The Outlands are a barren wasteland where the exiled animals of the Pride Lands live. Most of its inhabitants are animals banished from the Pride Lands for not following the Circle of Life. The most notable residents are the Outsiders, lions who were banished by Simba for remaining loyal to Scar, as well as hyenas, notably descendants of those who served Scar. It appears in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and The Lion Guard.
Physical Features[]
The design of the Outlands was meant to mirror that of an actual Badlands, and it shows. The Outlands are heavily eroded with few trees and plants, little water, and few creatures living there. There are peculiar, stunted trees that dot the landscape, as shown when Vitani is attempting to bite off a branch, as well as scattered boulders. The threshold of the Outlands seems vaguely better, with an actual water source (albeit infested with crocodiles), a noticeably purple sky, and some trees and plants. The place is also covered of canyon, volcano, gorges and many caves.
The most noticeable features of the Outlands are the sky and the massive termite mound the Outsiders sleep in. The sky is limitless and by day it's a bold amber color. As the sun sets, noticeable shades of red tint the sky. The termite mound itself is distorted and internally vast (despite seeming superficially like mountains), with many pathways, knolls, and places for somewhat uncomfortable sleeping. As shown in "My Lullaby", it seems that, through various holes that the termites have burrowed into, all kinds of color from the sky and sun will pop through, and a lioness can actually burrow her way to the top, as shown when Zira knocks over a few rocks to stand at the top of her termite mound.
Nothing more is told about the Outlands after Zira reviews Kovu's progress, almost directly after "My Lullaby". It is implied that, over the course of the film, Zira and her family and pride still live there, but by the end of the film, the Outlands are completely abandoned by the Outsiders, and it is assumed that they never become healthy or green again.
In the sequel TV series, a different territory of the Outlands appear, resembling a rocky canyon with skeletons and dust surrounding the area, with a dark and hazy atmosphere. A volcano resides in the heart of the Outlanders that is initially the séance of the ghost of Scar, but later is turned dormant after he is killed a second time. There is little food or water, as well as steam vents near the once-active volcano.
After the return of Scar, the evil spirit then becomes the de-facto ruler of the Outlands, allying nearly every animal of the Outlands together in order to battle the Lion Guard and destroy Simba. However, a rebel group of hyenas join forces with the Lion Guard to defeat Scar's spirit once and for all. Once Scar is destroyed and his supporters are neutralized, the surviving members of his former army submit to Jasiri's leadership, which begins a new era in an alliance with the Pride Lands.
Location[]
The Outlands lie beyond the Pride Lands and beyond the Elephant Graveyard. Kiara visits the Outlands as a cub while she is exploring outside of Simba's established path, but she is eventually caught by her father. At the end of the film, the Outsiders return to the Pride Lands, realizing how pointless it is to continue fighting, and possibly leave the Outlands vacant.
Appearances[]
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride[]
The Outlands are first mentioned by Simba, who warns his daughter that the Outsiders and their land are dangerous. Ignoring her father's orders to stay away from the Outlands, Kiara ventures into the Outlands herself and encounters Kovu, an Outsider cub. The two end up playing together, barely escaping a horde of crocodiles, though Kiara is later apprehended by her father, who roars her away from Kovu and his mother Zira.
Trying to appeal to Simba's soft side, Zira complains about the Outlands, mentioning its lack of food and water, but resolved to keep the Outsiders away from Pride Rock, Simba orders her away, and she carries Kovu with her back to their homeland.
Once there, Zira yells at Kovu for trying to befriend a Pridelander cub, exposing the fierce tension between the malnourished Outsiders and their much healthier enemies. While chiding Kovu, Zira comes up with a plan to kill Simba, and she and her pride sing "My Lullaby," promising the rise of Kovu as their king instead of Simba.
Years later, Kovu has grown into a young adult, and Zira prepares him for his mission to kill Simba in one of the caves in the Outlands. When Kovu proves that he is ready to avenge Scar's death, the Outsiders roar their approval, and Kovu and Zira move out to fulfill the plan.
At the end of the film, the Outsiders (aside from Zira) join Simba's side, leaving the dark days of the Outlands behind them.
Friends for Life[]
Since Scar's death, the hyenas have been living in the Outlands, called the "Shadowland" by the exiled hyenas. One particular hyena named Asante befriends Kopa, the son of Simba, and invites him to explore the Shadowland with her. While there, the two run into a fierce storm, which traps Kopa in a raging river. With the help of her friend Kroko, Asante frees Kopa, and the two return to the Pride Lands, where Kopa insists on introducing Asante to his parents. Thus, for the first time, an exiled hyena from the Shadowland is allowed to venture into the Pride Lands.
Fight for the Throne[]
Despite Asante's friendship with Kopa, the hyenas still live in the Shadowland, and a particularly bitter hyena named Fisi schemes to place Kesho, a weak-willed cheetah, on the throne of the Pride Lands in Simba's place.
