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

This two-disc presentation of the popular sequel delivers a better sounding DVD and looks a bit better than the initial release (although the original was pretty sharp). There are no changes in the film except a pop-up viewing mode with facts--fun and otherwise--about the film. The second disc is for the kids, including games, a cute documentary on African animals, and another installment of the Virtual Safari. This "ride" puts you in a jeep with Timon and Pumbaa as they race the jungle and pride lands bumping into various obstacles, all in booming Dolby 5.1 sound. The best extra is the new short "One by One" a modern day tale of Africa and the finest short from the studio since 2000's "John Henry." --Doug Thomas

1 Real Pleasure
Very enjoyable on all levels.
The story has a little less "light and shade" in a dramatic sense, but is very highly stark in what is right, what is wrong... especially if you recall the first film, and how Mufasa taught his son.
Very nice to see Rafiki voiced again by Robert Guillame, and a slight disappointment that Rowan Atkinson is absent.
But, overall, the resolution based on the "Circle of Life", and the "we are one" concepts are very well executed, and should please adults and children who love the series ( And I do mean Love, not like !!! ).
The extras are very focused on the children but are very fun for adults of the right mind as well.

2 Great Sequel
Most of the time, I do not believe Disney creates good sequels, but this one is really good. Yes, it does seem to be a rehash of the original, but sometimes history does repeat itself? I was thrilled that the lead character is female, and she's not some pretty pretty princess (which is what Disney usually does to female leads). Instead, she is a "rough and tumble gal". She does not get saved by the handsome knight, but saves the day herself (with the help of her friends). Kudos to Disney for releasing a great movie.

3 A thrillng sequel to the best film of all time!
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.

4 Great finale to a great animated trilogy!

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.

5 Spirit of the First
I don't get why so many people hate this movie. I'm a HUGE Lion King fan, and I think that this one fully captures the spirit of the first movie. The new characters are very well done, especially Nuka and Kovu. Some people complain of how Simba acts differently in this one. Well, he does, but if those people were OPEN-MINDED they would see that Simba is trying to act like his father, but he comes off as a jerk. This movie is great and the songs is just as good as the first one, although the music to the evil song in this one (My Lullaby) is not as good as the first (Be Prepared), the lyrics show the feelings of Ziera in a different way then you might expect. But all the other songs are beautifully done. My only suggestion to those of you who will see this movie is to watch it with an OPEN MIND, and try to read between the lines, because there you'll find something great.

6 never seen worse, a big insult to the other lion king films.
THE WORST AND MOST DISGUSTING MOVIE EVER!!!!!!!!
I CAN THINK OF NO SINGLE REASON WHY ANYONE WILL WANT TO SEE THIS!
PLEASE DON'T RENT IT OR BUY IT, NEVER!!!
IT IS A GIANT INSULT TO THE FIRST AND THIRD LION KING FILMS!!!!!!

7 The Future Queen of the Pridelands
This video starts off with the usual previews and immediately goes into the story with fast paced action. The music is great and I turn the volume up while my five-year old points out the various animals in the Pride Lands waiting for the appearance of the new cub. There are deer, elephants and zebras along with the lions.

Lion King II Simba's Pride is about the journey through the circle of life for these animals. There are funny parts in the movie with Timon and Pumbaa, the characters that we have seen from their cable show on the Disney channel.

Simba's Pride is a movie that was made for video only. The animation is superb with the sounds of the lions roar first rate. The sibling rivalry between Kovu and his older brother who constantly refers to Kovu as a termite is funny and pathetic at times.

While viewing this video you will learn the plans of the Badlanders who feel like outsiders and see Simba as the one who killed Scar their leader. At first the two cubs were playing around in the water being chased by Crocodiles and they realize who the other is once they get out of the water.

There are five songs in Lion King II Simba's Pride with drama and excitement in each one of them. It is a great story of getting along and letting go of old battle scars.

The story line has the siblings, parents, and the young ones all developing relationships within the Pride Lands along with the silly antics of Timon and Pumbaa.

The movie will lift you up making you want to turn up the volume and tap your feet as well as sitting on the edge of your seat.

8 Not Great
Simba's daughter can be described in one word: Rebellious. That seems to be the theme of Disney sequels these days...the main character's daughter/son (Usually daughter) is a rebellious adventurer who wants nothing more then to break away from the character we loved so much in the original movie. I personally find that plot to be over-used and a first-movie-ruiner. It's hard to feel the same about the original movie when the second movie is such a bummer.

This movie was okay, not great. It was definately more violent and evil in some parts then the original The Lion King. Although Kiara was possibly a prettier lion then Nala, I found her to be slightly too emotional, and I didn't like that she was always trying to get away from, and take control of, almost everyone's favorite character, Simba. I find the whole "family/descendants of Scar" thing to be a little odd, too, since Scar would have had his family back him up in the first movie instead of the hyenas. And I THINK I remember Zira saying she was Scar's sister. Wouldn't that make her Mufasa's sister, too? Anyway, I liked this movie when I was around six or seven years old, and still like it now. But I think a lot of things could have been different, and I definately don't think it was as good as the original movie.

9 Dark & Fun...I love it!!!
I bought this sequal just to complete my Lion King collection and I must say, this is definitely one of the best Disney sequals I have ever seen! Most decide to skip any form of Disney sequal as most of them are downright awful and a waste of money (such as Stitch the Movie...I bought it for my love of the character Stitch & the fact that it was $3), but this one ends up being quite rewarding.
I only gave this film 3 stars (the movie itself deserves a 4) due to the shameful extras on here. I always get excited for the Virtual Safari extra, but this one was not as unique as the ones given on Lion King & Lion King 1 & 1/2. However I did enjoy the animated short "One By One," which contains excellent animation and is just plain fun to watch! The rest of the extras are very kiddie-ish and are mainly trivia and facts for your little ones to enjoy and play around with. I feel there should be more adult-oriented bonuses (maybe along the lines of animation proceedures or the film's score, as the "Proud of Simba's Pride" featurette only lightly scratched this surface, but is a unique addition to see the faces of the voices behind the fresh characters) since this film has such a dark side to it.
I love this film for it's new set of characters and the fact that it contains the old favorites with the original voice cast. Out of the newbie characters, I mainly love Jason Marsden (as older Kovu), Andy Dick (as the dark comedic Nuka, almost a replacement for the hyena trio...or just Ed) and of course the fresh new villain Suzanne Pleshette (playing Zira, the replacement for Scar...and believe me, she is a wonderful villain!).
I even found the music satisfying, as the songs are unique, but do not come into this expecting "Circle of Life" or "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," as the songs from the original are pretty hard to compete with. The new songs and score are fun and work with this film, so I found it even more enjoyable as everything meshed well together.
Sure, this film is no Lion King, but I love it for what it is and am proud to welcome this to my Lion King Trilogy.

