Kiburi is a crocodile who appears in the Disney Junior animated series The Lion Guard. He is a former member of Makuu's Float and the founder and current leader of his own float in the Outlands.
Background[]
Appearance[]
Kiburi is a long, sleek crocodile with large, sharp teeth and patterns emerging from under his tail along with two dark green spots under his chin.
Personality[]
Like Makuu at first, Kiburi is an arrogant crocodile who believes that violence is the solution to every problem and who dislikes the notions of shares and compromise. Also, like Makuu at first, Kiburi is shown to believe that crocodiles deserve the biggest and most fish-filled water holes in the Pride Lands. This belief is strong in him to the point where he is greedy to the point of being power-hungry. Unlike Makuu, Kiburi is shown to be arrogant to the point where he fails to think things through as shown when he challenged Makuu to a mashindano and tried to assassinate Simba only to have both backfire.
Abilities[]
- Animal Strength: Kiburi is shown to be nearly as strong compared to Makuu but when he was pinned down he unable to get back up.
- Skilled Combatant: Kiburi's fighting skills are good but to Makuu he will need more then he shown to be defeated.
- Intellect: Kiburi seems to be more intelligent then his float, but not as intelligent as Makuu, and has very little common sense whatsoever.
Role in the Series[]
Kiburi makes a cameo appearance in "The Lion Guard: The Rise of Scar", following his float to their hibernation cave while being watched over by the Lion Guard to make sure no one disturbs them from sleeping.
Kiburi makes his debut in "[Let Sleeping Crocs Lie]", as an antagonist. He first appears after the Lion Guard accidentally wakes him and the other crocodiles up from their hibernation. Kiburi is furious that they've been woken up during the Dry Season due to the lack of water and threatens to eat Ono when he finds out Ono is the reason their hibernation ended early. Makuu stops him and tells him he'll speak to Simba about finding them some water. Dissatisfied with this, Kiburi mutinies and leads his followers to attack watering holes all over the Pride Land. Makuu appears with Simba and the Lion Guard and orders him to stop and tells him Simba has given them their own watering hole. Kiburi isn't satisfied with the watering hole and challenges him to a mashindano. A cobra named Ushari tells him if he kills Simba, he rules both the float and the Pride Lands. He sends his followers to kill Simba while he fights Makuu. However, Kiburi failed to think things through: The Lion Guard foils his attempt to kill Simba and Makuu defeats him in the mashindano. Simba banishes Kiburi and his followers from the Pride Lands forever. Kiburi reorganizes his followers into his own float and leads them to the Outlands where Ushari leads them to his master; Scar.
In "The Little Guy", after concocting a plan, Njano speaks to Kiburi about Hodari, someone who was turned down by Makuu and now wishes to join his float instead. When Hodari appears, Kiburi is shocked to see that he's a gecko, and not a crocodile. He goes along with the plan, though tells Hodari that he still needs to pass a test. Hodari already knows about the Traditional Crocodile Initiation Spar, and Kiburi calls forth Tamka to challenge him. Just before they engage in combat, Kiburi orders Tamka to let him win. He does as commanded, and Hodari is overjoyed to be confirmed as a member of Kiburi's float. His new leader then leads his float to the Pride Lands.
At that moment, Ono spots Kiburi's float marching through the Pride Lands, and the Lion Guard rushes to stop them. Once there, the Lion Guard is met by Kiburi, who claims to simply be visiting. He then introduces the team to his float's newest member, Hodari. He attempts to use Hodari's friendship with the Lion Guard to his advantage, but Kion is adamant about Kiburi's banishment and commands the float to return to the Outlands. Kiburi reluctantly gives in, and the float leaves the Pride Lands.
Back in the Outlands, Kiburi devises a new plan to attack Makuu and seize control of his float. He questions Hodari on Makuu's battle tactics, and Hodari happily shares some of his moves, inadvertently revealing that Makuu is injured and not able to engage in combat. This inspires Kiburi to invade the Pride Lands and defeat Makuu once and for all. Meanwhile, the Lion Guard tries to warn Makuu that Kiburi is lurking in the Pride Lands, but Makuu insists that his float can care for itself. Kion submits to Makuu's request and leads his team away from the float, unaware that Kiburi is watching from the shadows. The moment the Lion Guard departs, he and his float attack Makuu, using Hodari's lessons to evade their attacks and seize an effortless victory. Hodari tries to remind Kiburi that he cannot be leader without calling for a mashindano, but Kiburi ignores the gecko and continues to mercilessly beat Makuu.
