Audience Rating: Universal, suitable for all Binding: DVD EAN: 5017188813655 Format: Animated Label: Walt Disney Home Video Manufacturer: Walt Disney Home Video Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Walt Disney Home Video Region Code: 2 Release Date: 2004-06-28 Running Time: 78 Studio: Walt Disney Home Video Theatrical Release Date: 1998
The Lion King 2 is the sequel to Disney's 1994 masterpiece. As with the Beauty and the Beast and Pocahontas sequels, most of the recognisable vocal talents return, creating a worthwhile successor to the highest-grossing animated film ever. We pick up the story as the lion king, Simba (voiced by Matthew Broderick), and Nala (Moira Kelly) have a new baby cub, a girl named Kiara (Neve Campbell). Like her father before, she seeks adventure and ends up outside the Pridelands, where lions loyal to the evil Scar (who died in the original) have lived with revenge in their hearts. The leader, Zira (a spunky turn from Suzanne Pleshette), schemes to use her son Kovu (Jason Marsden) to destroy Simba. As luck with have it, Kiara has bumped into Kovu and fallen in love.
This all sounds familiar since all of Disney's straight-to-video sequels have played it very safe, nearly repeating the originals' story, tone and pace. Perhaps there were too many cooks for this production. Besides the two screenplay credits, there are eight other writers credited for additional written material. The look of the film has none of the surprise of the original but is far superior to many other animated video releases.
For kids, the sequel will be a favourite. The comic antics of Timon (Nathan Lane) and Pumba (Ernie Sabella) are enjoyable, as is Andy Dick as Nuka, the mixed-up older son of Zira. And there's plenty of action. The best element is the music. Relying on more African-influenced music, the five songs featured are far superior to those in Disney's other sequels. Zira's song of revenge, "My Lullaby", was cowritten by Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon. The standout opening number, "He Lives in You", was created for the Lion King Broadway smash and now finds a whole new audience. --Doug Thomas, Amazon.com
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: A WORTHY SEQUEL AND VERY WATCHABLE Comment: his film was pleasant to watch. "Why" do you ask? Because, compared to Disney's other "sequels" that have went to theaters like the "Jungle Book 2" and "Piglet's Big Movie," this movie is a materpiece. I love it! Here are a few reasons: a) the ENTIRE cast (except for the British comedian Rowan Atkinson as Zazu) return to reprise their roles, including new voices of Neve Campbell from the "Scream" series as Kiara and Jason Marden "A Goofy Movie" as Kovu, b) the animation was way above average for a "sequel" and c) the story is actually good! I've seen some garbage with these recent Disney sequels but this one has a very good message.
Here's a brief summary of the film: Simba and Nala have a daughter named Kiara, who, like her father, is very curious and eager to explore. She ventures in the Outlands, a dry area beyond the Pridelands where Simba has exiled Scar's followers. There she meets a cub named Kovu and instantly they befriend each other, despite their different backgrounds. Kovu's mother Zira is watching from the grass the cubs' relationship unfold. Simba and co. come along and he reminds Zira that she and her pride was banished and for the first time meets Kovu. She explains that Kovu was chosen by Scar to follow in his footprints and that the Pridelands belonged to Scar. Anyway, Kiara and Kovu are forced to say good-bye for quite some time. Zira sees the friendship between her son and Kiara as an opportunity to brainwash Kovu in growing hatred for Simba and killing him and taking his place as Scar's heir. A few years pass and Kiara is now a teenager, ready for her first hunt. Meanwhile, Kovu's siblings, Nuka and Vitani, set afire the fields and Kiara gets trapped and faints from the smoke. Kovu saves her in order to be accepted into Simba's pride, while secretly aiming to kill him when he gets the chance. The romance comes in and Kiara and Kovu fall in love with each other after being separated for many years. From there on, he must decide which path he must be on: as a follower of Scar or a follower of his heart....
There are so many good things I like about this, especially Kovu's struggle within himself between honor and love and positive message of unity. Now, some say this movie's animation or other things are no where near the original. Well, duh! Who can beat the original? It's just impossible...name one animated feature that actually surpassed the original. But what makes this film unique is that it actually came pretty close. The downside to this film for me is that Kovu and Kiara grow up way too fast! I liked when they were playing together but had to be separated from each other by their rival parents. Timon and Pumbaa are back for more humorous appearances (though I have to admit they could have been funnier).