10 I liked it equal with the Lion King, but in a different way
I give it 4 stars for the movie and 1 extra star from the nostalgia I get from watching it. I don't want to spoil the story, so I'll only say this much: Lion King II has a good story, laden with symbolism (a good kind of symbolism), pretty different from the original. In otherwards, this is not just retelling the first one with Simba's daughter, Kiara. (Ok, I said I wouldn't spoil it, but you probably saw that on the commercial already!) I just have a little word on content: There is some violent scenes which are about equal with the original, and the villian is just as scary. Well, I'll tell you now, the DVD extras aren't that great, and I definately think they could've made that "Proud of Simba's Pride" featurette longer than 7 minutes, added more "Find Out Why"s I remember, and put a "We Are One" music video on there. Still, there is that new short, "One by One" which is very good. (I hope it wins the Oscar!) The picture and sound quality on the DVD is great, though, and the only thing that would've made it better was a Spanish subtitle track. From the looks of it, there was even supposed to be one.

But, aside from all that, the upgrade was worth it. This SURE beats watching it on my grainy old video.

11 I was happily surprised Disney didn't get lazy with sequel..
Let's face it, sequels usually stink and there was no way the original Lion King would ever be surpassed by a 2nd outing especially when this one went straight to video. Or could it be surpassed??? Ok, I will never say Lion King 2 is better, but as a stand alone movie, Lion King 2 is worth 20 bucks especially the special edition. First things first, this is not a cheap low end animated movie as Disney tried to get away with in the past...Remember Aladdin 2, Return of Jafar? The animation was horrible and the story was pretty weak. Lion King 2 nearly lives up to the quality of it's predecessor. Up front, this movie could have done very well in the theaters and I'm quite surprised it wasn't released to the big screen. But it's not so much the animation that kept me glued to it, it actually has an interesting story. Most of the characters are back, although the voice of Simba (Matthew Broderic) seems different from the original, maybe he's just getting old, but anyway... Lion King 2 is basically a rehash of Simba's perils from the first movie, only this time it's his daugther taking the lead role in this one. Once again it also involes a love/hate story relationship between characters and it works very well. Simba's role is actually quite small compared to his lead role in Lion King and one might be disappointed with that fact. The abnoxious wart hog and ferret are back and funny as ever and they don't take away the seriousness of the movie, because it's actually adult themed.

The music is well orchestrated too, and remastered in 5.1 dolby digital is good. The actual compositions are average at best, and I suppose I'm still spoiled by the original Lion King, but most of the singing you might want to fast forward. The special edition has a lot of neat additions, including the making of Lion King 2, the people involved, quizzes, trailers, music videos and more.

All in all, I had no intention of getting this movie, but amazingly, it's a worthy successor of the Lion King. With the exception of the "average" song bytes, I enjoyed this movie. There are some semi-violent scenes, but it's very tame compared to the perils in the Lion King. Good buy for fans.

12 All-time Disney great!
I have this on VHS already and anxiously awaiting the DVD version. I also have the musical score to the movie and I just love it. My 4-year old grandson and I sing along with the Simba/Kiara and Kiara/Kovu duets everytime we are riding in my car together (which is at least a couple times a week). We never get tired of it; the music is wonderful!

13 Disney's Best!!!
I don't care if Shrek 2 is now the biggest grossing animated film of all time. Both The Lion King and Lion King 2: Simba's Pride are my favorite Disney movies of all time. All I have to say to anybody is WATCH, you'll like it, need I say more!!!

14 Best Disney Movie Ev-er!
The Lion King is back in this wonderfully fun sequal called Lion King II: Simba's Pride. The movie starts with a beautiful ceremony for the new Princess Kiara, daughter to Simba and Nala. Kiara grows into an adventures cub with a very protective father. Like Simba, Kiara ventures outside the Pride Lands one day, which is strictly against the rules. She meets up with fellow cub Kovu and the two hit it off nicely. However, it's their families that drive them apart. With a little love and determination Kiara and Kovu manage to unite their prides as one, just the way it should be.

I have to say that when I first saw this movie I pretty much sat stunned when it ended. It was just so great it blew my mind. I know several people will hate me for saying this, but Lion King 2 is my number one favorite movie of all time. In fact, I like it even better than the original and the first one is definitely a favorite of mine. It's why I bought the sequal to begin with.

This movie had many highlights, a main one is the twist. Simba and Nala, although we all thought otherwise, have a daughter, Kiara, in this. I really didn't see that coming and I thought it was cool because I loved Kiara. Timon and Pumbaa are official members of the pride and I find that very funny and entertaining. Then the big cat, Simba, is back. I couldn't be happier, as he is my most favorite character of all. In this movie he seems much more masculine and cooler.

My main complaint and probably the only one is that Zira was thought up at the last minute and was no where to be seen in the last movie. Someone deserves a stern lecture for that one. But that wasn't so bad. I also wish we knew what happened to Sarabi, even though I'm guessing she passed on.

One thing I really loved in this sequal was that it struck me as a modern day Romeo and Juliet, which is something that is rarely seen. So, terrific as far as that is concerned.

Pick up a copy of this movie and I assure you that you won't be disappointed, regardless of other people might say. Don't judge this movie by the previous one's standards. If you're so busy being a reviewer, you'll never have time to enjoy what you see. That's just what I think.

15 GREAT MOVIE!
I STILL LIKE THE FIRST ONE BETTER,BUT THIS ONE IS WONDERFUL,TOO!IT CONTINUES THE LION KING SPECIEL EDITION TRILOGY!SO,AFTER THIS ONE COMES OUT,THEY WILL PROBABLY MAKE A LION KING TRILOGY INCLUDING,THE LION KING,THE LION KING 2,AND THE LION KING 11/2!

16 Oh, Disney, Why?
Lame.

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.

17 Well, I guess it's ok....
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. :)

18 Surprisingly Good Sequel to the 1994 Classic
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

19 me and my friends love this movie!
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.

20 Heh heh heh....wrong
Erm...well the basic point here is that this movie SUX! But more to the point is that I was sleepin over at my frendz house and we were watchin this to make fun of it and we got to the part right before they sing the song about Kovu gettin exiled and Simba sez "When you came here, you asked for judgement, WELL I PASS IT NOW!" Then the animals in the background start mumbling and I heard one go "YES YOU'RE GAY!" and I rewinded it over and over and I swear to god, you can hear them say that! I didn't get it off a website or anything like that, I FOUND IT MYSELF! Yeah...I have no life...

