The Lion King 2 - Simba's Pride (2-Disc Special Edition) Reviews

• Great finale to a great animated trilogy!

  
  By A1COW0UIB5HA9J on 2005-01-05
  
  Set after Lion King and Lion King 1/2, Simba has defeated Scar and got the throne at last. Simba ( voiced by Matthew Broderick) and Nala now have a daughter named "Kiara" whom is the heir of the pridelands, one day while wondering around the pridelands she meets a mysterious lion cub named " Kovu" and becomes friends with him. Unknown to Kiara, Kovu is a young member of the banished outland pride whom were part of Scar's pride. Now there is a war between the prides lead by the dark Zira ( voiced by Suzanne Pleshette), only Kovu ( Jason Marsden) and Kiara ( voiced by Neve Campbell) with their love can straighten things up between the two prides.
  
  Terrific sequel to both " Lion King" and " Lion King 1/2", it's another sequel that proves not all the disney sequels can stink. What works here is that some of the cast members from the original with a new one ( Robert Guillium, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Andy Dick) come back, the animation is theatrical quality on a good level and the soundtrack to it isn't bad at all.
  
  The 2-Disc special edition is great! there are fine extras like " One By One" an all-new animated short from the makers of "Lion King" and " Lilo and Stitch", Timon and Pumbaa's virtual safari 2.0, fun games, pop-up trivia when you play the movie on pop-up triva mode, featurettes and great Picture & Sound quality.
  
  Highly recommended movie but first watch the original then Lion King 1/2 and then this one, i think the Lion King trilogy is probably the "Star Wars Trilogy" of animated trilogies.
  
  

• The Lion King II - The Best Disney Sequel to Date

  
  By A1RIEO4E9GZ6F8 on 2003-03-17
  The Lion King II: Simba's Pride is by far one of the best, if not the best, Disney sequel produced to date. It has sold more copies than any other Disney sequel, and for good reason -- it is a worthy successor to the throne.

  The animation is high quality, especially for a direct-to-video sequel. Instead of using hand-drawn characters and computers to color the images, TLK2 was done in traditional cel animation, unlike the original Lion King. This makes the movie even more classic, and easily appreciated not only for its wonderful story, but the artwork involved in creating it.

  The story is stunning and picks up basically where TLK left off. Simba and Nala's daughter, Kiara, is being raised to become the future queen. In the meantime, she encounters a cub from a tribe of outsiders named Kovu, and they immediatly become friends. However, both of their families stand in the way of their friendship continuing, and they never see each other again until they are adults - and that's where things really get interesting! Zira, the leader of the outsiders and Scar's mate, is trying to kill Simba, and Kovu figures into the plan. In the end, both tribes clash in all out war. You'll just have to watch to see how the story ends.

  Definitely a worthy sequel to the first, get a copy if you can.
  
  

• Abomination of The Lion King

  
  By A19CWLCCG49A11 on 2000-07-01
  Those that have given this "movie" five stars and have insisted that it's excellent are, in my opinion, die hard fans of The Lion King. Heck, most of them even SAY they are! LOL
  
  I loved The Lion King, as well, but more for its excellent quality as a film. I didn't join the cult following of The Lion King when it started simply because I'm not a blind follower of stuff that I like. ;)
  
  Indeed, I was very anxious for Simba's Pride to come out, though still a little doubtful as to its film quality. The first day it came out I bought it and watched it, and liked it for the first time, probably because of the novelty of it. :)
  
  But then I watched it another time, then another, and very soon I found that this "movie" is so much more of a video babysitter than a good quality film. Like many other successful feature films, The Lion King had a bland follow-up made for it and put right to video. With sequels, Disney doesn't look for making a good story - they're looking for making a passable, benign story, animating it with cheaper Television Animation, and throwing it out on video just to make a few bucks. >:P
  
  That's exactly what happened with Simba's Pride. Sure, the TV animators worked their butts off to make this video look nice, and it does, barring the points that the overall color is too uniform and/or red, the characters are much less distinct, and originality is slim to nil. :(
  
  If you research the movie thoroughly online and watch it carefully, you'll see that the plot has more holes in it than Swiss cheese. The story was shifted around poorly late in production, and concerning the (many) cut scenes, I'm willing to bet that some dumb producer took the rough draft movie and sliced scenes out that could be even slightly controversial. >:(
  
  The bottom line is, this was a poorly made, overly benign sequel to one of Disney's greatest films, and will forever in my mind be an abomination to its predecessor, and to the entire Disney film collection. >:P
  
  

• Surprisingly Good Sequel to the 1994 Classic

  
  By AW3FTPCBPVQNB on 2004-06-10
  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
  
  

• I'm a boy and I'm 15 years old.

