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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 other animated videos. In fact, the film played in European theaters.

For kids, the sequel will be a favorite. 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

The concept was nice enough, I suppose. But I found the move to be lacking in so many ways. The music made me wince - that was probably one of the worst things in the film. The songs were completely forgetable, and cheap.

Don't get me wrong - I adored the Lion King. And I thought it was interesting to have the daughter fall in love with Scar's son. But it was a poor follow up to that wonderful first film.


Well, I guess it's ok....   June 17, 2004
I've never really liked Disney sequels (ie, Peter Pan 2, Pocahontas 2, Little Mermaid 2, etc...), but this one is an exception. The story follows the adventures of Simba's daughter, Kiara. All she wants to do is explore the Pride Lands unsupervised, but her father fears for her safety. One morning little Kiara goes wandering off too far, ends up in the forbidden "Out Lands", and meets another young cub named Kovu. They become great friends against Simba's and Zera's (Kovu's mom's) wishes. It's pretty much a total conflict between the Pride Landers and the Outsiders, ending up with Kiara and Kovu having to solve the problem. The story isn't too bad, but Disney sequels can always use some improvement, as usual. My sister and I still have fun pretending to be Kiara and Kovu. And the animation isn't top notch, but it's good. To round it all out, I think the kids will probably enjoy it. Go ahead and give it a try, but I can't promise you that you'll like it. Me and my sis have always enjoyed it ever since we bought it though, so I'm sure somebody in the family will love it. :)


Surprisingly Good Sequel to the 1994 Classic   June 10, 2004
Yeah, I know that this direct-to-video sequel was put out to cash in even more so on the original, which itself grossed over $300 in U.S. box office receipts to become the most successful Disney film ever! However, after watching this a couple of years back and revisiting it today, I know that there was another, much better, reason: four years after THE LION KING, we were all missing the characters...and we were hungry for more. As much as us fans of the original did not want the possibility of having the franchise tainted by an inferior sequel, it seemed to be worth the risk.

And it was. In 1998, Disney got most of the principal voice-over actors back from the original---Matthew Broderick as Simba, Moira Kelly as Nala, Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella as Timon & Pumbaa, respectively, and of course, Robert Guillaume as the hilarious Rafiki---and made THE LION KING II: SIMBA'S PRIDE, which follows our favorite Lion hero (and King) & family as they pick up from where they left off in the first film. Now Simba is the King and his young offspring is a lioness cub named Kiara; he's the worried dad in this one, always fearing for the safety of the young precocious girl, but they're nevertheless a happy family just the same. Of course, danger lurks in the shadows, as Zira (Suzanne Pleshette---yes, *that* Suzanne Pleshette), the villainous ex-mate of Scar, is training her young son Kovu to grow up to avenge Scar's death by killing Simba. However, Rafiki, the silly-acting but nevertheless wise monkey, finds out to his horrified amazement that Kiara and Kovu are destined for each other. Sure enough, Kiara and Kovu meet each other as cubs and take an immediate strong liking to each other. Can true love overcome true evil?

This film, by itself, is very well-written and acted, with excellent production values for the fact that it is a direct-to-video sequel. It has really no flaws of its own, just one obvious inconsistency between it and the first film: Scar's 'ex-mate' Zira (and, by extension, Kovu) simply did not exist in the original THE LION KING! She was obviously made up just to have a sequel. However, this is the only major thing to overlook, and if you can forgive this movie for it, then you should be able to easily enjoy yourself. As I said, this is a good animated movie, and I recommend it for any fan of the original. This sequel isn't quite as dark; however, I still would not recommend showing it to very young kids. Suzanne Pleshette does a surprisingly good job as the evil, scheming, vengeful Zira (basically a female versdion of old Scar himself). Neve Campbell does a solid job as the voice of the adult Kiara, and Jason Marsden does excellently as the conflicted Kovu, who wants to do good, but...he made a promise to his mother...didn't he?!

Listen, THE LION KING II: SIMBA'S PRIDE is not the masterpiece that THE LION KING is...however, it is much better than it perhaps should be. Fans of the original should definitely own it.

RECOMMENDED, AGES 8 & UP


me and my friends love this movie!   May 31, 2004
as the title of my review might suggest, my friends and I all love this movie. On our friday nights, we all sit on the floor of my friend's living room and watch this movie while we sing along. My favorite characters are Kiara and Nuka...lol
My friends and I are all 15 and still are obsessed with it.