes against his word by sending Timon and Pumbaa after her when she is gone. After running into Timon and Pumbaa, Kiara guesses that her father sent them and is angered that he broke his promise and then goes off to hunt away from the Pride Lands. Just as Kiara is about to hunt antelopes, they run off and Kiara notices fire (which was set by Kovu's siblings Nuka and Vitani) and eventually falls unconscious. Kovu, on Zira's orders, goes into the fire and saves Kiara. After waking up, Kiara is at first angry at Kovu for bringing her back to the Pride Lands, but changes her mind when she recognises him just as Simba and Nala arrive, having noticed the fire. As Nala gives her a relieved nuzzle, Kiara confronts Simba over not keeping his word, to which Simba replies that it's a good thing he did as he almost lost her, before banning Kiara from hunting again, out of fear of losing her again. After learning that Kiara was saved by Kovu, who asks to join the Pridelanders, Simba is at first, reluctant to because Kovu is an Outsider, but has to go by the law of owing debts, much to Kiara's happiness. That night as the pride return to Pride Rock, Simba makes Kovu stay outside the den where Kiara thanks him for saving her. Simba calls for Kiara to come inside, to which she does, but not before making a deal with Kovu to teach her to hunt.

The next day, Kiara and Kovu meet Timon and Pumbaa and help them chase away birds that are eating the bugs, then running into a herd of rhinos on a gorge. The quartet escape the rhinos by hiding in a tight gap in a rock. As they get out of the gap, Kiara and Kovu accidentlly kiss, which causes them to laugh awkwardly, before leaving with Timon and Pumbaa. Later that night, Kiara and Kovu are stargazing when Kiara tells Kovu about how Simba told her about the Great Kings of the Past, to which Kovu asks if Scar is up there. Kiara replies that Simba had said that there was a darkness in Scar that he could escape, making Kovu wonder if he himself has a darkness in him. Soon after, the two are taken to an imaginary world called "Upendi" by Rafiki where the two young lions fall in love.

The next day, Kovu comes to Kiara to talk to her, but Simba arrives saying he wants to talk to Kovu. Later that day, whilst out with Timon, Pumbaa and Zazu, Kiara sees Simba limping in the distance and tells Zazu to get help. She, Timon and Pumbaa rush over to Simba who upon being asked what happened to him, he spits out Kovu and Ambush before collapsing, which Kiara cannot believe as Pumbaa carries Simba back to Pride Rock. Back at Pride Rock, Kiara tells Simba that it can't be true about Kovu being part of Zira's ambush. Upon seeing Kovu coming towards Pride Rock, Kiara goes to greet him, but is stopped by Simba who confronts Kovu for coming back and refuses to listen to Kovu's side of the story. When Kiara pleads for Simba to listen to Kovu, he angrily tells her to be silent before banishing Kovu from the Pride Lands. Kiara tries to protest against this, but is stopped by the other lionesses (with the exception of Nala), who have taken Simba's side. After Kovu is gone, Kiara approaches Simba and asks him to reconsider his decision to which he replies that she will not go anywhere without an escort from now on and that Kovu had used her to get to him. Kiara denies this saying Kovu loves her for herself, but Simba claims it's because she is his daughter and tells Kiara that she will not leave Pride Rock so he can keep on eye on her away from Kovu. Kiara tells Simba that he doesn't know Kovu but Simba replies saying that he knows that Kovu is following in Scar's paw prints and that Simba himself must follow in his own father's (unaware that Mufasa had wanted Kiara and Kovu to be together in order to bring peace between the Pridelander pride and the Outsiders). Angry at her father's attitude, Kiara tells Simba that he will never be Mufasa (suggesting that in Kiara's eyes, Mufasa would've seen that the ambush wasn't Kovu's fault), horrifying him before running into Pride Rock in tears, whilst being watched on in shock by the other lionesses whilst Simba turns away. Kiara cries to herself, before noticing a hole and crawls through it to get out of Pride Rock, without Simba and the pride noticing.