  
  By A9G7SQ56YA0MH on 2002-12-22
  Personally, I feel that the two Lion King movies are probably the best Disney movies out. It's definitely worth watching if you like movies that have a combination of: tragidy, romance, adventure, and maturing. The songs are pretty cool. This movie definitely is a good sequil, I think that Disney should make a third Lion King movie.
  In this movie Simba and Nalla have their kid "Kiara" (a girl). And the boy Kovu who is chosen by Scar to follow in his paw prints, as it's clearly stated in the movie. Kovu is raised by Zira, Scars mate. And like in the first Lion King Kovu grows up with a girl as a child hood friend named Vitanni and a klutz of a brother name Nuka. But the difference between the first and the second Lion King movie is Kovu doesent hook up with his child hood friend. Vitanni plays a main part in the end which helps change the minds of the outsiders and the pridelanders, suprisingly. And that's all I'm going to tell you about the movie, except for it's really worth seeing!!!
  
  
• One for the Bargain Bin
  By on 1999-10-04
  I loved The Lion King so of course I had to get this. I knew it wouldn't be as good, but watching it, it turned out to be a lot worse than I imagined... the songs were TERRIBLE, and the storyline was UNORIGINAL...why did Disney bother?? I wouldn't reccommend this, even if The Lion King is your fave movie.
  
  
• Take "pride" in this sequel!
  By A2Y2BY9IB1EV2N on 2000-09-05
  I LOVE the original Lion King, but when Disney announced that they were doing a sequel to it I got rather miffed....the other sequels (like the second Aladdin) were an insult to one's intelligence.But when I at last saw Simba's Pride I was totally thrilled. It introduced new great characters, enchanting songs, the story was kept pretty much in the spirit of the original and, even though they probably never thought of doing a sequel when they made the first one, the story's sequel was cleverly done. The only things I didn't like about this movie was that Rowan Atkinson (who did Zazu's voice in the original) apparently couldn't supply his voice for the sequel so you can tell it's someone else's voice. Unlike in the original, the other animals (zebra's, giraffes, etc.) have a few speaking parts and even take part in one of the songs. The animation isn't as good as the original but it's still great and I thought a lot better than the other Disney sequels.These are just minor things of course, I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to animation. I love this as much as the orignal and I truly hope they do yet another Lion King sequel.
  
  
• I have to give it a star?
  By on 2002-02-24
  I'm a big fan of the film "The Lion King", and tried not to have a major stroke during the preview for "Simba's Pride". But I have a few pros and cons I'd like to share...
  Cons:
  1. The new characters were too under-developed. We have no glimpse of Scar's widow Zira in the original. No explaination of Kovu's father. Zira and Nuka get killed off...And the old characters, were terrible. Simba was just shallow!He threatens Zira, and then sings "We Are One"! Ha! Zazu only had about 4 lines, Nala was silent, and Serabi and Sarafina were gone!
  2. Animation. In several scenes the lines were way too thick. Simba is often drawn sloppily, and after Zira drowns Kovu's scar vanishes.
  3. Timon & Pumbaa. They took drama away from all the scenes they were in. They had an argument over GRUBS taken from a beer commercial. They had the first lines. Guess who?
  4.Cut scenes. They removed too many scenes with the Outsiders. (See 5.)
  5.The scenes with Vitani and Nuka watching the presentation should've stayed in. But, one scene was horrifying, and deserved to be removed. Zira commits suicide.
  In the scene, Kiara reaches for Zira with the "I'll help you!" stuff. Zira slashes Kiara and looks into the water. She stares up at Kiara and says really blankly,"No. Never." She starts laughing and falls right in. There's a VIEW of her drowning, *shiver* and then her paw gets moved up and she dies...scary. And I heard a scene was yanked where Kovu tries impressing Kiara by trying to kill an alligator, and that was how they got in the whole mess with the alligators. It was cut that they showed blood on Kovu's scratch and that Simba died.
  In short, younger audiences might like this, but I didn't.
  