21 Good Movie!
I got this movie the 1st year it came out (back then i was lion king addicted actullay i still am) I LUVED it! but now that i'm older i'm not so sure about it. it has a sappier story line then the last one. girl goes against father orders falls in luv with "Bad" guy you know? still it is a great movie but for us older veiwers it is boring!

22 LOVE IT!!!
This is a great addition to the now Lion King Trilogy, as the second installment, it deals with Simba's child, and what he goes through, with a new enemy and all. Its great...whoever doesn't like it is wrong...the movie is AWESOME!!!

23 Well...
Basically, thus far the Lion King hasn't been a totally original story. The first borrowed heavily from Hamelt, and this, the second, steals most plot points from Romeo and Juliet.

This is not neceassarily bad. In the tradition of the first movie, it -is- unusually dark in areas... and would have been even more so if it hadn't of been 'edited'. Find the deleted scenes online. Nuka actually had one more line in his star scene which added a world of impact. But, in tailoring to children...

Though the film itself is worthy, the discs are... glitched. Two copies I ran into had hiccups in the same spot... but thankfully it was only in Timon and Pumbaa's intro. It's just very strange...

24 Boring Movie
Well, I got to admit this is one of the lamest Disney sequel to the #1 Animated Film of all time. Unlike the greatest children's movies of all time, I can't believe the target market for The Lion King. People say its great. Well, I thought it is, It was so boring. The only thing I can find was the animation which doesn't coverup the whole bland and lame story. I'll just say the animation and the music are the only two things that are good, but that doesn't coverup the whole bland and boring story. Usually, I found both Lion King movies boring after hearing it from a friend this past summer. Don't waste your money on it. IT'S HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Only 3 year olds should be aimed at this. Not stupid and retarted 12 year olds and more.

25 A great Sequal
I'm seventeen, but didn't want to give my credit card so I had to use the kids review...When this movie came out I was half interested, disney sequals are normally just rip off plot re-dos of the originals, but I loved the Lion King and was curious as too what they had done with the sequal -plus I had needed to rent another movie to get the Rodger's mug.
When I saw it I was thrilled, in it's own way it is as good as the orginal, though nothing can really show up the Lion King. This movie, as the original, clearly shows emotions and is very powerfull, and it has it's own plot line rather then an incarnation of the original.
Simba's Pride has a much darker feel too it, with Zira's plotting for revenge and the passionate "My Lullaby" (Which can't be compared to Be Prepared, but is as good in it's way)and even Simba is seen with some rashness as he bannishes Kovu from the pride lands.
Like in the original the supporting characters were great (Except for Nuka, who was just pathetic in my opinion) Vitani and Zira have their good sides as well, Vitani more then Zira, and are human rather then pure evil (I feel the same about Scar).
I liked Kovu's character, I think he was played out quite well, and Kiara was a good character as well, though they could have done more development on her, she isn't girly, but she could have been stronger in standing up to Simba.
The music I find was really good, except for the song Upendi, which was really -odd?- they were great, My Lullaby and Love will find a way are very powerfull songs, and even small ones like One of Us are filled with emotion.
The plot was original, and it was really passionate which was what I liked on the movie, the animation was pretty good, if inferior to the Lion King, but Simba's Pride is a great sequal, probably better then some of the disney originals.

26 A classic in its own right
When I first heard about the sequel to "The Lion King", I was dismayed. Word was, this would be a direct to video incarnation, and images of the lackluster 'Return of Jafar" swam in my head. WOW!!Was I wrong!!! Reuniting most of the primary cast of the first film ( Rowan Atkinson is mysteriously absent), "The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride " provides us with an enchanting take on the "Romeo and Juliet" theme. Sporting both a clever script and top of the line animation (rumor has it that this was originally intended to be the next Disney theatrical release, then got sent to the television animation studio to make way for the impending arrival of the inferior "Pocohantas"), this film delivers on all levels. Bottom line- if you were a fan of "The Lion King", you will most definitely enjoy this film. Trust me..I didnt think I would, but this film proved to me that it isn't so much a sequel, as an equal. Bravo to all involved in this masterful production!!!

27 The best Disney sequel ever :)
I loved the first Lion King movie when I first saw it in the movies when I was four. I watched it everyday, I knew the songs by heart, ect. When I was 8 and I found out there was going to be a Lion King II, I bought it right away when it came out, and when I saw it, I was hooked! I'm 13 now, and I'm still hooked. :) LOL.

