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The Lion King II: Simba's Pride

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

October. 24,1998
|
6.4
|
G
| Adventure Animation Action Family

The circle of life continues for Simba, now fully grown and in his rightful place as the king of Pride Rock. Simba and Nala have given birth to a daughter, Kiara who's as rebellious as her father was. But Kiara drives her parents to distraction when she catches the eye of Kovu, the son of the evil lioness, Zira. Will Kovu steal Kiara's heart?

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Reviews

Perry Kate
1998/10/24

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

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FeistyUpper
1998/10/25

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

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WillSushyMedia
1998/10/26

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

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Janae Milner
1998/10/27

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

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jonsefcik
1998/10/28

This movie is a mess! The plot is derivative of the first movie and full of more holes than a kitchen colander! I'll admit the animation is very impressive, especially for a direct-to-DVD movie and is almost as good as the first movie. Unfortunately, its all downhill from there.Let's start at the beginning. The first Lion King has one of the most epic movie openings ever. Its reminiscent of the way Star Wars movies open, with a few moments of silence and then you get punched in the face with an explosion of music. How does its sequel live up to its legacy? It opens with a fade in on giraffes. Boo! Like the first movie, it opens with the animals gathering at Pride Rock for the presentation of the newborn lion cub, we cut to when the cub is a little older, their father tells them to stay away from the Outlands, he sends a supporting character to make sure they don't go there, they ditch the side character, and get in trouble in the Outlands.This leads to a confrontation with Zira, voiced by Suzanne Pleshette, who besides the animation, is probably the best part of the movie. She sounds like she's having so much fun playing this character. She goes on a long exposition dump about how Kovu is her and Scar's son and Simba banished them after he claimed the throne. Just like the first movie, Simba saves Kiara, tells her how he disobeyed her and about the responsibilities of being royalty, and becomes playful with her. Simba sings a song that isn't very good and doesn't advance the story. Then we cut to Zira's family and she sings another song that doesn't advance the plot. Every song in the original Lion King served a purpose (such as how "Just Can't Wait To Be King" shows how Simba and Nala ditched Zazu and got to the elephant graveyard and "Hakuna Matata" shows the passage of time as Simba grows from a cub to an adult) but in Lion King 2 most of the songs feel unnecessary, like they're trying to pad the movie out to get the running time over 80 minutes.There's more comparisons like how Nuka is basically another Scar, a lion who is jealous of a cub in his pride destined to be the future king, but I'll just restrain myself to plot holes. Zira's plot to kill Simba is overly complicated. It involves setting a fire (which is stupid and really pushing the bounds of logic of the Lion King universe) and having Kovu save Kiara, join the Pride Rock pride, and kill Simba there. Why not kill Simba with the fire in the first place? When Kovu is at Pride Rock, the Outlander lions spy on him from over a hill. Why would you do that? If you can see them, they can see you, and that would make Kovu's presence at Pride Rock that much more suspicious.I almost forgot to mention: where's Kion? In The Lion Guard Simba has two cubs, Kiara and Kion, and that show takes place when both of them are cubs. If this is all supposed to take place in the same universe, why isn't Kion in Lion King 2? Continuity?! What's that?!In short, The Lion King 2 has great animation bogged down by a very sloppy story and unmemorable new characters and songs. There's more I could talk about but I think I got most of the big things out of the way. The first Lion King is in the IMDb Top 250, and a film held in such high regard deserves a sequel much better than this. I'm feeling a 3/10 or a generous 4/10.