  
• Six stars out of five!
  By A1J3LTHAU41NDT on 2002-03-24
  The Lion King II-Simba's Pride is a better than excellent movie! I really loved it. I watched it at a friend's house a few months ago and we all loved it. Simba is grown up and has mated with his childhood sweetheart Nala. He has a daughter, Kiara, who wanders onto the territory belonging to Scar's mate, Zira. She starts playing with Zira's son, Kovu, but soon Zira finds out and she snarls and all. Simba comes to the rescue and forbids Kiara to go there again. Kovu is sent to Simba's territory to live there and kill him. But, like any Disney movie, Kovu and Kiara fall in love! It's about the relationships between Kiara and Kovu and Simba and Kovu. In the end there is a fight, but I'm not going to tell you who dies or lives! Watch this movie that brings The Lion King back to life!
  
  
• Good Film overall
  By on 1998-12-30
  Well, I am an avid Lion King fan, so on October 27th I just had to have that movie. There are a lot of cut scenes that shouldn't have been deleted and add character and personality to the characters Nuka and Vitani (you should pay close attention to them, especially Nuka's depth) Kovu and Kiara are so bland! I mean, why is Kiara such a poor hunter? And Kovu, well, he doesn't have really any personality compared to his brother Nuka. This film is pretty good, and I hope someday Disney releases a remastered version with all the cut scenes. I would gladly buy another videotape of that version. Sure, Simba's Pride has its flaws, but think about it. This is not a kids' film because of a dark storyline; probably aimed towards adolecents and young adults. But there's a theme that knows no age boundary, the love conquers all, and the main song, we are one.
  
  
• Can't decide if it's better than the 1st.
  By on 1999-03-08
  When I first saw the preview for this movie, I was so excited!The movie focuses on Simba's(Matthew Broderick) daughter, Kiara(NeveCampbelle), and how Simba trys to give her the father he could'nt have. Simba banishes Zira, and other lionesses loyal to Scar. Kiara ends up falling in love with Zira's son, Kovu(Jason Marsden) who's been raised in an un-loving, angry, and possibly abusive family who has trained him to make friends with Kiara in order to kill Simba in revenge of Scar. Kovu ends up falling in love with Kiara and becomes a better lion, even though he still has personality problems that might not can be fixed, and just when Simba was trusting him, a gang of lionesses attackes him. Simba escapes, and in anger, he banishes Kovu from the pridelands. Though he may have been hasty, Simba has been left with a Scar in his heart, and wants to take no chances that the things that happened in Simba's past might happen to his daughter. There might not be a point watching the movie since I blabbed out the whole plot, but it's a great movie! It has some silly(sometimes hilarious) parts, and fun songs mostly for the youngsters, and great drama scenes and beutiful music(similar to Martin Page and Sacred Spirits) that the older audience might get the most of, so it's perfect for all ages! I just can't decide if it's better than the 1st or not. It's background music does'nt compare to that composed by Hans Zimmer. But the animation looks better(not as dramatic, though) and the movie seems longer than the 1st. But you'd be a fool to not watch this. In fact, just buy it and don't bother renting it(well, it's you'r choice).
  
  
• Good follow up to the original
  By A2QRB6L1MCJ53G on 2000-09-29
  "Lion King II: Simba's Pride" might not be just like the original Lion King, but it's still a good movie. In this one, Simba has a daughter, Kiara, who will one day be the new princess. Some conflict arises when Kiara meets and grows fond of Kovu, a young cub from the Outsiders. Simba must find a way to deal with Kovu and the Outsiders who reign from Scar before something bad happens.

  I think "Lion King II: Simba's Pride" should've premiered at the theatres because it is a good movie, and it probably would've been a big hit. It has a good story, good music, and it's almost as good as the original in my opinion. If you liked the original Lion King movie, I would definitely recommend getting this one.
  
  

• Sappy Take on the Original
  By A2Q8XGVS9GQX20 on 2002-07-16
  I have no idea why Disney seems to take splendor out of creating bad sequels out of good movies. This movie did nothing but take my confidence out of Disney, and even some of my admiration of the original Lion King. Not only being quite sappy, the humor is far less then amusing, mostly consisting of overplayed jokes which were never that funny in the first place. Furthermore, it lacks orginality and creativity. Maybe I did not enjoy this movie as much as the Lion King because I am no longer a kid, but I'm betting that even some children can see the lack of potential within it.
  