The story takes place after the first Lion King movie with Simba and Nala's daughter, Kiara. Just like her dad, Kiara is adventourous and very curious. Simba is very protective of his daughter, and doesn't her stray far from watchful eyes. One day while playing in the Pride Lands (along with being followed by Timon & Pumbaa) Kiara sneaks off to the forbiddon Outlands, and meets a young lion cub named Kovu. The 2 cubs become best friends, but when Simba and Zira (Kovu's mother) find out the 2 our friends, they forbid Kovu and Kiara to see eachother, since, Zira tells Simba, that Kovu was chosen by her mate Scar "to follow in his pawprints and become king". Simba tells Kovu and Zira to leave, and so do heading for the Outlands. Simba takes Kiara back to Pride Rock and explaines to her that she is the future queen of the Pride Lands, and "We are all apart of the Circle of Life. We are one".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile in the Outlands, Zira teaches Kovu how to hate, and to kill Simba for control of the Pride Lands. Kovu & Kiara don't see eachother for many years, until they reunite as young adults. Kovu asks Simba to join the pride, and Simba agrees. At his stay at Pride Rock, instead of killing Simba, Kovu teachers Kiara how to hunt, and Kiara teachers Kovu how to have fun. Soon Kovu & Kiara fall in love. But then while Simba and Kovu are taking a walk in the Pride Lands, Zira and the Outsiders ambush them! Kovu escapes, but Simba is injured. At Pride Rock, Simba thinks Kovu lead him into the trap. Kovu pleads to Simba for forgiveness, but Simba does not listen, and sentences Kovu to excile. Upset, Kiara follows Kovu, and the 2 young lions know "love will find a way" for them to be together. In the Pride Lands, the Pride Land lions and Outland lions are fighting for Pride Rock. But then when Kovu and Kiara appear, Kiara tells Simba that everyone is apart of the Circle of Life. Outraged, Zira tries to attack Simba, but Kiara blocks her way, and the 2 lionesses tumble in a ravine. Kiara survives, but Zira is never seen again. And so, the Pride Land lions and Outland lions take their place in the Circle of Life. And Kovu & Kiara are together at last.
~~~~~~~~~~~
I recommend "The Lion King II" to all Lion King fans. Buy it now, and trust me, you WON'T be dissapointed! :)

28 this is one cool movie
I don't understand the people who try to make fool connections between the real world and an annimated disney movie. Yeah, there are some holes in the plot and everything, but the first movie...geeez, it was the best of all disney movies, but Simba was growing up by eating bugs and insects...does that make any sense for an adult lion at all??? so do not try to make any sense of most of the things in these sort of movies. To me, the characters were really well drawn here, maybe much better than the 1st one, if I have to compare them. (I mean their personalities.) They have their own individualities and strenghts. Simba is cool as usual, and now more mature as how a king and father is supposed to be. He is not a boy anymore, he became a man. Yeah, Nala, Zazu, even Sarabi, Sarafina and the whole lion clans relationships with Simba could have been reflected a little better, but so what? It is still beautiful, and it would be ridiculous to compare it to the first. This movie also tries to fill some gaps that the first movie had in it's story plot.

It could have been a little longer and the background music would be much better with a Hans Zimmer touch, but still, a true Disney classic to me. Plus, it is not another Romeo & Juliet clich� like in westside story, but it is more than that.

29 The Lion King II Simba's Pride: The best Disney sequel ever
I'm not one for Disney sequels but this one is awesome! The Lion King has to be one of my favorite moives of all time. When I heard of this film for the first time I couldn't wait to see it and when I did I loved. The music in it is as good as the music from the first movie. It dosen't bet the first film but is certainly a awesome movie to watch anytime. It is a movie that both children and adults can enjoy watching together and get a good message from.

30 Good, just like the first one!
This movie is a pride to all. The graphics good, and the plot is very good. But if you buy the first Lion King on DVD, buy the second Lion King on DVD, too. I don't own the DVD, but I'm sure it has a lot of good special features.

31 that is one cool movie
I don't understand the people who try to make fool connections between the real world and an annimated disney movie. Yeah, there are some holes in the plot and everything, but the first movie...geeez, it was the best of all disney movies, but Simba was growing up by eating bugs and insects...does that make any sense for an adult lion at all??? so do not try to make any sense of most of the things in these sort of movies. To me, the characters were really well drawn here, maybe much better than the 1st one, if I have to compare them. (I mean their personalities.) They have their own individualities and strenghts. Simba is cool as usual, and now more mature as how a king and father is supposed to be. He is not a boy anymore, he became a man. Yeah, Nala, Zazu, even Sarabi, Sarafina and the whole lion clans relationships with Simba could have been reflected a little better, but so what? It is still beautiful, and it would be ridiculous to compare it to the first. This movie also tries to fill some gaps that the first movie had in it's story plot.

32 One of the better sequels
Disney has put out, if not the best sequel to follow any disney movie, i wasn't expecting another excellent movie like Lion King from this sequel, but it is worthy of a look, i enjoyed it alot, obviously it doesn't stand up against "The Lion King" but i don't think you'll be disappointed especially if you've seen some of the sequels disney has spewed out.

33 Good movie, bad sequel
As a stand alone, this movie was nice. I always wondered why the bad guy was distinguished by a dark mane. But unlike the first film, the 'dark mane' lions unite in the end (instead of a single 'dark one' being destroyed to create peace). I wonder, however, where in the heck these guys came from. Sequels have made the mistake of inventing new characters who don't make sense before and the mini-pride of 'dark mane' 'scar-follower' lions was one of them. Where were these guys when Scar was getting attacked by Hyenas at the end of the original? And why did he need Hyenas in the first film if these followers exsisted?

My enjoyment of the film was ruined by this lack of continuity between the two films. On the sequel scale it rates higher than most attempts Disney makes at a 'part 2', but I enjoyed the "Aladdin" series a little more and Toy Story 2 is proably the best animated sequel I've ever seen.

34 Wonderful if not underrated follow up to the Lion King
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.

35 Try Harder
We rank this movie 29th out of the 41 Disney Animated movies that we ranked. It was never that well liked compared to the other movies we own. It helped a little that the original actors returned to do the voices.

36 Not just one of those "let's just make a sequel" sequels
This was definatley a great movie true, it's not queit as good as the animated classic The Lion King, but it's still a great movie. Disney is generally terrible with seqeuls, but this is a major exception. This is a love story similar to Romeo and Juliet, but with a much happier ending.It's about Simba's duaghter, and a male lion from Scar's tribe.They meet by accident when she goes into territory that's supossed to be off limits(now, who does that remind you of?) They were going to run away, but then decide to go back and talk their families into making peace with one another

37 I'm a boy and I'm 15 years old.
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!!!

38 It's all right I guess....