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Jesper Brun
1998/10/29

Despite its smaller budget I feel that this sequel to one of the grandest animated movies of all captures some of the same magic as the original Lion King. Let me make it clear, it is nowhere near the same epicness of the original, but I enjoyed it. To sum up the good stuff, let me start with the story and then move along. I like that it is based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, because why not when the original was based on Hamlet. It also makes Simba's new role as king of the Pridelands and his relationship with his new daughter, Kiara, interesting. The villain in this movie is also pretty good despite some plot holes about the origins of her pride and their connection to Scar. She wants her cub, Kovu, to grow up to take back Pride Rock. And she enjoys every minute of plotting it. It is intense! The romance between Kiara and Kovu is one of the core elements of the movie and is just as credible as Nala and Simba in the first movie, and personally I prefer their love song over "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (don't kill me). Speaking of songs, I actually like the songs compared to the other direct-to-video sequels from Disney. Of course it doesn't stand a chance against "The Circle of Life" and "Be Prepared", but they are not stupid or forgettable, but catchy, heartfelt and well placed in the story. Lastly, I will make a short description of my issues with this movie. Kiara is pretty bland (Simba is more interesting). Timon and Pumbaa are not funny and Zazu without Rowan Atkinson is almost like the Genie without Robbie Willams. The animation is not insulting the original movie, but you can feel the smaller budget.

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KingBrian1
1998/10/30

This film follows on from the first and succeeds in creating a memorable sequel. Not easy to do when the first was so good. Despite being released as a TV movie the film concentrates on expanding on the Original. The focus turns to Simba's daughter the Princess Kiara. Like the first film we get interesting villains that are linked to the legacy of Scar by introducing the Outlanders with the menacing threat of Zira and Kovu. Part of the charm of this film is that it is a completely different plot while at the same time the soundtrack remains top quality.

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amcmartinez
1998/10/31

So I finally decided to break down and write a review for Lion King 2. I might seem like I'm ranting but I'm just so tired of people bashing this work of creation. Lion King 2 is not bad! ITS NOT! And I guess a lot of people are saying it is because they are expecting to see Lion King all over again. Well my advice to those is to hit the replay button on LK because its not happening. Sequels are not meant to be exact replicas of their predecessors. So, those who are looking for that with this movie are going to be rudely disappointed. Having that said, I think it can be agreed that LK2 brought something a little new to the table.So first for those people complaining about the animation, it didn't suck. Either I'm blind or you are because I see the same quality animation as the first. Now I will admit LK2 wasn't as "flashy" as the original but it's not supposed to be. Its animation is more toned and a bit darker to fit the mood of the script. We can see this by just looking at Priderock , which had been shown from the other side to convey the shadowy feelings of Simba.Well since I brought that up I guess I'll start off with him first. Simba ,of course, is a big part of the movie. He is seen struggling to deal with his lingering hatred of his uncle Scar. He holds this resentment against Kovu and the Outlanders. Kiara is the daughter of King Simba making her a princess. She is strong minded and very independent. We can see this from her desire to do things herself and staying true to her heart. Bad-boy Kovu on the other hand is a lion trained by his evil mother, Zira, to befriend Kiara so that he may overthrow Simba thus, avenging Scar.In the end Kiara and Kovu fall in love and show others that love is the most important thing above all, no matter what you look like or come from. So the two groups put an end to their bitter feud and decide to join together . They now see that there is no difference between them because they're all lions; They are one.And so the light finally shines on the other side of Priderock. The story actually gives an eye opening lesson to people. We shouldn't judge others by their race or their background. This is still an ever so prevalent issue in our society that I wish would just disappear. Well that's the lesson I got from watching this movie. It seems though that some people forgot their "Upendi" and "Hakuna Matata" back in Neverland because they're so oblivious to the fact LK2 is a stunning movie that conveys a strong message.This movie was fantastic! Whats not to love? The animation was on key, the plot had good substance, and the characters are lovable and totally unforgettable. What more do you people want?! Not to mention the amazing song "We Are One" which makes my eyes turn into Niagara falls every time I hear it. *Sniff Sniff* (Now I miss Mufasa)...anyway. Asides from Lion King I don't think this movie could have did any better. Kudos to you Disney! Anyone who disagrees,oh well, I guess thats just you and your narrow minded opinion. #LEH

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