The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar[]
The Outlands is a location that features in The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar (which takes place after the first act of Simba's Pride). It has been revealed that a clan of hyenas, descended from Shenzi's clan live there.
When Bunga and Kion lose their baobab fruit, Bunga insists on straying into the Outlands to retrieve it, despite Kion's warnings that his father has forbidden him to go there. When Bunga at last retrieves the fruit, he is captured by two hyenas named Cheezi and Chungu (who plan to feed him to their leader Janja) until Kion's Roar of the Elders gives him the opportunity to escape.
The Outlands later appear when Mzingo, the vulture, goes there to tell Janja about Kion putting together a Lion Guard to protect The Pride Lands. Upon hearing this news, Janja tells his clan that they will attack The Pride Lands that night singing "Tonight We Strike".
The Lion Guard[]
In the episode "Never Judge a Hyena by its Spots", Kion gets stuck in the Outlands and meets and befriends a female hyena named Jasiri, who, unlike Janja's clan, is good natured.
In "Can't Wait to be Queen", Kiara (when temporary serving as Queen of the Pride Lands), came to the Outlands to supposedly form a peace treaty with Janja. However, this was a trick and Janja and his clan ambush her, planning to hold her hostage until Simba handed over the Pride Lands to him. Luckily, Kion arrived with the Lion Guard just in time to save his sister.
In "The Kupatana Celebration", it is shown that besides hyenas and vultures living in the Outlands, a pack of jackals led by Reirei briefly left the Outlands and entered the Pride Lands during Kupatana and tried to attack the animals there, before being forced to return there by Kion, the Lion Guard and Simba.
In "Too Many Termites", Kion mistakes a pack of aardwolves for hyenas and uses the Roar of the Elders on them to send them into the Outlands. When there, they met Reirei and Goigoi who trick them into thinking that they're friendly only to later try and eat them, but are stopped in time by the Lion Guard who bring the aardwolves back to the Pride Lands.
In "Lions of the Outlands", the Outsiders took possession of the territory of the Jasiri's Clan. After the Outsiders were chased by the Lion Guard They arrive in another part of Outlands which has an arid soil and other termite mounds.
In "The Rise of Scar", Kion angrily uses the Roar of the Elder after the provocation of Janja and this has the consequence of making Scar appear in the Volcano.
In "Let Sleeping Crocs Lie", Kiburi, a crocodile and a former member of Makuu's Float was banned with other crocodiles renegade by Simba after their attempted assassination against him. They then joined Scar and the hyenas.
In "Battle for the Pride Lands", an all-out battle between the Pride Animals and the Army of Scar takes place in the Outlands. While the Pride Animals battles the Outlanders, The Lion Guard confronts Scar at the top of the volcano. After Scar is defeated and annihilated once and for all, all the Outlanders (except for Ushari who fell to his demise while trying to avenge his master, Shupavu and her minions who are fought off by the Lion Guard, and Kenge and Sumu who defected from the army prior to the fight) ceased fighting against the Pride Animals and Janja appoints Jasiri as the new leader of the Outlands. The rest of the Outlanders accept this decision and it is presumed they still remain there.
In "Journey to the Pride Lands" and "Return to the Pride Lands" (both of which are set after the events of Simba's Pride), the Lion Guard, along with Jasiri, Azaad, and a now-reformed Janja arrive at the Outlands to stop Zira from overthrowing Simba and taking over the Pride Lands. The group arrives alongside a now-reformed Mzingo and his Parliament of vultures to accompany Kion and his friends and Kion fears that Zira may have won the battle against Simba. As Anga sees a now adolescent Kovu in Pride Rock, Vitani arrives with her own Lion Guard to confront Kion for bringing in a hyena (thinking the lion is invading the Pride Lands) as she and her lionesses prepare to attack. Kiara arrives and stops Kion from fighting Vitani alongside Kovu to which the Lion Guard and the other Outlanders found out that Zira has completed her Circle of Life as Kiara takes Kion to talk about the situation she faced with her father since the Lion Guard left for the Tree of Life as Kion bids a farewell to Jasiri in the Outlands. It's likely that Jasiri continues to reign over the Outlands with Scar and Zira gone.
Trivia[]
- In some countries, instead of calling it the Outlands, it's called as the Land of Darkness.
- Nuka later becomes king of the Outlands later on and Marries Zuri, becoming his queen and mate, the hyenas still live in the Outlands, but Jasiri and Janja are the leaders of their clan and Protect the territory.
- Nuka first act as King was to create a tradition, celebrating his victory over his fathers defeat for the throne of the Outlands, it’s called Kumbukumbu, meaning Remember in Swahili.
- Nuka second act as king, was allowing all animals in both Outlands and Pridelands to visit one another territory’s as long as they have permission to come, if they cause any trouble in either side of territory’s, they will permit exiled from that territory by either Queen Kiara or King Nuka.
Gallery[]
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