I liked the first one better and when I saw this one, I wasn't too impressed. I mean, it's O.K. but I think they could've done better. In my opinion, I don't think the songs are THAT great, and Kiara has a "girly" personality. Zira is nothing like Scar, and she wasn't even mentioned in the first movie and neither were the Outlanders. Nuka is a TOTAL KLUTZ and I don't even want to start on Zazu. The only character I liked in this movie was Vitani. (really cool) Kovu is a total insult to the movie, and he is NOTHING like Scar. Don't waste your time on this movie and find something else to watch. The only 2 songs that are "good" are "Love will find away" and "We are One". Zira's song "My Lullaby" isn't is good as Scar's "Be Prepared." If you want to see this sequel, go right ahead. I mean, it's OKAY . It's not the BEST Movie in the world.

39 It's all right I guess....
I liked the first one better and when I saw this one, I wasn't too impressed. I mean, it's O.K. but I think they could've done better. In my opinion, I don't think the songs are THAT great, and Kiara has a "girly" personality. Zira is nothing like Scar, and she wasn't even mentioned in the first movie and neither were the Outlanders. Nuka is a TOTAL KLUTZ and I don't even want to start on Zazu. The only character I liked in this movie was Vitani. (really cool) Kovu is a total insult to the movie, and he is NOTHING like Scar. Don't waste your time on this movie and I find something else to watch. Then only 2 songs that are "good" are "Love will find away" and "We are One". Zira's song "My Lullaby" isn't is good as Scar's "Be Prepared." If you want to see this sequel, go right ahead. I mean, it's OKAY . It's not the BEST Movie in the world.

40 It's all right I guess....
I liked the first one better and when I saw this one, I wasn't too impressed. I mean, it's O.K. but I think they could've done better. In my opinion, I don't think the songs are THAT great, and Kiara has a "girly" personality. Zira is nothing like Scar, and she wasn't even mentioned in the first movie and neither were the Outlanders. Nuka is a TOTAL KLUTZ and I don't even want to start on Zazu. The only character I liked in this movie was Vitani. (really cool) Kovu is a total insult to the movie, and he is NOTHING like Scar. Don't waste your time on this movie and I find something else to watch. Then only 2 songs that are "good" are "Love will find away" and "We are One". Zira's song "My Lullaby" isn't is good as Scar's "Be Prepared." If you want to see this sequel, go right ahead. I mean, it's OKAY . It's not the BEST Movie in the world.

41 It's all right I guess....
I liked the first one better and when I saw this one, I wasn't too impressed. I mean, it's O.K. but I think they could've done better. In my opinion, I don't think the songs are THAT great, and Kiara has a "girly" personality. Zira is nothing like Scar, and she wasn't even mentioned in the first movie and neither were the Outlanders. Nuka is a TOTAL KLUTZ and I don't even want to start on Zazu. The only character I liked in this movie was Vitani. (really cool) Kovu is a total insult to the movie, and he is NOTHING like Scar. Don't waste your time on this movie and I find something else to watch. Then only 2 songs that are "good" are "Love will find away" and "We are One". Zira's song "My Lullaby" isn't is good as Scar's "Be Prepared." If you want to see this sequel, go right ahead. I mean, it's OKAY . It's not the BEST Movie in the world.

42 It's all right I guess....
I liked the first one better and when I saw this one, I wasn't too impressed. I mean, it's O.K. but I think they could've done better. In my opinion, I don't think the songs are THAT great, and Kiara has a "girly" personality. Zira is nothing like Scar, and she wasn't even mentioned in the first movie and neither were the Outlanders. Nuka is a TOTAL KLUTZ and I don't even want to start on Zazu. The only character I liked in this movie was Vitani. (really cool) Kovu is a total insult to the movie, and he is NOTHING like Scar. Don't waste your time on this movie and I find something else to watch. Then only 2 songs that are "good" are "Love will find away" and "We are One". Zira's song "My Lullaby" isn't is good as Scar's "Be Prepared." If you want to see this sequel, go right ahead. I mean, it's OKAY . It's not the BEST Movie in the world.

43 It's all right I guess....
I liked the first one better and when I saw this one, I wasn't too impressed. I mean, it's O.K. but I think they could've done better. In my opinion, I don't think the songs are THAT great, and Kiara has a "girly" personality. Zira is nothing like Scar, and she wasn't even mentioned in the first movie and neither were the Outlanders. Nuka is a TOTAL KLUTZ and I don't even want to start on Zazu. The only character I liked in this movie was Vitani. (really cool) Kovu is a total insult to the movie, and he is NOTHING like Scar. Don't waste your time on this movie and I find something else to watch. Then only 2 songs that are "good" are "Love will find away" and "We are One". Zira's song "My Lullaby" isn't is good as Scar's "Be Prepared." If you want to see this sequel, go right ahead. I mean, it's OKAY . It's not the BEST Movie in the world.

44 It's all right I guess....
I liked the first one better and when I saw this one, I wasn't too impressed. I mean, it's O.K. but I think they could've done better. In my opinion, I don't think the songs are THAT great, and Kiara has a "girly" personality. Zira is nothing like Scar, and she wasn't even mentioned in the first movie and neither were the Outlanders. Nuka is a TOTAL KLUTZ and I don't even want to start on Zazu. The only character I liked in this movie was Vitani. (really cool) Kovu is a total insult to the movie, and he is NOTHING like Scar. Don't waste your time on this movie and I find something else to watch. Then only 2 songs that are "good" are "Love will find away" and "We are One". Zira's song "My Lullaby" isn't is good as Scar's "Be Prepared." If you want to see this sequel, go right ahead. I mean, it's OKAY . It's not the BEST Movie in the world.

45 Really nice movie and one of the best Disney movies!
This movie is (in my opinion) one of the best Disney movies. It had a good ending and fun parts, but the songs weren't so good as the original The Lion King. This story's main characters are Kiara, the daughter of Simba and Nala, and Kovu, Scar's son. Simba is also a main character. Kiara hates being shut up in the Pride Rock and longs to go out and explore outside Pride Land. Simba forbids Kiara to go outside Pride Land, but Kiara disobeys and goes out. She bumps into Kovu, one of the outlanders. (Outlanders were the animals that were driven out of Pride Land) When Kovu's mother Zira sees them talking and playing, she comes out and gets angry. Simba comes just in time and they quarrel. Simba takes Nala away and back to Pride Land. Many years later, Kiara and Kovu forget each other, when one sunny day, the outlanders put fire on the lands of Pride Land on the same day Kiara is chasing antelopes. Kovu manages to save her, and they remember each other again. Kovu then starts living with Simba and the others, but Simba is still unsure. Could he trust Kovu? Few days later, Simba takes Kovu to talk, when the outlanders and Zira surround them. Simba thinks that Kovu had betrayed him. Simba runs and Kovu goes back to Pride Land to say that he was truthful and wasn't betraying Simba. Simba is still angry and makes him leave Pride Land. Kiara is sad and runs away from Pride Land, and Kiara and Kovu find each other again. Meanwhile, Zira and the outlanders planned an attack on Pride Land and come at night. Just before they started to attack, Kiara and Kovu comes and tries to make peace between Pride Land and the outlanders. Would they agree?
This movie was fun, entertaining, and had a satisfying ending. However, I rated it four stars because I don't think it is my favorite movie.

46 For a sequel, not too bad!
Well, I loved The Lion King. I think it's one of the best Disney movies I've ever seen. So understandably I was intrigued by Simba's Pride - and I wasn't actually disappointed.
Let's be honest. Disney are not that good at making sequels. ... But this sequel? Well, it's not as great as the original (unsurprisingly) but it's still pretty good, and if you were a fan of TLK, I seriously recommend renting this, just to see what it's like. It's an interesting story which relates a lot better to its predecessor than most Disney sequels do, there's some nice songs (some of them tail off a bit, but others are really good) and the animation is actually okay!
