The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998)

My grandfather-turned-widower had this film on VHS ever since its 1998 premiere, though given its lesser status among Disney films it was only a periodic viewing. As my grandfather no longer desired his Panasonic PV-9451 upon moving, I gladly took it into my room. To celebrate a successful hooking up, I decided to view this, as it was the only Disney VHS they had that I have not viewed since I considered becoming a reviewer. Enough backstory, though, so... My response?Given how it was released in the finale of the Disney Renaissance and was overlooked in favor of Mulan, there are most certainly disadvantages this film is presented with. As WDTA worked on this film, the animation is most certainly of a lower quality than the original (WDAS loses no contests to its subsidiaries). It continues to look fantastic in character design, more than can be said of other DTVs, but the more clunky, less fluid movements hinder it significantly in the action scenes. The new characters also feel as though they came out of, admittedly, a more than acceptable fanfic of The Lion King. They barely have connections to the original and are way too hastily introduced as ones we should, seemingly, be familiar with. At least, though, the acting is above average for a DTV, which in an alleged adaptation of Romeo and Juliet is important. This acting is especially apparent in the music, which I will say is this movie's strongest suit. Most numbers continue the tradition of sounding tribal African, while the major one that isn't makes a pretty underrated villain theme. The story does offer at least one good twist in the minor antagonists immediately coming to terms and has a few good jokes, but it flirts way too often with clichés and predicts, annoyingly early, what could have been a likable convolution (Kiara and Kovu's relationship). Some of the humor is also rather cheap (how Pumbaa reacts to "blast", for example). To sum this movie up, this most certainly isn't up there with its predecessor, but it does offer a few strong suits of its own that make it, what I consider, among the best (or, as Nostalgia Chick would put it, least awful) Disney Sequels. If you're a fan of The Lion King or want to relive a 1998 childhood, you will take something out of watching this. For most others, you might want to consider giving it a try if only for its killer score.

I loved original The Lion King movie since childhood but never cried on it. But The Lion King II: Simba's Pride made me cry! This is absolutely touching story about great power of true love - the Love that can defeat hatred! The first movie is great but pretty simple (well, maybe remake will be more complex) - however, the sequel is much better! And Kovu is my favorite movie character for now!

I went into the film when I was younger with an open mind, but was sorely disappointed with this movie. It nowhere near lives up to the first film it proceeded by "The Lion King", but was not all bad. First I will say My first problem with the film was the Character attitudes. In this film the Main Character in the previous film Simba, is made out to be a bad Father and a bad King which is not true in My Opinion, Disney tried to ruin His previous Character build up, dragging Him through the mud the whole movie, when at some points He was actually politically correct. Another Character issue I have with this Movie is Simba and Nala's Daughter, Kiara. She is one of the brattiest Disney girls that has ever been! She is rude to Her Father, doesn't give a crap about who She is or Her legacy, and complains all the time about petty things! What problems does She have?! She says She is so sheltered and wants freedom, but I would be protective of My kid to if some insane, bloodthirsty Lioness who sang about ripping My throat out had the sole purpose In Her mind to destroy My family! But that just didn't set in Her ditzy Teenage brain! She is also very immature and vein for my taste. Besides these things the rest of the Characters have very different personality's than in the first film, it's like it wasn't even them! The animation was also lacking in some place and looked like it was done by a 10 year old to be honest. The movie is not to terrible however, it could have been better and has plenty more potential than it was given. If Disney used the same Character personality's from the first film, better Music, created a better plot line, and spent more time on it then it would be decent. It was an alright film, but didn't give Me the same feelings the first did. In conclusion try this film out, it depends on Your personal taste to decide If it is good or not.

I loved the first Lion King film, which in my opinion is one of the most well-made movies ever, if not the best. So, going into the second film, of course I expected it to not be as good, and I was right. While still a very good film, The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride is nowhere near the quality of its predecessor. The voice acting is mostly well done in this film, even though those returning from the first film do not have as much of a spark as they did previously, especially Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella (I'll get on that later). The new additions are perhaps the better ones in this film, such as Neve Campbell as Kiara, Jason Marsden as Kovu, and Suzanne Pleshette as Zira, the antagonist. Also, speaking of Kiara and Kovu, their relationship is the highlight of the film, especially when they turn into adults. Kiara's relationship with Kovu can be compared to Romeo and Juliet, considering that all 3 Lion King movies were somewhat based off of Shakespeare plays. But there are problems with this movie, and the biggest one I have is regarding Timon and Pumbaa. There is no reason for Timon and Pumbaa to even be in this movie other than the fact that they were key characters in the first one. Any time Simba asks them to go look after Kiara, Timon and Pumbaa always lose her, and they barely contribute to anything that happens in the end sequence. An even bigger problem is that some of their antics instantly disrupt serious and emotional scenes that take place throughout the course of the film. For example, when it first shows Kiara as an adult asking her father if she can hunt on her own, it cuts to Timon and Pumbaa who start crying dramatically over what's going on. The same thing happens again at the end of the film when the lions are about to go onto Pride Rock. These two contribute NOTHING to these scenes, and are only placed just because they're popular characters. You could erase them out of this movie, and ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about the movie would change. Also, the music is not as good as the in the original. The best songs in this film are "Upendi", which is an enjoyable reggae song sung by Rafiki, and "Love Will Find A Way", which feels like an amalgamation of "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" and "Always There" from the Lady and the Tramp sequel. However, the rest of the songs either are misplaced or are not as lively as in the first movie, especially "We Are One", and Kovu's exile song. Now, you would think that I hate this movie due to these issues, but again, I did enjoy this movie. However, that does not stop it from having some extremely serious flaws that sadly hinder it from being one of Disney's best. I would have to say that as a film, Lady and the Tramp 2 and Bambi 2 are much better Disney sequels than this one is. I would recommend this movie, but be cautious if you don't like stupid humor ruining serious moments in a movie.