Vitani
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Vitani is the tertiary antagonist from Disney's 1998 film The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, sequel to the 1994 film The Lion King. She is the daughter of Zira, the older half sister of Kovu, and the younger sister of Nuka. Vitani's name was originally going to be Shetani, but as the word means 'she-demon' in Swahili, it was changed to Vitani, which can be taken as a portmanteau meaning 'I am War'. She is voiced by both Lacey Chabert as a cub and Jennifer Lien as an adult.
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Background
Sometime in between the events of The Lion King and The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, Vitani, along with the rest of the Outsiders, was banished from the Pride Lands, for supporting Scar. Although It is never stated, it is likely that Scar was her father, as is implied with Nuka despite the fact that she is close to Kovu's age and Kovu isn't Scar's child but chosen heir.
Designs
Vitani bears a strong resemblance to her mother, but she is differentiated by a tuft of hair on her head. As an adult, her ears are striped with black. However, this feature was not present as a cub, and appeared intermittently after it was introduced. Vitani has blue eyes, and like the rest of the Outsiders, her front claws are constantly unsheathed.
Personality
Vitani is something of a tomboy, likely from growing up in such an inhospitable environment. As a result, Vitani is portrayed as loyal to her mother's cause, tough, and prickly, who has a tendency towards making sardonic taunts or sly remarks. Vitani is aware of her own intelligence and loyalty (that is, in comparison to the rest of her family). Vitani is shown to openly support Zira's plan to make Kovu the next king, aware that Nuka is weak, simple-minded and cowardly. Vitani does seem to show genuine care for Kovu's safety, becoming irritated towards Nuka for leaving him on his own, and again when she excitedly says 'Kovu, what a guy!' in Zira's number. As an adult, she sees the error of her ways, and becomes the first of the Outsiders, apart from Kovu, to rejoin Simba's pride.
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
Vitani is seen first as a young cub, arguing with her brother Nuka over Kovu. She points out that Nuka's failure to babysit Kovu will get him in trouble, and scoffs at his claim that he could be a better leader than Kovu. When Zira returns with the wandering Kovu, Vitani greets him and challenges him to a fight. She later approves of Zira's plot to kill Simba by taking advantage of Kovu's relationship to Kiara.
As an adult, Vitani and Nuka are tasked with setting a wildfire in the Pride Lands while Kiara is hunting. The two gather fire from the Elephant's graveyard, and quickly set a large blaze. This interrupts Kiara's first hunt and forces the princess to flee, which allows Kovu to rescue Kiara and eventually enter Simba's pride. She is later seen spying on Kovu and becoming dismayed when she witnesses her brother sparing Simba's life when he could have taken him from behind. Vitani quickly informs her mother. Zira is angered, and plots an ambush of Simba, in which Vitani takes part. When Nuka is crushed by logs which fell from the dam, she rushes forward to see about her brother, and witnesses his death. Along with Zira, she is shown to mourn Nuka's death, but her feelings on Kovu's betrayal are not shown.
Vitani is shown to take part in a battle against the Pride Landers, planned by Zira as an attempt to take the throne by force. She momentarily taunts and then fights Nala, while Zira deals with Simba. Kiara and Kovu intervene, and Kiara argues that the two prides should stop fighting and come together, as there is no difference between them.
Vitani is the first to understand the truth of Kiara's words. She surprises both Zira and Kovu by being the first to rejoin Simba's pride, and makes an attempt to convince her mother that it's time to stop fighting. But Zira is angered and sees Vitani as a traitor. Zira threatens to kill her own daughter as well as Simba's pride, which shocks and disgusts the other Outsiders enough to join Simba as well. She later joins Pride Rock following the death of her mother and presumably lives the remainder of her life with the rest of the lions.
Gallery
- For more pictures and screenshots of Vitani, click here.
Trivia
- Even though she's a minor villain, she is the only Outsider that cares about Kovu and trusts him.
- Vitani and Kovu appear to be close, such as in the end when she turns to Simba's pride, she is seen standing right by Kovu.
- We do not see Vitani's reaction to Zira's death.
- She is one of the few if only cubs who are actually obedient to their parents and does not appear to have a headstrong side, unlike Nuka (who neglects his mother's orders to watch over Kovu), Kovu (who promptly leaves the Outlands into a place he's not allowed), Kiara (who does the exact same thing), and Simba (who deliberately disobeys his father to check out the Elephant Graveyard). Vitani appears to be totally devoted to her mother's plot, until the very final moments of the film.
- Vitani has a slightly shifting design throughout the film. As a cub, Vitani was shown without dark ear marks and ponitier cheeks (Similar to Kovu). As an adult, her cheeks became rounded (Similarly to Kiara and Nala) and was sometimes drawn with dark ear marks, and sometimes without. One error right as Zira was leading the Outsiders to war had her drawn with pointed cheeks.