Kovu
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Kovu is the son of Zira and an unknown male(possibly Chumvi), and first appeared in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. He is the half-brother of Nuka and Vitani. But it depends whether or not you believe Nuka and/ or Vitani have a different father than him.
He is voiced by Ryan O'Donohue, voice cub; Jason Marsden, voice adult; and Gene Miller, singing adult.
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In Simba's Pride
Kovu is a quiet cub who can act confident, but is extremely nervous when it comes to talking to his mother. His father is unknown, but was orignally Scar, as described below. He is one of the main characters in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride.
Cub Kovu
Kovu has been chosen over Nuka as Scar's heir, and was the last born before the Outlanders' exilation to the Outlands. He initially meets Kiara whilst wandering from his home and near the Pridelands. Here Kiara stumbles into him. Kovu tries to scare her by growling, but she refuses to run away. When he asks what she's doing, she replies that her father told her not to turn her back on any Outsiders. Mocking her, he calls her "Daddy's little girl", bragging that he can take care of himself. Kovu trots onto a stone in the middle of a swamp. Kiara follows him, causing the stone below her to move. The stones, unknown to the cubs, are actually crocodiles. Kovu jumps from crocodile to crododile until he lands on one's tail. He slips off into the dirty water below. Unfortunatly, a crocodile spots him in the water and heads straight for him with his mouth wide open. Luckily, Kiara jumps on it's head, shutting it's jaws. They both escape up a log and jump onto dry land.
Kiara playfully tags Kovu, who is confused because he doesn't know how to play. Kiara realises this and starts growly playfully. Instead, Kovu responds by growling back, until Simba leaps out in front of him. Zira, who had been watching the two cubs from a distance, also jumps out. Zira mockingly gives Kovu up to Simba as punishment for straying too close to the Pridelands. Simba ignores Zira and walks away. Zira grabs Kovu around his body and slinks away. The two cubs whisper goodbye to each other before being taken away by their parents.
Back in the outlands, Kovu gets told off by Zira for wandering off and playing with Kiara. Kovu explains that he wanted to be friends with Kiara. This gives Zira an idea in which she can use Kiara in a way to get Kovu into Simba 's pride, before killing him and regaining power of the Pridelands. Kovu is taken into the big termite mound where he is told by Zira that tomorrow his training with intensify. He then falls asleep.
Gamebreak and active play Kovu
Kovu is seen in these games playing with Kiara and Simba doesn't seeem to care that he's an outsider pluse Kovu's coat color is that redish burnt color.
Adult Kovu
Years later, Kovu is brainwashed by Zira. His destiny is to avenge Scar and take his place in the Pridelands, and his aim is to kill Simba. One day, while Kiara is on her first hunt, Zira's plan goes into action. Kovu's siblings, Nuka and Vitani, set the Pridelands alight. Meanwhile, Kovu and Zira look on until she tells him to go. Then Kovu finds an unconcious Kiara, picks her up, and takes her back to the Pridelands. Kovu is shocked when she wakes up and shout that she didn't want to be saved. She walks away and he blocks her. It is then she realises who he is.
At that moment, Simba arrives and immediatly starts roaring at Kovu. Rafiki appears and brings up the fact that Kovu saved Kiara's life. Kovu says that he has left the Outsiders and is a rogue. He asks to join Simba's pride. Simba is reluctant to agree, but Zazu reminds him that he is in Kovu's debt. He lets Kovu into the pride on judgement. Kovu is pleased, but is forced to sleep outside. He offers to teach Kiara how to hunt better at dawn.
The next morning, Kovu sneaks up behind Simba while he is having a drink. Before he can attack him, though, Kiara jumps in front of him. She pulls him away to train him. Kovu growls as his first attempt to kill Simba fails. After Kiara misses to sneak up on Kovu for the hundreth time, Kovu decides to give her an example. He unitentially pounces on a meerkat, who is infact Kiara's babysitter, Timon. Timon asks Kovu to roar away the birds that are eating their bugs. Kovu is puzzled, so Kiara shows him how. The two lions then run to scatter the birds away, but Kovu is confused; he asked kiara what kind of training this is. She replies that it is just for fun. Kovu understands the concept and starts enjoying himself. Unfortuantly the four of them chased the birds into a crash of rhino. The rhino chase the group into a small crevice. After the rhino had gone past, Timon says to kovu, "You're OK, kid." They all try and wriggle out of the small space, but as they do so Kiara and Kovu get pushed close together. They both get embarassed and walk back to Pride Rock together.