  
• Solid children's movie--but falls into shadow of Lion King
  By A3EJVZ5LCBP61X on 2003-01-05
  Three stars--a solid, but unremarkable rating for a movie-sequel that does a decent job at story-telling and music-making, but which sits in the shadow of the much more compelling original Lion King.

  Simba's Pride performs as so many of Disney's movies do: it tackles "adult issues" with an accessible, entertaining story that families can enjoy together. The lions have had a terrible division, with one pride being banished from the Pride land to the outer region. Simba has taught the upcoming generation to be wary of these outsiders. They are dangerous, violent--even deadly. Meanwhile, the Queen-Mother of the outsiders has nurtured murderous hatred in her young. She hopes that her stronger, more deserving progeny can regain leadership that was snatched from them. Adult viewers might even catch glimpses of the rivalry between Athens and Sparta, here.

  What better way to complicate a bipolar order in the world than by introducing a cross-pride romance (interracial)? Can the love of the young overcome the mistrust of the parents? It's a classic dilemma.

  While a decent effort, we can be fairly certain there will not be a Lion King III.
  
  

• Wonderful if not underrated follow up to the Lion King
  By A2N84VEBTQFDSU on 2003-08-23
  With Disney popping out sequal after sequal these days, it was only expected that they would do the same to their biggest animated hit. The Lion King II picks up right where the original left us. Simba has what turns out to be a daughter, named Kiara and she is very couragous and rebellious, much like her father Simba was/is. Everything would seem to be well but little do they know a revolt of another lion's pride is brewing. The pride known as the Outlanders is filled with lions and lionesses who were ousted by the Pride's Rock pride. Who want revenge for what happend to Scar and take their rightful place as the true rulers of the lands. They are lead by Zira, one of Scar's lionesses who wants nothing more then Simba's demise and for her adopted Son, Kovu to take his place. Zira trains Kovu to trick Simba into taking him in as one of their own and all the while Kira starts to fall in love with the newcomer. The story unfolds very nicely with a lot of twists and turns and great moments with characters both old and new showing up at various points. A great ending that will really make people think and all around well written for a made to video movie.

  While this movie is great and just for the fact that we get to see what happens next with Simba and company, is well worth the price. But there are some unfortunate downsides to the movie. Some of the songs are very weak and almost fast forward through them bad. That would be songs like Upendi which is sung by Rafiki and the stuff going on during that song is really reaching. "Can you Feel the Love Tonight?" it tries to be but fails miserably. Opening title song though is wonderful and a lot of the songs you will recognize from the Broadway soundtrack so it really ties the whole Lion King Universe together. Other things to note are Timon and Pumbaa are reduced to cameo moments at best which was disapointing. The charm and humor they brought into the first was truly missed. They have a few one liners and act more as babysitters to Kiara then anything. Great characters though are seen here like Vitani who plays Zira's daughter. Kovu is also very well done and looks like a mixture of Simba and Scar all in one character. Last downside to note is the animation definitely is inferior in everyway. Yes its to be expected but its noticible in many points at how bad the animation for this movie is. Pride's Rock shifts sizes at points, the characters colors look flat and the brillient colors that once filled the Pride lands is almost a distant memory. Not so terrible that it takes away from the movie but it does make you wonder if they could have just spent a little more on making it look more colorful and full of life.

  Of course the movie isn't better then the first one. It is very hard to match the magic and overall wonderment that the first movie was but this does the job for a follow up quite well. We get to see what happens to our favorite characters after the first movie and meet some new friends and have a few more adventures and battles with a few songs mixed in. I don't see any problem with that. If you are expecting another Lion King 1 then you may want to look elsewhere. But if you are expecting a great movie with your favorite characters in it, well this is the one for you. Definitely get it. It is a wonderful sequal and something that all ages will enjoy. Just be ready to skip some of the songs and take it for what its worth, which is a made to video movie.
  