It's not another Lion King. ... Timon and Pumbaa are *really* starting to pall (unless you loved them very much in the first film) and Kovu's character development is rushed through way too fast. But it is worth a look, especially if you loved TLK - it should interest you, at least!

47 Very not well done!!
I was realy realy disapointed when I saw this movie.
It seems that Disney did not work on the movie so hard.
The charictors are not well drawn, the music is not the best - No Work On This At All!!
Some see it as a work of art - I don't.

48 Not too bad considering its a direct to video Disney sequel
For years, Disney has been trying to capitalize on their big animated film blockbusters by making cheap direct-to-video sequels. With lower quality animation, weak retreads of the original story, replacements in the celebrity voice talent and new songs leaving much to desire, they usually aren't even worth a rental. But The Lion King II is definitely worth at least a rental.

Perhaps it was because of the films major success as the highest grossing animated film of all time, but somehow when it came time to make Simba's Pride, the producers put a little extra effort into it.

The animation is close to the original's quality. Crisp beautiful colors saturate the African landscape and much of the fire is computer animated. It's obvious the animators took their time to make it a beautiful looking film.

Also, it avoided another common fall of the direct-to-video market: almost all of the voice talent returns. Even James Earl Jones supplies a few lines as Mufasa.

The story, though very similar to the original, is fitting and has enough twists to seem fresh. This is the story of Simba's daughter, not Simba. Sure this is definitely an unnecessary sequel, but as far as unnecessary sequels, this one holds its own.

If there was one major failing of this film, it's that the new songs are pretty pathetic. Compared to the original songs by Elton John and company, these ones lack their emotion and catchiness. The opening song is beautiful, but it is lifted from a "songs inspired by the Lion King" album released just after the original film came out. Fortunately, the film manages not to re-use songs from the original film, which always feels like a cop-out.

Also, there are just a few times in the film where the pacing feels rushed. Compared to other direct-to-video films, this is much better in the pacing department, but there are still a few minor problems. Mostly nit-picks.

Overall, this one is the exception to the Disney video sequel rule. Unfortunately the songs still left a bad taste in my mouth, bad enough to give it only 3 stars. But it's a high 3 stars!

49 Simba's Shame
There is no way to deny it (and why would you?): The Lion King is animation at it's finest. The sequal, however, is no more then an attempt to cash in on the good version.

Start at the beginning. The Lion King had one of the strongest openings I have ever seen, a magnificant score over an epic sweep, as Simba is proclaimed king.
Simba's Pride steals a song from the Broadway musical.
It's a nice song, but it's hardly strong enough to pull you in. Then, they actually have Timon and Pumba talk before the title screen. The Lion King, by contrast, had the title screen appear the second the song climaxed.
The problem is, "They Live in You" doesn't climax; it fades.

To be fair to the song, neither does the movie. There is sort of a zenophobic feel to parts, as Simba and Zazu talk about the "Outsiders" that were banished for unknown crimes. They are loyal to Scar, although why is never stated; perhaps because he never kicked them out. Lead by Scar's mate, they groom her son, Kovu (although, to be clear, he is not Scar's son, so no incest is going) to kill Simba and take his place. But he becomeas good, falls in love, yada yada yada, movies over.

The music has some decent parts, but nothing on par with "I Just Can't Wait to be King", the weakest (in my veiw) song of the Lion King. And the background score is in the shadow of the majesty of the Lion King. There are only a few parts with choral voices as music-another minus, as singing under a scene is a universal good.

Honsetly? If you didn't like the Lion King, there's nothing here for you. If you did, and you've seen it fifteen times, watch it again. There's stil nothing here for you that the original doesn't have ten times over.

50 Wonderful!
A friend let us borrow the tape so that we could see if our 2 year old would like it and it was a big success. The story is wonderful and Matthew Broderick is, as in the first story, superb. Bravo!

I would recommend this DVD/Video highly.

Thanks!
M-

51 ... Truly a masterpiece
Alright, I never saw the DVD, but the video, and I thought it superb. A friend of mine lent me Stuart Little, Lady & the Tramp 2, and the Lion King 2, three movies I've been wanting to see for a long while.

I first watched the Lion King 2, and I instantly fell in love with the movie, the music, and the characters. The songs are simply wonderful, and the story is very romantic, but full of plenty of action.

I loved it so much I watched it about 10 times and never touched the other two movies!

It would, however, be wise to rent/borrow it before buying it, just incase you don't like it...

But I can't see why anyone would hate it!!

Take my advice and buy this wonderful movie...

52 A great sequel
Simba's Pride is by far better than any other Disney direct-to-video sequel. It features 6 great songs and a great story: Simba's daughter Kiara, has grown up to fall in love with Kovu, a follower of Scar. Now let me explain about him. SCAR IS NOT HIS FATHER! Zira mated with Scar and gave birth to Nuka. Then she mated with Nweno and gave birth to Kovu and Vitani. Well anyway, Kiara runs away from the Pride Lands and meets Kovu. Zira has been training Kovu since birth to kill Simba, since Zira still believes that Simba killed Scar. Kovu falls in love with Kiara and they finally end the feud between the two prides, but in the battle, Zira commits suicide and Nuka is crushed by a giant log. The DVD includes the music video for the magical "Love Will Find A Way" and a theatrical trailer, as well as widescreen format.

53 Sappy Take on the Original
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.

54 My fave Disney love story!
I loove this movie!!! It's a great love story next to A Walk to Remember! Kids of all ages would love this!! I saw it when I was 7 and i still love it!!!

55 II is as good as I
My kids and I enjoyed this one as much as the first one. Maybe more.

56 My thoughts on SP
Well, when I first saw the original TLK, I was floored. From age 10, I desired make every piece of merchandise known to man mine, etc. Then the sequel came out...

At the time, I was 14, and maybe it has to do with the age factor. But I was *so* incredibly disappointed, that even when I recieved the movie after Christmas, I didn't look at it for 4 months after that.

The plot seemed to be a little lacking, and the proantagoinist had the brain the size of a rasin. Kiara is unmistakably sweet, and kind, but under that is no intellegence whatsoever. Disney just replaced her personality with a bunch of laughing.

Kovu is mentioned not to be Scar's son (for incest reasons) but I think thats a silly reason to re-edit that for the simple fact that Lions regularly inbreed closer than second cousins. The only thing I didn't like about Kovu was his adult voice. Too ordinary.

Simba had a great downfall with his overprotection, which impacted his character too much. And I won't even get into Timon & Pumbaa's stale jokes.

I'd say the two things I DID like about it were 'My Lullaby' and Nuka's death scene. Very well done.

57 Disney you ruined the Lion King