Kiara then sets out to find Kovu and eventually finds him and they have a heartfelt reunion. When Kovu suggests that they run away to start their own pride, Kiara convinces him to return with her to reunite their prides. The two race back to the Pride Lands and witness their prides fighting. Just as Simba and Zira are about to fight, Kiara and Kovu jump between them, much to the surprise of the two. When Simba tells Kiara to stand aside, she tells him that the fighting has to stop. Simba tells Kiara to stay out of it, but Kiara replies that a wise king once told her "We Are One" and that she did not understand him then, but does now. Simba begins to protest about the Outsiders, but Kiara tells him that the Outsiders are them and questions her father on what differences he sees. This causes Simba to renounce his previous attitude and reconcile with Kiara. Kovu's sister Vitani and the other Outsiders also agree with Kiara and rejoin the Pridelanders. Only Zira refuses peace and she tries to attack Simba, but Kiara leaps in to defend her father and crashes into Zira and the two lioness fall over the edge of the cliff side. Kiara lands on a ledge whilst Zira hangs onto it. Kiara attempts to save her, but the evil lioness falls to her death just moments before Simba arrives to pull Kiara back up to the top of the cliff where she is reunited with her mother and Kovu. A remorseful Simba allows Kovu and the other Outsiders to rejoin the pride. The day after, the Outsiders and Pridelanders are rejoiced and peace is restored. Kiara and Kovu are seen on the top of Pride Rock and go with Simba and Nala to roar in celebration with Mufasa's ghost congratulating them by saying "We are one".

The Lion Guard
Kiara first appears at the start of the series's 2015 pilot film The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar where Simba is teaching her about being future Queen, only to be interrupted by her brother Kion (whom Kiara has an on-off sibling rivalry with) and his honey badger friend Bunga playing Baobab Ball, much to Kiara's annoyance. Simba tells Kion that Kiara is going to track gazelles with her friends before Kiara starts to remind Kion that she's going to be Queen, only for an annoyed Kion to butt in and finish the sentence for her. Kiara replies that at least she has her life figured out and questions Kion on what he is going to grow up to be (since he is second born and won't directly inherit the throne unless Kiara abdicates or doesn't have cubs) to which Kion replies "Happy". The two squabbling siblings are then sepreated by Simba, who sends Kion and Bunga to play their game elsewhere. As she watches her brother leave, Kiara tells Simba that she can't believe she and Kion are related, to which Simba replies that he hopes Kion will grow up someday.

Kiara is later seen when she and her friend Tiifu look on as her other friend Zuri gets her claws stuck in a log (as she had been sharping them, which she had been doing on every tree she passed), but Timon and Pumbaa are able to free Zuri. Bunga then reveals that Kion is has been made leader of the Lion Guard by Simba and has made Bunga the first member. Kiara questions Kion if Simba knows about this (putting Bunga on the team) to which Kion replies that Simba told him about The Lion Guard and for him to find the Pride Lands best. Kiara along with Kion, Tiffu, Zuri, Timon and Pumbaa, listens to Bunga singing "Zuka Zama".

She later tells Simba about Kion putting Bunga in The Lion Guard and proves this to him when Zazu leads them and Tiifu to Kion, Bunga, Beshte, Fuli and Ono. Simba thanks Kiara before sending her and Tiifu to track gazelles while he has a word with Kion. Kiara and Tiifu are later seen tracking gazelles with Kiara telling Tiifu that they can't take more than their fair share as it would break The Circle of Life. Kiara notices Janja and his clan going into the heart of the gazelle herd. Suspicious, Kiara sends Tiifu to get Simba while she keeps an eye on the herd.

But eventually, Kiara gets caught up in a stampede in the herd started by Janja and his clan. However, Kion and The Lion Guard come to her rescue by chasing the hyenas away while Bunga farts which causes the gazelles to go in another direction, before Kiara is delivered to safety next to Simba, Nala, Tiifu and Rafiki (who had been watching from afar) and witnesses Kion defeat Janja.

