My very first art of Kiara, the main character of ''The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride''. The bit of text coming up includes SPOILERS for the film, so be warned!

I already thought Kiara was adorable, but there's one thing that's extra special to me. If you've seen the film, you'll know that at the end, Simba's rival Zira and her pride try to take over the Pridelands and start a war with the Pridelanders. This happens on a wide open rocky field at what's called the Outlands, a place not far away from the Pridelands. Kiara and her eventual friend, Kovu, intervene and Kiara manages to give the two opposing groups of lions a speech where she speaks the words: ''We are one. What differences do you see?'' This abruptly ends the conflict, because it suddenly gives all the partaking lions of both sides of the battlefield something to think about. Zira, however, ain't having any of it and in a rage attacks Simba, but Kiara pushes the older lioness away, which in short, causes Zira to fall over the edge of a nearby ravine with rushing water below it, a dangerous dam that has given away and is now flowing with dangerous force. Here's where it gets... dark. In the final film, Kiara manages to land on top of an outcrop of the ravine, being spared from a fatal plunge into the river. Zira hangs from the ravine wall with her forepaws, and when Kiara lends her a paw in order to pull her back up from her dangerous spot, Zira refuses and tries to swipe at Kiara with a paw. This ends up being Zira's downfall, as shortly after, she falls into the raging river and drowns, while Kiara is aided back up the solid rocky surface by Simba and Nala.

Now, there goes a theory that, in the original script of the film, Kiara was supposed to die just like Zira actually did. There wouldn't have been a convenient ledge or outcropping of rock to catch Kiara when she and Zira fell over the edge of the ravine after Zira attacked Kiara. Instead, the rocks that would have fallen down, would have been the very thing that did Kiara in. Simba would have seen his daughter drown in the river, and would then have to cope with another loss of one of his family members, with this being obviously a parallel to Mufasa's death scene in the first film. Kiara is established as someone who isn't afraid to take risks to help others, even if it would bring her own life in danger, and this fall would have been Kiara's ultimate sacrifice. She'd do this in the hopes of ending the conflict between the Pridelanders and the Outsiders.

I have seen a video on YouTube where someone explained exactly why this version of the final act of the film was altered. Yes, it would have been too shocking for the kids who watched the film, since they would have to witness the film's main character die. But the YouTuber pointed out that the REAL reason COULD be that Disney was too afraid of giving the film a dark ending, not because it would have traumatized the audience... but because said audience apparently wouldn't buy merchandise of a film that had such a tragic end to the main character, and this negative reputation would have a ripple effect on the performance of future Disney films and even outside material, such as theme park attractions... apparently. I think this is a very, VERY dumb reason, because the first film was so well remembered by the audience exactly BECAUSE of Mufasa's death. It was the entire driving force behind everything that happened after the fact. The YouTuber I mentioned earlier, states that certain scenes at the end of TLK 2 feel rushed, like one important thing happens after another, with no breathing room in-between two separate important consecutive events. I'm planning on watching TLK 2 once more and I'm hoping to see it through the lens of the YouTuber, because, ever since I saw that video, I've come to appreciate the character of Kiara as a main role in the film, even more than I already did.

I am pretty sure I haven't gone over ALL the parts of this puzzle, but these are the most important ones I just HAD to mention. Here is the link to the video -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF75IErOjdQ