The Lion King was one of the best movies I've ever seen. I was just a six-year-old when Simba's Pride came out, so I was initially overjoyed. After watching it, I was happy with it, since anything featuring Timon and Pumbaa was perfect in my book. Now, I review it with an unbiased eye.
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride isn't really about Simba at all: it's about his daughter Kiara. Kiara is just as adventurous as the young Simba, but Simba is even more overprotective than Mufasa. Kiara disobeys Simba's paranoid rules and ventures into the Outlands, where exiled lions who supported Scar now dwell, including his wife, Zeera. There she meets a young cub called Kovu, and the two hit it off and escape from crocodiles into the safety of the Pridelands, where Simba and Zeera find them. Back home, Zeera berates Kovu for trying to befriend Kiara, but discovers that it is a great plan: she trains Kovu to kill Scar and become king, doing so by winning Kiara's affections, and so getting an opportunity to isolate Simba and kill him. As an adolescent, Kovu faithfully carries out the plan, having gotten into Kiara's good books, but unexpectedly and accidentally having gotten her into his.
The story is, I have to admit, really good. Zeera's devious plot is just as good (if not better) than Scar's in The Lion King. However, the movie is too sentimental, and Kovu falls in love with Kiara IN A DAY. It was much too fast--and much too smooth--to make it totally believable. In the first movie, Simba and Nala have some serious spats. Kiara and Kovu just go off without a hitch. The climax is really good. Most of the plot elements work in its favor. The story is unusual, with lots of sad things happening, more so than the more typical Disney The Lion King. One thing that works heavily against the movie is the all-too-brief appearances of the duo of Timon and Pumbaa and Zazu. The movie doesn't lack comedy, it just needs to get more of it from Timon & Pumbaa.
You must understand that this was never going to fetch as big a profit as The Lion King, as Simba's Pride was only released on video. Therefore, the animation isn't as lavish and immaculate as in the theatrically released predecessor. The detail in the manes, the attention given each blade of grass, is absent. Nevertheless, the animation is very good. It's smooth, but again, just a peg below The Lion King. The artistry on the whole is excellent.
The Lion King: Simba's Pride is one of the more inspired Disney sequels. But, yet again, it pales (just a bit) in comparison to its successor. These sequels are financially efficient, but Disney would not approve. As Walt said, money is not an object. In the years to come, in the end, quality will make or break a movie, not how much money it cost. Art cannot be cheap if it is to be as good as it can be.
7.25/10
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride isn't really about Simba at all: it's about his daughter Kiara. Kiara is just as adventurous as the young Simba, but Simba is even more overprotective than Mufasa. Kiara disobeys Simba's paranoid rules and ventures into the Outlands, where exiled lions who supported Scar now dwell, including his wife, Zeera. There she meets a young cub called Kovu, and the two hit it off and escape from crocodiles into the safety of the Pridelands, where Simba and Zeera find them. Back home, Zeera berates Kovu for trying to befriend Kiara, but discovers that it is a great plan: she trains Kovu to kill Scar and become king, doing so by winning Kiara's affections, and so getting an opportunity to isolate Simba and kill him. As an adolescent, Kovu faithfully carries out the plan, having gotten into Kiara's good books, but unexpectedly and accidentally having gotten her into his.
The story is, I have to admit, really good. Zeera's devious plot is just as good (if not better) than Scar's in The Lion King. However, the movie is too sentimental, and Kovu falls in love with Kiara IN A DAY. It was much too fast--and much too smooth--to make it totally believable. In the first movie, Simba and Nala have some serious spats. Kiara and Kovu just go off without a hitch. The climax is really good. Most of the plot elements work in its favor. The story is unusual, with lots of sad things happening, more so than the more typical Disney The Lion King. One thing that works heavily against the movie is the all-too-brief appearances of the duo of Timon and Pumbaa and Zazu. The movie doesn't lack comedy, it just needs to get more of it from Timon & Pumbaa.
You must understand that this was never going to fetch as big a profit as The Lion King, as Simba's Pride was only released on video. Therefore, the animation isn't as lavish and immaculate as in the theatrically released predecessor. The detail in the manes, the attention given each blade of grass, is absent. Nevertheless, the animation is very good. It's smooth, but again, just a peg below The Lion King. The artistry on the whole is excellent.
The Lion King: Simba's Pride is one of the more inspired Disney sequels. But, yet again, it pales (just a bit) in comparison to its successor. These sequels are financially efficient, but Disney would not approve. As Walt said, money is not an object. In the years to come, in the end, quality will make or break a movie, not how much money it cost. Art cannot be cheap if it is to be as good as it can be.
7.25/10