  

• Very worthy sequel
  By on 2005-08-04
  I enjoyed this sequel. The songs are enjoyable. I like the songs "He Lives in You," "My Lullaby," and "One of Us." Plus the story is a sweet one. The romance between Kovu and Kiara is sweet. Also, the story is dramatic. This second film is darker and grimmer than the first film. It does have some funny parts, though, provided by Timon and Pumbaa and also by Nuka. I also like the bonus feature "Proud of Simba's Pride," which is a backstage behind-the-scenes look at the making of the movie. It's good even though it's really short.
  
  I'm a big "Lion King" fan and I was pleasantly surprised back in 1998 to find out they were making a sequel. I was diagnosed with cancer before this film came out, and it provided me with a means of escaping my illness. I really ejoyed the movie and hopefully you will, too.
  
  
• The best Lion King ever made! That's right, even better than the first!
  By A2T2MYZEB81NOQ on 2006-01-02
  What can I say. This movie is SPECTACULAR! It has more cool cast members newly made along with the returning ones and a better story line. Not to mention my # 1 favorite Lion King character of all time(Kiara, Simba's daughter, of course! Nala's the next best!)Any how, the story follows Kiara's life while Simba and Nala rule along with her meeting with her mate-to-be Kovu as well as Zira, the evil villain of this movie and Scar's evil mate, who wants to kill Simba and make Kovu king. Of course, I could tell you the whole story as I did on other movie reviews, but that'd ruin it. Here's all of the pros and cons, as far as I'm concerned, in this near-perfect film.
  
  Pros:
  
  Kiara, my favorite character, is introduced & leaves such a mark
  
  Kovu is also cool, and he too leaves a mark just as great
  
  Simba and Nala are back as rulers & are they funnier than before
  
  Zira, my favorite TLK villain, not only causes as much havoc and chaos as she should, she also has a way of intimidation. Chilling
  
  Zazu is a bit less clumsy in this movie than he was in the first
  
  Vitani, another cool female character, shows herself as a real hard-head and soon moves from Zira's side to doing great heroics
  
  There is lots of funny and/or memorable quotes and scenes
  
  The serious parts are as dark and evil as they should be. Damn
  
  Cons:
  
  Timon and Pumbaa return(HOW LONG, OH LORD?!)I hated them in the original, I hated them in 1 1/2, I hate them now in this one. If they weren't in this masterpiece, it would be perfect! Nuff said
  
  The hyenas don't return in this movie. Though I'm glad they're not dead(just back in the elephant graveyard after learning the harshest lesson in the world)it would've rocked if Shenzi and Banzai returned. I'm glad Ed's gone, mind you, he sucks & I hate him, but Shenzi and Banzai were wonderful. Especially Shenzi. If only they could've come back in this movie. Oh well. Still superb
  
  Anyway, this movie is VERY CLOSE to being perfect and if you like nature or animals or animation then you need to see this. Period.
  
  
  
  
• THIS IS AS GOOD AS THE FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  By AD81H63G30R01 on 2006-03-18
  
  This one is AWESOME!!!!! I can't tell if I like the first one of this one better! It starts once again Simba and Nyla are the new king and queen and they now have a daughter Kiara. Kiara is headstrong and wants to hunt all by herself. On her little sneak away from dad she meets Kovu, a outsider lion who was chosen to follow in Scar's paw prints. Simba sent all of the outsiders to the outlands because they were on Scar's side. Kovu's mother Zera then has a plan for Kovu when grown up to go to the pridelands and earn Simba's trust by saving Kiara so that Kovu can become king by killing Simba. But while i the pridelands grown up with Kiara. Kovu sees peaceful lands and a wise kind king Simba he couldn't kill or hurt. Kovu becomes friends with Simba and in love with Kiara. When Zira finds out she puts up a war aganist the prideland lions. Just as Simba and Zira are about to end it with who knows what Kiara and Kovu stop them and tell them We are One. All the outsiders turn nice and return to the pridelands. Zira does not agree and falls in the river. And so Kovu and Kiara turn into the some day king and queen.
  The music is just wonderful!
  Like "We Are One"
  And "He Lives in You".
  Do buy it!
  