Did I mention the songs were actually good? This is something I thought would never be the case with a sequel. "He Lives In You," "We Are One," and "Love Will Find A Way" are my top favorites. The characters were not flat, in my opinion, and the voice acting was excellent! To sum it up, watch this movie despite all the negative reviews, who are people that expected this sequel to surpass the original or something. I love both. I can't say one is worse than the other because I see them as one continuous story. TLK was the best, and TLK 2 carries on the spirit.
This movie could have easily been released in theaters and may have been pretty successful. The only negative aspect of it was that it was too short! Only 1 hour 17 minutes! They could have spent some more time on Kiara and Kovu's childhood years. Thus I give it ****1/2 out of *****.
The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride gets 9/10
Customer Rating: Summary: Not a disappointment Comment: Disney has done some pretty crappy sequels. But The Lion King II: Simba's Pride is not one of them. It's my personal favourite of the series, and I like it more than the third, and perhaps a tinsy bit more than the original.
The animation is almost like the original, and the soundtrack is really beautiful, especially the Song 'He Lives in You' at the start. Zira's 'My lullaby' is wonderful tribute to 'Be Prepared' from the first film. But one of the real highlights is 'Love Will Find a Way,' which I prefer to 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight.' The story is not as clichéd as in other sequels. It's no 'main character has a child who grows up to be a whiny and disrespectful teenager who runs away from home because they can't get what they want and so and so forth.' Yes Simba has a child, Kiara, but she has such a sweet and loving personality and she really does care for her father and her family.
The story is about Simba's daughter Kiara who just loves to explore. After managing to separate herself from Timon and Pumbaa (her babysitters) she accidentally bumps into Kovu, another cub. But unfortunately, Kovu is the son of the murderous Zira - leader of the Outsiders, who want to avenge Scar's death. Before the two can make friends, they are separated by their parents. Zira trains Kovu into becoming a teenage killer who's destiny is to kill Simba and take his place as King. But when Kiara meets him again, they soon start to fall in love. Then Kovu starts realise that he's being manipulated.
I won't spoil it for you, but it's a very dark but sweet story. Kiara and Kovu don't actually spend that much time as cubs, but the story is about them as teens, not cubs so I don't really care. I think that Disney just over-hyped it with cub merchandise.
But anyway, if you love the the original Lion King, you'll love this one too. Get the Special Edition DVD, because the picture quality has seriously been improved. Customer Rating: Summary: Circle of Life still rolling Comment: Just as the first movie is said to be based upon "Hamlet", the sequel has elements of another famous Shakespeare play-"Romeo and Juliet". Difficult to emulate the original and perhaps a bad move to make it a straight to DVD release because this definitely isn't B or C grade material.
In this film, we can see Simba as a worried dad, and together with Nala he had Kiara, his daughter who remembers himself very much in looks and in personality: she is always thinking about something dangerous or forbidden to do! Worried, he asks to Timon,Pumbaa and Zazu to always watch her and take good care. One day, Kiara easily escapes from one of the forbidden lands, where Scar's followers lives. Without being aware of this Kiara makes Friendship with Kovu,a little lion that Zira, his mother, pretend to raise to overthrow Simba. When Simba knows that, he forbids Kovu and Kiara to be friends, but when the time passes and they grow up, they are going to meet again, but now their feelings are going to be stronger. kiara is the key to make the lions to be close again. But Zira and Simba really hate each other. What is going to happen is almost a cliché, but nice to watch anyway. Customer Rating: Summary: Absolutely fantastic!!!! Comment: I love this film. Of course it couldn't be better than the original, but it is 100 times better than lion king 3. The plot was really good, you could see things coming from a mile away but you can with most disney movies. I also thought it was nice that they still retained lots of the original characters. The music was fabulous, almost as good as the original. You can really see how Kovu's views are changing throughout the film and how much he and Kiara love each other. I thought that the end was amazing and parts of the film still give me goosebumps even now eg, the opening scene, the song 'exile'. It is an absolute must-see, kids will love it Customer Rating: Summary: We are One :) Comment: I Just Purchased this movie The Lion King Simba's pride 2 and I thoughly enjoyed the movie,alot of fighting scenes between the lions,you could see also later in the movie that Kovo really loved Kiara and really changed from being manipulated as a baby cub by his Mother Zula to kill Simba.The songs are great especially the African music in it :) favourite songs are We are One,One of Us,Love Will find a way(this song made my eyes well up) you must get this film today as I thoughly recommend it.Enjoy the Movie as this is a must have for your collection.
![The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride - Special Edition [1998]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518WP2B710L._SL160_.jpg)