Kiara continues to make recurring appearances throughout the series, mostly learing how to be Queen, hanging out with Tiifu and Zuri or carrying out royal duties on behalf of her parents.

A Little Help From a Friend
In this comic (which serves as a midquel to the film), Kiara wakes up Simba so he can show her the kingdom. During the tour however, Zazu arrives and alerts Simba of Outsiders being spotted near the Pride Lands's canyon. Kiara is left in the care of Timon and Pumbaa, much to her dismay.

Whilst Timon and Pumbaa are looking for bugs, Kiara (like in the film) takes this opportunity to sneak away and ends up running into another cub. At first, Kiara doesn't recognise him but she later on discovers that it is Kovu.

The princess is delighted and proceeds to invite her friend to come to the canyon with her so they can watch her father drive away the Outsiders together. To her disappointment, Kovu declines the offer as he wouldn't be welcomed. Dejectedly, Kiara begins to walk away, but then she realizes that it would be much more fun to stay and play with Kovu, so she turns around and starts up a game of tag with her former playmate.

As the cubs are playing, Kiara hears Pumbaa cry out for help. The two friends immediately race to the source of the voice and find that Timon is hanging unconscious from a vine in a tree. Quickly, the two formulate a plan. While Kovu climbs up the tree and frees Timon, Kiara clambers onto Pumbaa's back and catches the meerkat as he falls. After laying Timon gently in Pumbaa's tusks, Kiara bids her friend farewell, as they both agree that he would not be welcome in the Pride Lands.

On the way back to Pride Rock, Timon revives and thanks Kiara for saving his life. The three friends then agree not to tell anyone about their encounter with Kovu, but to merely mention him as a friend. The story is later recounted to Simba, who praises his daughter for her quick thinking. Kiara accepts the thanks and then adds cheekily that many things are possible, if only with a little help from a friend.

Songs Performed By Kiara

 * "We Are One" (The Lion King II: Simba's Pride)
 * "Love Will Find A Way" (The Lion King II: Simba's Pride)
 * "Hakuna Matata" (The Lion Guard)

Trivia

 * People say Kiara may be the cub of Simba and Nala in the end of The Lion King. It may be true, because in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, there is a similar scene where Kiara is presented by Rafiki to the animals, just like what he did with Simba and Nala's cub in the end of the original film. However, the lion cub who was seen in the very end of the original film had golden fur and looked like Simba, while Kiara looks different from the cub in the end of the original film and resembles both Simba and Nala.
 * Original names for Kiara were Aisha and Shani.
 * In the original script for The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, Kiara was going to fall in love with Scar's son Nunka. But this would count as incest as they would be second cousins so Nunka became Kovu and was instead Scar's adoptive son.
 * It can be assumed that Kiara's adolescent self is meant to be the equivalent of a teenager judging by how Simba still acted over-protective of her and after she left to hunt outside The Pride Lands, Timon called her a kid.
 * Originally, Kiara was to have light brown fur, green eyes and a hair tuft. But this was changed to the orange color seen in the final film.
 * It is currently unknown how older Kiara is than Kion. Whether they are twins (with Kiara being the first born twin) or a few months apart, is yet to be confirmed.
 * In the early drafts of The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, Kiara was originally Simba and Nala's second-born child and had an older brother named Chaka or Kopa (who was meant to be the cub seen at the end of the first film). However, he was cut as he made the film too complicated.
 * Though not outright mentioned, it is revealed in The Lion Guard episode "Paintings and Predictions" that Kiara has a great-great-uncle who led the Lion Guard that saved her maternal grandfather after he fell from a tree as a cub.
 * As "The Lion King II: Simba's Pride" is loosely based on Romeo and Juliet, Kiara [due to being Kovu's love interest from a hostile family (The Pridelanders)] is based on Juliet. She is also based on her parents, Simba and Nala.