The Lion King Reborn/Transcript/13

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Makes the monkeys sing and the baboons swoon And the sultry scent of the lotus bloom Will carry you away
 * (The next morning. Simba stretches, and then descends to the valley floor, where he walks slowly toward the water hole. Kovu is above him, hiding behind a rock, with his teeth and claws are bared, ready to strike. Suddenly, Kiara jumps in front of him, from around the front of the rock)
 * Kiara: I'm ready for my first lesson! (Kovu is stunned and takes several moments to disguise his previous mindset and intentions as Kiara is jumping around on her pawtips, very frisky. Kovu looks back toward the water hole seeing Simba gone) Hey, c'mon. Let's go!
 * (Kovu is still dumbstruck. After one last glance after his lost opportunity, he turns and follows Kiara. Scene switch. Kovu is attempting to teach stealth to Kiara. We hear her saying "Ow" in the underbrush a few times. Kovu is smiling bemusedly to himself)
 * Kovu: (anticipating the pounce and rolls his eyes) Three…two…one…
 * (At "one", Kiara leaps full over Kovu's evasion, as he ducks, and tumbles over on the ground. Kovu steps over to her head, looking down at her, slightly embarrassed)
 * Kiara: You could hear me, huh?
 * Kovu: Only a lot. You're still breathing too hard. Relax…feel the earth under your paws…so it doesn't shift and make noise. (Kiara follows his example. A flock of tickbirds interrupts them, alighting beyond a nearby hill) Shush…watch the master…and learn. (Kovu runs silently down into a gully, then up the other side. Leaping over the ridgetop, he pounces with claws fully extended right down on top of Timon, who is foraging for bugs there)
 * Timon: Aaaaahhh!
 * (Kovu freezes in the position in which he hits the ground, with his mouth open, and skids to a halt with Timon between his forelegs)
 * Timon: Don't eat me! Please! I-I-I never really met your tyrant. I mean, uh, Scar! Scar, oh, heck of a guy! A little moody, but, I — Hey, for once, we're not following ya. This just happens to be the best smorgasbord in the Pride Lands. (indicates the field of bugs, with the flock of birds eating contentedly away) Bugs everywhere! But, you don't call for a reservation and — yeesh!
 * Pumbaa: YAAAAAAH! (Pumbaa rushes down the hill, and back up, scattering birds, who come back to land right where they were) YAAAAAAH! (Kiara laughs as she and Kovu trot back down the hill) Hey! Maybe he can help! Ya think?
 * Timon: Oh! Yeah…there's an idea. Right. Let the vicious Outsider — Great idea, Pumbaa! Glad I thought of it!
 * Pumbaa: What?
 * Timon: You wanna lend a voice? Huh? Roar! Work with me!
 * (Kiara roars, scattering the birds)
 * Timon: Wooo-hoo! C'mon, do it again! Do it again!
 * (Kovu roars this time, sending the birds into a rout. Kovu and Kiara run down the hill, sending birds flying in every direction. He is still clueless)
 * Kovu: Why are we doing this? What's the point of this training?
 * Kiara: Training?! This is just for fun!
 * Kovu: (as though he's never heard the word before) Fun?
 * (Kovu is though he has never heard the word before. Timon and Pumbaa run by. Timon is hanging on to a bird's leg, getting carried up into the air and lands back on Pumbaa)
 * Timon: Ya gotta get out more often. Fun! Yeee-haa!
