The Lion King has become my favorite movie. The Lion King II - Simba's Pride is in my top ten. The story picks up at the end of The Lion King, with the birth of the new heir to the Pridelands. The baby cat is introduced to the kingdom in the same manner as Simba, with Rafiki the mandrill holding up the child atop Pride Rock for all to see. As Timon and Pumbaa admire the child, Rafiki remarks that this child is in fact a girl. And from there, the story only gets more interesting. In a tale reminiscent of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, a forbidden love blossoms betwixt the young princess Kiara and the rogue Kovu, the heir to the late usurper king Scar. Banished to the Outlands by an overprotective Simba, Kovu's difficult life is overseen by his mother Zira, Scar's queen. Somehow, the young lovers must prevail against the overwhelming odds against them, and this is wherein the greatness of this movie lies. No single character is without flaw, and every aspect of the movie is rendered in shades of gray. And that is what makes it so great to me.
The movie isn't quite perfect, though. Rowan Atkinson's absence as Zazu is a minor lament, while Andy Dick's casting as Nuka, while quite effective, does leave one to wonder why Disney picked such a controversial personality for a kid friendly movie. The "Upendi" sequence is a bit long and slightly out of place, while Zira's demise seems altogether too easy.
Still, the movie stands out, especially among Disney sequels, as extremely good. Matthew Broderick's mastery of the character Simba continues unabated here, while Neve Campbell and Jason Marsden take to their characters with equal skill. The real standout among the cast is Suzanne Plechette's voicing of Zira. Her steely, cold-blooded voicing of the ruthless and calculating villain stands on equal footing with Jeremy Iron's voicing of Scar in The Lion King. One can only wonder what these two could have done if Scar and Zira had appeared together on screen. Sadly, we'll never know, as Ms. Plechette succumbed to cancer in 2008.
Visually, the film continues with the stunning animation seen in The Lion King. Both the rich Pridelands and the barren Outlands are a feast to the eyes. The contrast between the Prideland lions and the angular, almost emaciated Outland lions is striking, and well handled. The music is equally good as that of the first movie, with such standout tracks as He Lives In You (the opening song; it originally appeared on the 1995 album Rhythm Of The Pride Lands) and the chilling My Lullaby (Zira's song; much like Be Prepared, Suzanne Plechette and her fellow actors did their own singing for this song). All in all, this movie is a great deal of fun, and is a very worthy addition to one's movie library, along with the original.
The movie isn't quite perfect, though. Rowan Atkinson's absence as Zazu is a minor lament, while Andy Dick's casting as Nuka, while quite effective, does leave one to wonder why Disney picked such a controversial personality for a kid friendly movie. The "Upendi" sequence is a bit long and slightly out of place, while Zira's demise seems altogether too easy.
Still, the movie stands out, especially among Disney sequels, as extremely good. Matthew Broderick's mastery of the character Simba continues unabated here, while Neve Campbell and Jason Marsden take to their characters with equal skill. The real standout among the cast is Suzanne Plechette's voicing of Zira. Her steely, cold-blooded voicing of the ruthless and calculating villain stands on equal footing with Jeremy Iron's voicing of Scar in The Lion King. One can only wonder what these two could have done if Scar and Zira had appeared together on screen. Sadly, we'll never know, as Ms. Plechette succumbed to cancer in 2008.
Visually, the film continues with the stunning animation seen in The Lion King. Both the rich Pridelands and the barren Outlands are a feast to the eyes. The contrast between the Prideland lions and the angular, almost emaciated Outland lions is striking, and well handled. The music is equally good as that of the first movie, with such standout tracks as He Lives In You (the opening song; it originally appeared on the 1995 album Rhythm Of The Pride Lands) and the chilling My Lullaby (Zira's song; much like Be Prepared, Suzanne Plechette and her fellow actors did their own singing for this song). All in all, this movie is a great deal of fun, and is a very worthy addition to one's movie library, along with the original.