  
• A GREAT FILM
  By on 2006-08-15
  THIS MOVIE IS MY FAVORITE DISNEY SEQEUL!I ENJOYED PARTS OF THE FILM WAS WHEN SIMBA'S DAUGHTER AND ZIRA'S SON WERE TOGETHER.I LOVE THIS MOVIE EVEN MORE BECAUSE OF it's "ROMEO & JULIET" STORY,U KNOW,the FAMILIES ARE ENEMYS,the TWO KIDS BECOME FRIENDS,ECT.I SAW THE SECOND DISC WHICH WAS INTERESTING EXCEPT THAT SHORT FILM "ONE BY ONE." I DONT GET WHAT WAS GOING ON. I'M WATCHING IT RIGHT KNOW AND STILL DON'T GET IT.ANYWAYS I ENJOYED THE FILM AND I WILL ADMIT IT, I AM A LION KING FAN.
  
  
• Simba's Wise Daughter
  By A38PX06XC32MN0 on 2000-02-16
  i loved this movie. simba is trying to teach his daughter to stay away from a group of lions called the outsiders. following a child's natural curiosity, Kira stumbles into the outlands and there she meets Kovu. The two would not meet again until Kovu, now grown up, saves Kira from a fire. Reluctantly, Simba allows Kovu to join his pride. As Kira and Kovu begins to fall in love, Kovu's mother and her pride attacks Simba as he and Kovu was alone. Thinking that Kovu was part of the plan, Simba excelled him. Kira ran away to find him and they were able to stop the fight between their two prides. As Kira was talking to Simba, the words that she spoke started to make sense. As Kira said," They are us. What differnces do you see?" I would defintly recomend this film to anyone who has children. This movie teaches them that no matter how diffrent everyone seems, we are still one.
  
  
• You get from it what you take from it
  By on 1999-10-13
  The Lion King II, I will admit, doesn't have alot of what the origianal had. There is no emotional scene like where Mufasa dies (that scene will still choke me up) or the stunning background music from the origional. However, there is alot you can take from this movie, if you only take the time to look. TKL was about responsibility. Everyone can see that. The sequal is about love, but more than that, it's about hate and letting go. It's about deciding to do what your heart tells you, not what your supposed to do. The scene with the song "One of Us" is one of the most powerful i have ever felt. I know how it feels to be accepted by a group and then be sudenly thrown out. Imagine how Kovu feels at that time. Now he has no family, no friends. He is completely alone, at least for a while. I usually have to pause after this scene, because I feel so angry toward Simba for doing that to Kovu i practically miss the song "Love will Find a Way." Overall, if you take Simba's Pride at face value alone, you will only get out of it what most children who only look that deep get out of it. If you look deeper into the emotions of the characters, it becomes an emensly heart-wrenching movie.
  
  
• Don't buy it
  By A1C4GW3FMLVXWG on 1999-12-30
  This movie was horrible compared to Lion King I. It felt like deja vu with a lot of the scenes in the beginning and I couldn't force myself to sit through the whole thing. Stick with the original.
  
  
• Lion King 2 avoid like a swearing habit!
  By on 2000-12-14
  My dad rented this. I've only seen it once to realize it's not worth your time and energy fretting over. Watch Toy Story 2 instead it's funnier and has a noteworthy plot.
  
  
• A thrillng sequel to the best film of all time!
  By on 2005-01-09
  Whoa!
  
  Attention, Lion King lovers! This film is a must-have! It provides and excellent epilouge to the original film. It's funny, adventurous, and...oh, man, it was just great. I'm not even gonna go into it. My single, solitary complaint is that there is not enough of Hakuna Matata. Still, this a film that everyone can enjoy--you don't have to be young or old, and it's not too scary or sad, or anything. It's just something to sit down and relax with. And I'm not even going to get started on the music.
  
  This film is rad and a must-see for fans of the first movie.
  
  As a summary, Simba and Nala's daughter, Kiara, runs away from the Pride Lands and meets another cub, Kovu. His pride was banishied for loyalty to Scar, and now he's been "chosen" somehow (okay, maybe I have two complaints--I don't really understand how he was chosen) to kill Simba and take over for Scar. Kiara is retrieved and brought back to the Pridelands, and it's not until Kovu is ready to complete the destiny is evil mother, Zira, cut out for him do they meet again, when Kovu "saves" the future queen from a fire. Siimba reluctantly agrees to see if Kovu has changed, not knowing that Kovu is really plotting to kill him once they are alone! But he's gradcually falling in love with Kiara, and that might change where his loyalties lie.
  
  An awesome film--one of Disney's greatest that ranks with Brother Bear, Pochahontas, and Treasure Planet as some of their greatest achievements.
  