That night, Kiara and Kovu go stargazing. While Kiara spots an innocent happy rabbit in the sky, Kovu spots an arrangement of stars of two lions fighting each other. Kovu admits he's never done this before, which shocks Kiara. She says she used to this all the time with her father, and explains briefly the concept of the "great kings" to him. Kovu wonders if Scar's up there, which unsettles him as he feels like he's betraying his mother, and he starts to have feelings for Kiara. He tries to walk away, but Rafiki stops him. He takes Kiara and Kovu to a place called Upendi, which is a mirage, but it brings Kovu and Kiara closer, as Rafiki intented, because Mufasa had told him to. The two lions sing as they happily wander back to Pride Rock.
When they return, Simba shows kindness as he allows Kovu to sleep in the cave with the other lions. Unknown to Kovu, his sister Vitani is watching them. When she realises that Kovu is not going to kill Simba, she reports to her mother, who plans an ambush for Simba and Kovu the next day.
In the morning, Kovu plans to tell Kiara the truth; but before he can talks to her, Simba says he wants to talk with Kovu. Simba tells him about another side of Scar. Kovu understands that his mother's version was glorified, and realises that Scar truly was a killer; but before they can go any further, the Outsiders, led by Zira, jump out and ambush them. All the lionesses attack Simba, who thinks that this was Kovu's plan. Kovu denies it and tries to pull the lionesses off Simba. Kovu get kicked away by his sister Vitani and knocks his head on a rock. When he comes round, he climbs to the top of the cliff in which Simba is trying to escape up. He encorages Simba up. After Zira instructs him to "get Simba", he runs down the cliff, only to discover that Nuka attempted to kill Simba, and has fallen down. Logs cover Nuka's body, and Kovu tries to lift them off his brother. Zira pushes him out the way and discovers Nuka barely alive.
After his passing, Zira blames Kovu for his death and swipes out at him, leaving a scar idetical to that of Scar's. She blames him for doing nothing and betraying both the pride and Scar. Kovu, angry and greiving, runs away back to the Pridelands, but when he returns, Simba does not believe him. He passes his judgement and exiles Kovu. Kovu runs from the Pridelands in disgrace, being bitten, clawed, and pecked at by the other animals. He falls into a puddle and sees his reflection. The reflection turns into Scar's, and he angrily runs through it.
After wandering around, he finds Kiara sitting alone on a hill (she had been searching for him), and the two lions rejoice their reunitement. Kovu suggests they run away and start a pride, but Kiara explains that if they run away, the two prides will be divided forever. Kiara and Kovu run back, only to find a full swing battle in front of them. Just before Simba and Zira start a big showdown, Kiara and Kovu leap in front of their parents. Zira yells abuse at her son, but Kiara explains to her father about the two pride being one. Starting with Vitani, the outisder lionesses move onto Simba's side. In a last attempt to fufill Scar's wish, Zira leaps at Simba, but Kiara jumps in her way. The two lionesses tumble into Antelope Gorge. Kiara tries to help Zira, who is hanging on the cliff face, but refuses; she slips away and is lost forever in the churning rapids.
Kovu although angry at his mother, still is upset when Zira dies. After kiara makes it safetly up the cliff face, Simba allows Kovu to join his pride. In the end, Simba, Nala, Kiara, and Kovu all accend Pride Rock and roar out over their kingdom.
Singing cub Kovu doll
their's a toy of Kovu and Kiara they sing and talk to each other but Cub Kovu never sang in the film?
Early Development
Originally, Kovu's name was to be Nunka, and was the actual son of Scar. Scar was changed from his father to prevent the idea of incest making it into the movie. His original name, Nunka, suggests that his older brother Nuka in the final cut is a derivative character.
Cut Scene
Kovu appeared in a cut-scene just after the presentation of Kiara. This scene was dropped because it was taking up too much time of the film; but it included Kovu saying that Scar wasn't his father, and Zira's plan for him. It is rough animation, but in the scene Kovu catches a bug but lets it go. Zira is angry with him for not killing it, and so kills it herself. She tells him there is no room for weakness in this aspect of his training, before showing him and Vitani and Nuka the Pridelands, telling them that will be their home.
The scene is available to view here.