I liked the first Lion King alot but this is just wrong. Who are these outsiders. They were lions loyal to scar. In the first Lion King scars only followers were hyenas. Lots of hyenas. This just does not work. Also Timon and Pumba appear to immortal and do not age at all. Simbas Pride is more for kids than the first film. There isn't as much action and it is not as compeling. This film is decent and isn't that bad but don't expect another Lion King.

58 Six stars out of five!
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!

59 I have to give it a star?
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.

60 Stick with the Original
I thought that this movie would be better than it was. Simba's Pride is not nearly as funny or touching as the original. It is a nice continuation of the Simba story though. I would recommend the first Lion King, but if you want to know what happened to Simba then watch this one too.

61 I Loved It.
I saw the original when it first came out and loved it. I saw The Lion King II: Simba's Pride on the recommendation from my six year old cousin and he had it right. I laughed and cried and loved the story line of prejudice and how it was rectified in the end. It was a beautiful story.

62 Romeo & Julie on the savannah
'The Lion King II' is not as entertaining as the first movie, but the music, the songs, the effects, and the animation is not the worst seen in a animated Disney sequel, this is one many always will remember, and there are many memorable highlights, like the savannah fire, Zira's song, and the final battle between the two prides.
The contra's of the movie, is that they should have cut down on songs, so there only was two long songs, and that the movie is only nearly an hour long, I think they should have added twenty minutes extra.
If you loved this movie, find some few deleted scenes from the movie on the internet.

63 Terrible Sequel
Even when not compared to it's far superior predecessor, "The Lion King II: Simba's Pride" falls flat in every way. The songs were terribly annoying and pointless, the animation was some of the worst I've seen from the modern Disney. Gone were the bright and beautiful mix of colors present in "The Lion King," we were instead served with cheap looking darkened artistry. Disney makes many great films, but even more terrible sequels ... this is certainly one of them.

64 An animated Romeo & Juliet?
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride begins right where The Lion King begins, but Simba's father is up in heaven watching as the monkey (what ever his name is) shows off Simba's and Nala's daughter to the animals. And this time there is a new villian in the movie a lioness named Zira who lends lions who follow in Scar's foot steps. And Simba banshes them all. But I don't remember Zira or any of the lions, who was with Scar in the first one. Which I have to watch again, to see if they are in The Lion King.

65 Fate of the Monarchy...
Simba from The Lion King finds himself to be a parent in this movie, now he must learn more as King than ever before, and only the spirit of his father to guide him, Simba has to make a choice, but his daughter, Kiara, finally shows him the correct path to winning the war, not against the Outsiders, but against himself. A relatively good sequel, but some pieces of the story are questionable. But nonetheless, if you have children, then they will enjoy this movie.

66 Disney's best direct-to-video sequel
It's an almost impossible task to equal the artistic quality and the success achieved by The Lion King (still the top grossing animated feature ever), so it's not really fair to compare this direct-to-video sequel to the original.

However, as far as these productions go, I can't find another of the d-t-v sequels that stands up to this one. The quality of the animation is quite excellent; the story, although very predictable (and very Disney!) is quite competent; the voice talent is also quite good -- they even managed to bring back some of the original players (Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella rule!) and included some new ones that match perfectly with their characters (Neve Campbell as Kiara, Andy Dick and others).

All in all, this is quite a good flick.

67 I LOVE it!
It's WAY better then the first one! Kiara and Kovu RULE! Simba and Nala are okay... I hear there's gonna be a Lion King 3! Coming THIS Christmas 2001! GREAT Movie! My fav song is "Love Will Find a Way". The actors did a GREAT job! (The voices for Adult Kiara and Kovu ROCKED!)

68 WAY Better than the First one!
Ok, let's do a little movie math here. Entertaining+ fun+ new+ fantastic+ terrific= Lion King II, Simba's Pride! I thought this movie was better than the first sequal, the Lion King. The voice artists did a fine job, and I kinda like the songs, they weren't bad at all! Pleez watch this movie. ENJOY!

69 WAY Better than the First one!
Ok, let's do a little movie math here. Entertaining+ fun+ new+ fantastic+ terrific= Lion King II, Simba's Pride! I thought this movie was better than the first sequal, the Lion King. The voice artists did a fine job, and I kinda like the songs, they weren't bad at all! [...]

70 Not as good as the original, but still great!
We all know that sequels are often a big disappointment, so I was pleasantly surprised when this one turned out to be a pretty good follow up to the original. The music is terrific and the animation is good. The story is simple and predictable, but that's part of its charm. It has a wonderful message about prejudice and love, too; an all-around terrific movie!

71 Doesn't have to be like the FIRST!
Wake up this doesn't have to be like the first ok let's do math Enterianing +WAY BETTER THAN THE FIRST + Great storyline =one of disney's best !

72 Pretty decent really (3.5 stars)
It was always a forgone conclusion this movie would be down from the original, which in my estimation is Disney's greatest masterpiece ever. To it's credit, this movie really tries to recapture the spirit of the original. The animation is of pretty good quality (though of a rather reddish hue most of the time), and the story is quite intriguing. The script, however, just totally fails to prioritize. The returning characters are rather uninteresting; Simba has gone from the heroic young king to an neuroticlly overprotective parent, Nala is barely there, Zazu is no longer voiced by Rowan Atkinson and Raffiki is overused. The new characters, however- Kovu, Zira, Vitani and Nuka are very interesting, but pathetically underused. I think arbitrarily killing off Nuka and Zira was a mistake, they would have been very intriguing for the next sequel. Kiara is attractively drawn, but a rather hollow character, her lover Kovu is much more interesting. As for the story all these characters are written into, it's pretty well done, but don't expect anything as epic or insightful as the original.

73 The Good, The Bad and the Ugly Warthog....
For plot content, I give it 4*'s. The overall story is well done. I like the ideas presented and the reunification of the entire pride at the end drives home the We Are One message. For characterization, I give it 4*'s. The only character I had problems with in this was Simba. Disney changed him from a heroic young leader into an erratic, overprotective father. I understand some of the underlying reasons, but they went a bit too far. For songs, I give it 2*'s. We Are One and He Lives In You are the only good ones. Animation quality gets 5*s. Best I've seen in a straight to video sequel. If you liked Lion King, then buy it. It is worth watching. I would buy it on DVD if they included the deleted scenes. They really should have left them in!

74 Worth watching, but not as good as the original.
In fact not NEARLY as good as the original, due to a rather weak plot and some even weaker musical sequences.

But it has some worthwhile viewing even so. Two song sequences are very well done: "We Are One" and "Lullaby"(even better than "Be Prepared" IMO) And something unusual for Disney(minor spolier): the fact that when one of the villains is killed, we actually feel SORRY for them! Wow. An excellent message to send the kids: Death is not something to cheer at, even when it's the bad guy. And another villain actually switches sides and becomes a good guy! Incredible!

Too bad the rest of the movie was so poor. Could have been a whole lot better