 * (Kovu slowly gets the idea and "yee-haws" back as the group runs down between a row of rocks. It is blocked at the end by a number of rhinos. They notice the rhinos and come skidding to a halt. They see the birds all sitting on top of the rhinos' heads. Apparently the birds were all oxpeckers, and the rhinos were not happy that their groomers were being harassed by a couple of carnivores. One of the rhinos bellows, smoke coming out of his nose. The lions, Timon, and Pumbaa turn tail and run back the way they came. The rhinos are in hot pursuit giving chase. The lions turn sideways into a crevice in the rocks, where they hide while the rhinos pass by. They are laughing with delight as the camera trucks in)
 * Kovu: What a blast!
 * (They now try to squeeze out of the crevice. Kiara's muzzle brushes up against Kovu's. They look at each other, both quite embarrassed. Timon and Pumbaa have extricated themselves and are some way up the pathway. The lions walk off, side by side and laughing. Purrs soon mix with their laughter. Later at night, Kiara and Kovu are stargazing at constellations in the sky)
 * Kovu: See that? See that? Look at that! It's really pretty.
 * Kiara: What? Oh yeah! Um — look, there's one that looks like a baby rabbit. See the fluffy tail?
 * Kovu: Yeah…hey! There's one that looks like two lions killing each other for a scrap of meat. (Kiara grimaces) Ohh, I've never done this before.
 * Kiara: Really? My father and I used to do this all the time. He says all the great Kings of the past are up there.
 * Kovu: Do you think Scar is up there? (gets up and moves off) No one here thinks he's very great…do they? He wasn't my father, but he was still… (he sighs gently) …part of me…
 * Kiara: My father said there was a darkness in Scar that he couldn't escape.
 * Kovu: Maybe there's a darkness in me too…?
 * (Kiara puts her paw on Kovu's, and they nuzzle. The camera trucks back, and we see Simba watching from a hill some distance away. He addresses the sky)
 * Simba: Father…I am lost. Kovu is one of them. Scar's heir. How can I accept him?
 * Nala: Simba?
 * Simba: I was seeking counsel from the great kings. Silent as stars.
 * Nala: Oh, Simba…you want so much to walk the path expected of you. Perhaps Kovu does not. I can see them down there just as easily as you can. Get to know them and see.
 * (She turns and walks off. After a moment of hesitation, Simba follows. Camera moves back down to Kiara and Kovu. She is nuzzling him, but he pulls away clearing his throat)
 * Kiara: What's wrong?
 * Kovu: Nothing…it's just that…my whole life I've been trained to…you know what…never mind…
 * (Kovu looks away and moves to continue, but is stopped by Rafiki's finger pointing up from the grass)
 * Rafiki: And where are you going?
 * Kovu: Nowhere?
 * Rafiki: That's what you think!
 * Kovu: Who was that?
 * (Kovu looks back and finds Rafiki lying on his back. Rafiki slips off and darts away, tugging Kovu's tail and laughing)
 * Rafiki: Come on! You follow old Rafiki; he knows the way!
 * Kovu: The way where? Where are you taking us?
 * Rafiki: To a special place in your heart called…Upendi!
 * (Rafiki pushes their muzzles together. As he narrates the song, monkeys of various types dance to illustrate it. Hundreds of animals of all kinds surround them, sweeping the lions up in the spirit. The scene takes on the appearance of a "Tunnel of Love", with the two lions being swept down a jungle stream with the matchmaking Rafiki orchestrating the atmosphere)
 * Rafiki: There's a place where the crazy moon

