Mtoto

"Like I said, you're my hero.""

- Mtoto, Follow That Hippo!

Mtoto is a young elephant who appears in The Lion Guard.

Appearance
Mtoto is a small grey elephant. He has some dark grey freckles on his face just under his eyes, and dark blue eyes. His pink earlobes has three ridges on either each, and three strands of hair stand atop his head. Under his trunk and belly is a lighter grey. He has one large white tooth sticking up on the right side. His tail has a dark grey tuft at the end.

Personality
Mtoto appears to enjoy following others, and playing games with others. He admires Beshte and wants to be just like him. He is enthusiastic and energetic, and hopes to someday become a member of the Lion Guard.

Bunga the Wise
Mtoto is one of Bunga's loyal followers who is fanning a leaf over his head. He stops once he sees the rest of the Lion Guard approach, but Bunga urges him to continue. When the temporary dam breaks, Mtoto continues fanning his leaf in the air until he realises that Bunga has left. He follows Bunga, who enters the canyon. Realising that Mtoto is following him with the water close behind, Bunga calls out for him to run, waiting behind as the little elephant runs into the canyon ahead of the honey badger.

Ono accidentally leads the crew to a dead end. Mtoto and the other animals look to Bunga for help, who instead tells them to listen to Kion. With no other option, Kion uses the Roar of the Elders to blast the water away and save the animals. Just a short while later, Mtoto is safe and sound with his mother, playing in the new river that Kion created.



Fuli's New Family
During the song My Own Way, Mtoto is shown walking with his herd. Fuli dashes past them and comes to an abrupt halt, facing them as she sings. Mtoto and his herd sing with her briefly before Fuli races away.

Follow That Hippo!
A group of Pridelanders are seen grazing peacefully when Mtoto rushes out from behind a cluster of grass, warning them of a hyena attack. The Lion Guard arrives and discovers that the "attack" was only some young animals playing Lion Guard. One explains that the game was Mtoto's idea, and Mtoto backs into the grass. Kion has Ono report that it was a false alarm, then questions the young animals about their game. They tell him that they take turns being each Lion Guard member, spare Mtoto, who is "always Beshte". Mtoto then approaches Beshte, who greets him kindly. When Mtoto remains silent, Beshte asks if Mtoto wants to ask him anything, and Mtoto proceeds to rapidly ask Beshte a series of questions. He then suggests to Gumba, Kwato, Shauku, and Kambuni that the real Lion Guard plays with them. The Guard declines, as they need to go off and train, but Beshte invites Mtoto along with them, to Mtoto's great excitement. Along the way, Mtoto explains to Beshte that he is the biggest reason that Mtoto likes the Lion Guard.

The pair of them arrive at training, where Kion announces that the Guard's first task is an obstacle course. Mtoto asks if he can run it to, knocking Ono over in the process, and Kion permits it, but orders Beshte to keep with him. Mtoto ends up failing the first two tasks, jumping over a boulder and moving through a pool of shallow water, after he trips both times and accidentally sprays Fuli with water on the second. Kion decides to try something different, and Mtoto promises to do better this time. The Guard attempts a stealth drill, and Mtoto follows Beshte for a while, but notices a sloped rock path and decides to try it on his own. When Beshte rushes to Kion with the news that he cannot find Mtoto, Mtoto announces his presence from a tall rock. However, he trips and falls, sliding down the rock, but managing to grab a small branch with his trunk. Beshte moves below him just as the branch breaks, and Mtoto apologizes to Beshte for messing up. Kion says that it may be time for Mtoto to head home. Mtoto agrees, and Beshte decides to walk with him.

As Mtoto walks home, he apologizes to Beshte again, and Beshte attempts to comfort him. Noticing that Mtoto still looks downcast, Beshte sings the song Hero Inside to make him feel better. Mtoto happily asks Beshte if he has what it takes to be a hero, and Beshte assures him that he does, even complimenting Mtoto's ability to spray water from his trunk. He adds that Mtoto may join the real Lion Guard when he is older before heading back to the others. Gumba, Kwato, Kambuni, and Shauku approach him, asking where he has been, and Mtoto proudly announces that he was training with Beshte and the Guard. He expresses a desire to play Lion Guard, and the others consent, but soon realize that the game isn't much fun without bad guys to chase. Mtoto suggests using hyraxes as the bad guys, and he and his friends dash after a trio of hyraxes, calling them by the names of the hyenas.

The hyraxes soon escape, and Mtoto asks his friends what they should chase now. Janja speaks from behind them, suggesting that he and his minions chase Mtoto and his friends. The five friends flee in terror, with Janja racing after Mtoto. Mtoto manages to evade Janja, but the three hyenas continue to pursue Mtoto, who eventually begins to tire. As he stops in front of a river, they approach him and begin debating which parts of him to eat, to Mtoto's horror. Beshte suddenly jumps out of the water behind Mtoto, scaring the hyenas away. He asks Mtoto if he can swim, and Mtoto says that his mother hasn't taught him yet, so Mtoto clambers onto Beshte's back. Beshte begins to swim further down the river, but the hyenas follow them. Mtoto at first hopes that perhaps the hyenas are simply going in the same direction, but when Cheezi and Janja pause to wait for them to pass, he contradicts himself.

Beshte instructs Mtoto to duck, and they escape Cheezi and Janja's attack safely. Beshte then defeats Chungu by launching him into the water, impressing Mtoto. Beshte soon realizes that they are heading right towards a float of crocodiles, and ducks underwater, with Mtoto lifting his trunk above. A crocodile notices and alerts the others, and they quickly surround Mtoto and Beshte, who flee, with the crocodile float swimming in pursuit. Mtoto uses his trunk to spray the nearest one with water, and Beshte compliments his shot. The rest of the Lion Guard arrives and knock the hyenas into the water, causing the crocodiles to chase them and allowing Mtoto and Beshte to reach the shore safely.

Mtoto later recounts the story of escaping the crocodiles and hyenas to his friends. Kion comments that they'd had quite an adventure today, and dips his paw into mud, using it to bestow Mtoto with the Mark of the Lion Guard. Mtoto then approaches Beshte, saying that he is his hero, to which Beshte replies that Mtoto is his.

Friends

 * Shauku
 * Kambuni
 * Gumba
 * Kwato