75 Lion King 2 avoid like a swearing habit!
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.

76 Better than Lion King!
Simba's Pride is even better than the Lion King...and I'll tell you why:

-The music is even better than Elton John's the Circle of Life in the first movie. Especially good is music for the opening sequence. The music has an african tone, similar to Paul Simon's forays in this area. And I found it very uplifting.

-The plot is "inclusive" rather than "exclusive". In Lion King, a group of lion's are exiled from the plain by the lion king. In Simba's Pride, these old grudges from previous generations are, albeit with some difficulty and drama, overcome. And the differences in the pride are reconciled. For this reason alone, I think it is a better movie for kids.

-The central character is a girl lion, named Kiara. This breaks down some subtle gender overtones set in the first movie.

But the characters are good too. Rafiki the monkey, Kiara the lion. Hey, I bought it for my son and daughter, but I have to admit I like it too. And like most movies you buy for your kids, you end up seeing them a hundred times each, you might as well buy a good one.

77 Good Movie
This was a good movie, espically if you like the Disney Classics. The first one was better, but I still suggest this movie.

78 TLK2:SP
When I 1st got LK2, i got it at a Grocerie Store. I loved it when i saw it but now i think its a bit boring. LK1 is much better. But LK2 is a good Movie with cool songs. Worth a Rent.

79 Good follow up to the original
"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.

80 An okay movie, but does not add up the the first AT ALL
I liked this movie somewhat. However, there were several things that I didn't like about this one. First of all, this movie was clearly marketed towards young children, in contrast the the first, which was marketed for young adults. Meaning, that if a young child sees this one, the parent will most likely allow them to watch the first. That is not a good choice. The material in that one, is far to graphic for a very young child. Just to note that.

Some of the voices are different and many of the characters are not at all the same as they were in TLK. The animation was not well done, and the soundtrack was horrible. The character of Zira just annoyed me to no end. Mufasa's ghost is used as a commonplace thing. When in the first, it was to set his son straight. Simba suffers from obsessive father complex, which makes no sense comparing his character in the first movie. Nala's character (and voice) is to much like Simba's mother, Sarabi. (And, how did her eyes turn from green, to deep blue over a time period of a few months?) However, I did like the characters of Kovu and Kiara.

I would suggest this movie to young kids, But please, for their sake, don't let them see the first untill they are older.

81 Take "pride" in this sequel!
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.

82 *****
This movie is very powerful and can have a lasting impression on you. It's a great movie for kids, because it has their favorite charcters, and it's a great movie for adults because it helps to teach their children that parents want what's best for them but are not always right. One thing that disturbed me though was that Simba has completely shaken off the happy care-free lion that everyone loves. He is now just too strict and expectant of others. But when he banished Kovu in the song One of Us, I just wanted to pull Simba's tail off for doing that. It was such a wonderful movie, I have to fight to hold back tears.

83 Good movie, but disappointing compared to the first
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.

84 She was his pride, and I'm glad she was !
This is a great movie. While like most sequeals the animation isn't as good as the origials,their is a really good storyline and the acting by most of the characters is fantastic. The songs are really good{I love' love will find a way'}And Tina Turner performs her song well. Its not as funny as the original and this stops it from getting a 5 star rating from me. I like a really good, funny film. Anyway this is at near-classic status and is definetely worth a look!

85 The Lion Queen
In 1994, Disney invited all of us to join in the circle of life with the highest-grossing film ever, "The Lion King". Four years later, in 1998, Disney released "Simba's Pride", another direct-to-video sequel to an unforgetable box-ofice smash.

The story begins right where the first film left off, once again showing the birth cermony of Simba and Nala's cub. Even though you may think it to be a boy at first (because of the ending of "The Lion King",) the main character here is a spunky new female, Kiara. (On a side note, it was very good to see a female in this film when you think of the almost all-male cast of the first.) Kiara is excatly like her father was at her age. (Who can forget "I Just Can't Wait to Be King", the showstopping song that Simba sang on his way to the forbidden Elephant Graveyard?) She's always on the prowl and ignoring her father's requests to stay within the Pride Lands. And just like Simba went to the "shadowy place", she journys to the "Outlands", where supporters of Scar linger in hiding, now under the leadership of Zira, who rasies her son, Kovu to overthrow Simba and avenge Scar. As fate had it, Kovu and Kiara meet--and fall in love.

While this film plays out like "Romieo and Juliet", and is a cut above the usual video-only Disney sequel because of the love twist, it has it's week spots. The music (as in "The Return of Jafar") is complete trash. What happened to "Circle of Life" and "Be Prepared"? That was the REAL sound of Disney. Not even the love song, "Love Will Find A Way", was any good. And this film does retell the first's story, like usual Disney sequels, making it dry and unorginial. Amd the backgrounds aren't the vivid almost-3D scenery that made the audiences gape at it in awe when they saw "The Lion King" on the big screen. Timon and Pumbaa aren't even as worry-free as I remember them....

While not Disney's avrage sequel, this film isn't essensial to a Disney fan's collection. If you want essensial, orginial Disney, dust off your old copy of "The Lion King" and watch it. (Reccomended as a rental--not as a "keeper".)

86 Abomination of The Lion King
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 it's 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

87 GREAT BUT DEFINETLY NOT AS CLASSIC AS THE 1st.
The original Lion King was by far the best movie ever made. So of course when I heard about Lion King 2 I was excited. But I was very skeptical if it could surpass the first one. This a great movie but it is not as classic as the original. If you love the Lion King as much as I do then this is a must-see. The story is just as captivating as the original and the characters are just as unforgettable as those of the first. The only thing in Lion King 2 that is not as good as the orignal's is the soundtrack. Don't get me wrong, it's great, yet the songs lack the true beauty of the original's. Another great movie by Disney.

88 GREAT BUT DEFINETLY NOT AS CLASSIC AS THE 1st.
The original Lion King was by far the best movie ever made. So of course when I heard about Lion King 2 I was excited. But I was very skeptical if it could surpass the first one. This a great movie but it is not as classic as the original. If you love the Lion King as much as I do then this is a must-see. The story is just as captivating as the original and the characters are just as unforgettable as those of the first. The only thing in Lion King 2 that is not as good as the orignal's is the soundtrack. Don't get me wrong, it's great, yet the songs lack the true beauty of the original's. Another great movie by Disney.

89 Exellent! Better than the first!
"The Lion King II:Simba's Pride" I thought was better than the first "The Lion King." This is my top favorite movie. I am 12 years old and I have friends my age who like this movie too. I think this movie is for all ages.

90 Lion King 2
I think it was a great movie but could have been a little more exciteing and more comedy as well.