  
• A Sensational Love Story
  By on 2005-10-29
  This is an amazing wonderful film. The story is magical, the songs are breathtaking and the characters are unique.
  The story of a young, sweet and brave cub called Kiara who is heir to the throne to follow in Simba's pawprints. She meets the cute Outlander called Kovu and no matter what their parents do, Kiara and Kovu realise their feelings for each other are growing stronger. As they grow up, they fall in love. But their parents are mortal enemies and they forbid their children to see each other. But will love re-unite the prides and The Pridelands will be restored to its original perfection? Simba is adorable (but annoying) and Nala, Simba's true love, will always be her wise, wonderful self and Zira is cool and evil. Timon and Pumbaa are hilarious and Zazu has changed his voice. Why!!!!????
  This love story will take your breath away and Kiara and Kovu's love bring the prides together. The song "Love will find a Way" was just unreal. This love story will capture your heart and imagination forever. A truly magical romantic story that teaches you that true love will solve most problems.
  
  
• Another bad sequel
  By A2W4Y9P4I1VEDG on 2006-06-21
  Why must they make sequels? Why do they insist? I thought this movie was pathetic. I love the first movie, in comparison this movie is trash. I found it confusing because although it is implied that Scar dies in the first movie he suddenly has a pride of lions. Which makes no sense at all, why would Scar have hung out with the hyeneas in the first movie if he had his own pride of lions? Where were they? I did like the the part whhere Simba's daughter and the other lion were going down the river and Rafiki is singing.
  
  
• Too scary
  By A139M9520N9NYK on 2000-01-19
  Guys, I'm only a 9 year old girl but I think you should listen to me. I don't think that little kids and not just little kids; I was 8 when I saw this, shouldn't watch this. It's way too scary. I saw this at my friends house and I was VERY happy she suggested we go down for a snack. Don't let your kids watch this. It's too scary.
  
  
• Skip this one and watch the original again.
  By on 1999-06-14
  Why Disney refuses to re-release the original "Lion King" into theatres beats me. This movie sucks. The original is Disney at it's finest. This whole story didn't grab me at all. I didn't care about any of the characters. Do not buy this movie. If you didn't see the original, do whatever you have to to get a hold of one. That one is worth the trouble and any price you have to pay. ORIGINAL is AWESOME.
  
  
• Lion King 1 left you wondering what happens next...
  By on 1999-04-26
  but Lion King 2 lets you know it's not worth knowing. Problem #1: Where did all of the evil lions come from? The original showed that Scar's only followers were the goose-stepping hyenas and they didn't benifit from Scar's totalitarianism either. Problem #2: The songs in LK2 were crud, especially "Upendi". Problem #3: The plot was kind of flat, but the plotholes and deus ex machinas kept it a little bit interesting. Problem #4: The closeup of the evil lead lion near the end of the waste of film was just disproportionate. Problem #5: Timon and Pumbaa had NO memorable part in the movie and they acted the way they did in the "Lion King's Timon and Pumbaa" cartoon.

  This movie was funny because of the reason other bad movies are funny: they're so BAD! I don't know what target audience Disney was looking for, but I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone.
  
  

• Good movie, but disappointing compared to the first
  By A3FY51T1KPS3RS on 2000-08-01
  I rate this as a mid-pack Disney movie. As a sequel, it isn't bad (although not as strong a followup as Toy Story 2 was to Toy Story).

  This is a different perspective on the "growing up and forgiveness" theme of Lion King, and still a good one. It eschews the father-son relationship of Lion King and replaces it with a community-community theme. Although there is also a father-daughter story here, it is not as strong or powerful.

  Although there has been character development with Pumba and Timon, apparently from their cartoon series on the Disney Channel, most of the characters are not as well developed (taking into consideration that many are extensions of characters in the first movie).

  The music has much the same flavor -- the best songs are the ones borrowed from the first movie. There are a few that work otherwise.

  The animation is good -- again, nothing spectacular or comparable to Lion King.

  Overall a good movie that any 5-10 year old would enjoy. In particular because it has a strong female character, this is a movie that girls might appreciate more than the first.
  
  

• The Lion King (Disney Special Platinum Edition)
• The Lion King 1 1/2
• Beauty and the Beast
• Aladdin (Disney Special Platinum Edition)
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney Special Platinum Edition)