The Lion King was one of animation's biggest movies ever. The sequel should have been a surfire hit as well right? Well that is an argument that continues to be debated to this day, as the sequel never came out to theaters making its way stright to video nor did it make the same kind of impact as the original.
As it did with the first Lion King movie, Disney is re-releasing this as a special edition disc set. The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride offers an engaging story briniging back most of the principle cast. Simba who found love at the end of the original with Nala does as most happy couples do and start a family.
Simba and Nala end up having a daughter, who they name Kiara. Those two popular guys from the first film, Timon and Pumbaa, are assigned to be her babysitters. Of course with their luck she easily escapes their care and ventures into the forbidden lands. There she meets a lion cub named Kovu and they become friends.
What she and her parents do not know is that Kovu is the son of Zira - a banished follower of the now-dead Scar. She plans to raise Kovu to overthrow Simba and become the king of the Pride Lands. This tests not only Kiara and Kovu's relationship as they mature, but Simba's relationship with his daughter.
The plot is pretty strong but the music and heart of the film never resembles the touching story of the first. Still the animation is beautiful and kids undoubedtly find something grand in this second piece of the Lion King saga. The Lion King 2 really is Simba's pride and this collector's edition shouldn't be left off any LK fan's list.
The Disc:
As with the previous Special Edition Discs that Disney has released, the Lion King 2 Simba's Pride shines through with a beautiful transfer. Sounds on the disc are equally impressive featuring plenty of good sing along surround use.
Extras begin with Lion King's Matter Of Fact a mode that enables interesting facts about the real pride lands which popup at certain points while you watch the movie. Much like VH-1's popup video, this mode brings some interesting comments that entertains and teaches.
Next up is Disney Song Selection which basically lets kids or adults skip right to their favorite song or listen to them all at once. Next is One By One, a new animated short by the creators of the Lion King, which follows a kite matched with some rhythmic african chanting. I actually found this chanting to be more interesting than the songs in the film itself.
Next up is a Timon and Pumba inspired set of shorts called Find Out Why aimed squarely at the younger crowd with its explanation of things like why we sneeze or how an airplane flies.
Next we have Lots of Lions a very Disney-esque short that tells more about the roles models for Simba, Kiara and the rest of the pride. This short ties in nicely with the above mentioned Matter of Fact to give kids a better image of the lion world.
The extras keep on coming with Proud of Simba's Pride which offers viewers a making of feature that delves into the research and the production of the film. It's a pretty standard making of for an animated feature.
Finally there's a series of games including Timon and Pumba's Virtual Safari 2.0 which continues the adventure began with the collector's edition of The Lion King. There's also a few more games for the kids as well as a Love Will Find a Way music video, and Disney trailers.
bottom line:
The Lion King 2 Simba's Pride judged only on its own is a wonderful film that should please most children and fans of the origina. It's not quite the masterpiece of the original, however, it it's a worthy sequel of Disney's touch.
4 out of 5
By - Brian Gray