Where the hippos swing from the jungle vines And the rhino rhumba in a conga line And the pink flamingoes are intertwined As the stars come out to play

In Upendi Where the passion fruit grows sweet And it's so divine That you lose your mind As it sweeps you off your feet In Upendi Without a worry or a care It just takes two to make it true Your heart will lead you there You better watch your step 'cause the path is steep Better hold your breath cause the water's deep It's a long way down over Lovers' Leap But falling's half the fun!
 * Kiara: (curious) Where is it?
 * Rafiki: No place you don't take with you…

In Upendi Where the passion fruit grows sweet And it's so divine That you lose your mind As it sweeps you off your feet In Upendi Without a worry or a care It just takes two to make it true Your heart will take you there

You can beat the bush like there's no tomorrow From Tanganyika to Kilimanjaro But you'll find Upendi wherever you are Underneath the sun
 * Kiara: Upendi, it means "love", doesn't it?
 * Rafiki: Welcome to Upendi!

In Upendi Where the passion fruit grows sweet And it's so divine That you lose your mind As it sweeps you off your feet In Upendi Without a worry or a care It just takes two to make it true Your heart will take you there (He can't change his stripes!) Disgrace (For shame!) (You know these Outsider types!) Evil as plain as the scar on his face (See you later, agitator!) Deception (An outrage!) (Just leave us alone!) Disgrace (For shame!) (Traitor, go back with your own!) He asked for trouble the moment he came (See you later, agitator!) Raised in hate Helpless to Defy his fate Let him run Let him live But do not forget What we cannot forgive He has never been one of us He is not part of us Not our kind
 * (The last few lines repeat and fade away. The song ends with Kiara and Kovu still singing "Down in Upendi". They are alone out on the savanna again back to Pride Rock. Kiara walks off to the main cavern, after looking back in Kovu's direction and sighing dreamily, and Kovu goes back to his standing stone on the promontory. Simba appears in the direction Kiara is walking, and he approaches Kovu)
 * Simba: It's kinda cold tonight, huh? Come on.
 * (Vitani watches from a distance as the two lions make their way back into the cavern)
 * Vitani: (hushed, to herself) Get him! What are you waiting for, Kovu? Get him!
 * (She lies down and stares with despair as she realizes Kovu is not going to attack Simba. She hisses and jumps up, rushing back to report to Zira in the Outlands. Upon getting the shocking news from Vitani, she snarls with rage)
 * Zira: Kovu cannot betray us!
 * (Reopen on Pride Rock, with Kovu walking out onto the promontory)
 * Kovu: Okay, I have to tell her today. Oh…where do I start? "Kiara…Zira had a plot, and I was part of it. But I don't wanna be, because — it's because I love you…" oh, she'll never believe me. But I gotta try. (he goes into the cavern, where Kiara and Simba are waking up) Kiara…I need to talk to you.
 * Simba: (sternly) Kiara, I don't want you talking with him. (softening) … I want to talk with him.
 * (Kiara's face brightens. Simba winks at her, and he and Kovu go out onto the promontory and down onto the savannah. Scene switch to where they are walking through the newly burnt section of the Pride Lands)
 * Kovu: What do you want to talk to me about?
 * Simba: It's about hate.
 * Kovu: Hate?
 * Simba: Yes, it's in all of us.
 * Kovu: Even Scar?
 * Simba: Yes…Scar couldn't let go of his hate…and in the end, it destroyed him.
 * Kovu: (taken back) I've never heard the story of Scar that way.
 * Simba: I figured you haven't. How did you hear it?
 * Kovu: I was told that he was a martyr to our cause…but in the end, he truly was a killer.
 * Simba: Fire is a killer. Sometimes, what's left behind can grow better than the generation before…if given the chance.
 * (Simba puts his paw down and raises some dust. When he lifts it, a young plant is there. The two lions lean down, head to head. Then they hear an evil chuckle from the dust surrounding them. Kovu gasps as he realizes what's happening. Many dark lionesses appear from the clouds of dust, surrounding them. The lionesses' eyes glow a bright, sinister yellow)
 * Kovu: No, no, no…
 * Zira: Why Simba, what are you doing out here and so alone? (the lionesses encircle Simba and Kovu) Well done, Kovu…just like we always planned!
 * Kovu: (Simba glares at him) NO! I didn't have anything to do with this!
 * (The lionesses attack. Simba is fighting off several at once. Kovu tries to help Simba, but is battered off by a lioness and falls to the side, hitting his head on a rock. Simba is thrown to the bottom of a ravine. Lionesses slide down the slope towards him. Vitani and the other lionesses attack again, forcing Simba to flee down the canyon. Simba is trapped. He tries to climb up the walls of the canyon, using the piled-up logs to gain purchase. Kovu is above him on the ledge)
 * Zira: Get him! Kovu! Do it now!
 * Nuka: (jumping from the crowd) I'll do it for you, Mother! (knocks Kovu out of the way) No! You fool! (bounds up the logs, laughing) Mother…are you watching? (softly, to himself) I'm doing it for you…and I'm doing it for me! (chases Simba up a slope with several broken logs strewn across it. Just as Simba reaches the top, Nuka grabs his ankle) This is my moment of glory!