Ono spots the attack, and Kion leads his team into battle. Kiburi pins down Makuu, and Tamka overcomes Kion, preventing him from helping Makuu. Hodari senses the danger and tells Beshte to carry him closer to the fight, as he has an idea. Beshte does as he is told, and Hodari comes close enough to leap onto Kiburi's snout, distracting him. He then yells for Makuu to use the Wide Tailspin move, which Makuu does, knocking Kiburi into the mud and freeing Makuu from his prone position. With Kiburi's float incapacitated, Kion uses the Roar of the Elders to banish them back to the Outlands, effectively saving Makuu and his float.
In "The Scorpion's Sting", Scar plots with his army in the Outlands to defeat both Simba and the Lion Guard. He explains to his followers that he will be using Sumu the scorpion to take down Simba. At Pride Rock, the Pride Landers sing "Good King Simba" in honor of the Kumbuka celebration. However, in the midst of the festivities, Sumu stings Simba's tail and then banks a hasty retreat as Simba collapses to the ground.
Back in the Outlands, Scar gets word of Sumu's success and directs his army to intercept them. The plan works, with Kiburi, Reirei, Janja, and their respective clans slowing down the Lion Guard's progress through the Outlands. At last, the Lion Guard reaches the inner volcano, where Makini places a pinch of the cure, ash, in her gourd. As the team turns to leave, Scar calls his army forward, and they corner the Lion Guard at the edge of the lava. With no option left, Kion uses the roar carefully to blow away Scar's army, and the Lion Guard makes a quick escape.
In "The Kilio Valley Fire", the Lion Guard struggles to put out a widespread brush fire. The Lion Guard spreads out, accepting help from several of Ma Tembo's herd members, while Ma Tembo leads the rest of the herd out of the valley. However, she is cornered among the flames by Janja, Reirei, Kiburi, and their respective followers. Ono overhears Janja's cackling and reports what he's heard to Kion, who suspects Scar of causing the trouble. He then orders his team to protect the elephants, leaving Kilio Valley to the mercy of the fire.
Later in Kilio Valley, the fire dies down as the Army of Scar celebrates their victory. They begin to bicker among themselves, arguing over who had performed the best, when Scar suddenly arises from a still-burning ember and orders the army to remain in Kilio Valley. He then reveals that he plans to take over the Pride Lands piece by piece. Janja attempts to appoint himself leader of the army, but Kiburi, Mzingo, and Reirei protest vehemently. The villains then begin singing "I'm Gonna Run This Dump", When they look over to Kiburi he says that he doesn't sing. They continue their fighting on who will run "the dump we all hate."
In "Undercover Kinyonga", Kiburi and his float are mentioned to be still living in Kilio Valley with the jackals by Ono.
In The "The Zebra Mastermind", Kiburi is mentioned by his cronies, Tamka and Nduli.
In The "The Hyena Resistance", After hearing that The Hyena Resistance is ruining Scar's plans he orders his army to take them down. However, the Lion Guard comes to rescue them. Kion uses his roar to blow Outlanders away.
Kiburi and his float help the Scar's army set fire wood near Pride Rock to trap the Guard and Janja's clan.
He then helps fight against the Pride Landers and is upset that Janja has changed sides. During the battle, he sees Makuu and duels him once more. Once Scar is defeated, the Outlanders wonder who is in charge of them. When Janja begins to state his opinion on who he thinks can keep the peace between the Pride Lands and the Outlands, Kiburi assumes he is referring to himself and scoffs at the idea only for Janja to reveal he was referring to Jasiri. Kiburi expresses indifference towards the change in leadership, stating that he and his crocodiles can fend for themselves no matter who is in charge before heading for home.
Trivia[]
- Kiburi is one of the three secondary antagonists in The Lion Guard.
- Kiburi means “Arrogance” or “Pride” in Swahili.
- As shown in the episodes The Little Guy and The Kilio Valley Fire, Kiburi doesn't like singing (which is ironic considering the fact that he’s voiced by a well-known singer).