 * (The log on which Nuka has his rear paw breaks, causing Nuka to lose his grip on Simba's ankle and begin to fall. Simba reaches the top, but the pile of logs rolls down the slope with Nuka among them. They all land in a heap at the bottom of the ravine. Nuka lies trapped under a large log. He looks up to the top of the slope to see one final log rapidly falling in his direction. He grimaces, terrified, as the log hits him. Kovu rushes down to help free Nuka, but he is swatted aside by Zira, who pulls enough logs aside to see Nuka's face)
 * Nuka: I'm sorry, Mother. I tried. Well…I finally got your attention, didn't I? Didn't I…?
 * (Nuka dies. Vitani appears next to Zira on the edge of the logs)
 * Zira: Scar, watch over my dear Nuka…
 * As her sorrow quickly changes to fury, Zira turns around and notices Kovu, and swats him across the face with outstretched claws. He looks away in pain, but soon turns his head, glaring at Zira. He now has a scar over his left eye just like Scar's. Zira recoils at the sight, shocked before recovering quickly)
 * Zira: (menacingly) What have you done?!
 * Kovu: I-I-I didn't mean to…it-it-it wasn't my fault, I… (forcefully) I did nothing!
 * Zira: Exactly! And in doing so, you betrayed your pride. Betrayed Scar!
 * Kovu: (shouting) I want nothing more TO DO WITH HIM!!
 * Zira: You cannot escape it! Nuka is dead because of you! You've killed your own brother! You cannot escape your fate!
 * Kovu: NO!!!
 * (Kovu flees out from among the pride, many of whom are growling and snarling at his departure)
 * Zira: Let him go. Simba has hurt me for the last time…now he's corrupted Kovu! Listen to me: Simba is injured and weak. Now is the time to attack! We will take his entire kingdom BY FORCE!
 * (The Outsiders all snarl and roar in reply. Zira laughs evilly as they did, now ready to accomplish what she had intended to do for years. Scene switch to the middle of the Pride Lands, where Simba is walking wearily back to Pride Rock. Kiara sees him from a distance off)
 * Kiara: Father… (realizing) Father! Zazu, get help!
 * Zazu: Oh, yes. Help. At once. Of course! (flies off)
 * (Simba is walking with great pain. Kiara, Nala, Timon, and Pumbaa reach him)
 * Timon: What happened?!
 * Simba: (coughs, wheezing, having a hard time speaking, and lets out a painful breath of air) Ambush…
 * (Simba collapses on his side, groaning in pain. Timon grabs Simba's tail and hugs it. Pumbaa hoists Simba on his back. They start to drag him back to Pride Rock)
 * Timon: It's alright, buddy, we're here for you.
 * (Back at Pride Rock, Kiara and Nala are comforting Simba, but the news about the ambush was out and the gathered animals are horrified)
 * Kiara: Daddy, it can't be true.
 * (Camera shifts down to the valley floor, where the animals turn to see Kovu coming. Simba suddenly snarls and jumps forward, cutting Kiara off. Kovu approaches down the narrow aisle between the congregated animals)
 * Simba: (furious) Why have you come back?
 * Kovu: Simba…I had nothing to do with that!
 * Simba: You don't belong here.
 * Kovu: (desperately) Please…I ask your forgiveness.
 * Simba: When you first came here, you asked for judgment…and I pass it now: EXILE!
 * (The animals down below has no objection to this idea and surround Kovu and start stamping their feet. Kiara and Nala are shocked by Simba's actions, while Kiara tries to actively stop the punishment, but is blocked by the angry lionesses that all she can do is watch helplessly. Simba ignores their protests and glares at Kovu. Kovu is surrounded by angry animals, who wanted him out now. Two gazelles approached Kovu with their long horns pointed towards him. Kovu is backed off a small cliff as the animals laid their fury on him in song)
 * Antelope: Deception
 * Zebra: Disgrace
 * Cheetahs: Evil as plain as the scar on his face
 * Zebras: Deception (An outrage!)
 * Giraffes: Disgrace (For shame!)
 * Hippo: He asked for trouble the moment he came
 * Animals: Deception (An outrage!)
 * (Kovu is forced away from Pride Rock by the angry animals. From getting intimidated by zebras, to nearly getting rammed by antelope, to getting plucked at by ostriches and to getting rocks thrown at him by monkeys, Kovu runs further away from Pride Rock as Simba watches. Simba directs a flock of storks after Kovu. The storks lashes at Kovu like stealth-bombs as the terrified lion runs)
 * Animals: Born in grief
 * (Kovu is now a few miles away from Pride Rock. He looks back and sees Simba standing on Pride Rock's peak, glaring at him. Below him, the animals watches him, not turning their backs on him. Kiara tries stopping this, but the lionesses prevent her. Simba also stops them by blocking their view of the exiled lion)
 * Animals: And he is not one of us

Someone once lied to us Now we're not so blind For we knew he would do what he's done And we know that he'll never be one of us He is not one of us
 * (Kovu, now several miles from Pride Rock, looks at his reflection in the water in shame. But all he sees is the image of Scar rippling on the surface. Further stressed and ashamed, Kovu runs further until finally stopping his run. He looks behind him one last time and sees the whole kingdom watching him. Kovu slowly turns back and trudges away)
 * Antelope: Deception
 * Zebra: Disgrace
 * (Kiara can do nothing but watch in sadness as the lion she loved disappears from view)
 * Antelope: Deception
 * Zebra: Disgrace
 * (Simba is not so regretful of his decision and stays silent)
 * Antelope: Deception
 * (Kovu resumes his run, unable to take any more pressure from being exiled and being similar to Scar. As he runs, Rafiki watches the altar from a rock and sighs in sadness)

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