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

The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride (Dir: Darrell Rooney, 1998).

Walt Disney Pictures' The Lion King (Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff, 1994) would prove a massive hit for the studio. So much so that a sequel was inevitable. Whereas studio founder Walt Disney famously disliked sequels, the new studio regime had no such qualms. A straight-to-video follow-up was put into production almost immediately, eventually hitting Blockbuster shelves four years after the original. 

Much as the original movie was inspired by William Shakespeare's Hamlet, so The Lion King II takes its cue from the Bard; on this occasion Romeo and Juliet. Simba is now the over-protective father of cub Kiara, born at the end of the first film. When venturing into the forbidden Outlands, the curious cub encounters social outcast and heir to disgraced Uncle Scar's pride, Kovu. They strike a friendship which eventually turns to forbidden romance as Kovu's outcast family plan to use the pair to get to Simba and overthrow the king.

Before Disney hit upon the idea of remaking their animated classics in live-action (or photorealistic CGI) they had an industry churning out straight-to-video sequels. Beginning with Aladdin 2: The Return of Jafar (Toby Shelton, Tad Stones & Alan Zaslove, 1994) and finally being put to rest with The Little Mermaid 3: Ariel's Beginning (Peggy Holmes, 2008), the movies were produced by Walt Disney Television Animation (latterly DisneyToon Studios), rather than the more prestigious Walt Disney Animation Studios. While highly profitable, most of the movies were well below the standard of their theatrical counterparts and arguably had a direct influence on the dwindling profits experienced by the studio in the early 2000s. Once held as the standard bearer for quality family entertainment, the abundance of these low budget cash-ins meant many now regarded the studio's product as little more than a convenient babysitter for the youngest of kids. 

The Lion King II: Simba's Pride is by no means the worst Disney sequel. While not quite replicating the sheer visual spectacle of its predecessor it is surprisingly good looking production, considering its made for video origins. This suggests that Disney were not eager to cheapen the brand too much. However, points it gains for decent animation are lost for pedestrian storytelling. The role reversal plot, also utilised in The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (Jim Kammerud, 2000) and Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure (Darrell Rooney. 2000), offers little surprises. Many new characters are introduced at the expense of those familiar from the first movie. The newer are blandly generic while the older are rewritten beyond recognition. Worst affected is the king himself; in spite of the title, Simba is here relegated to supporting player in his own movie. This new, but not so improved Simba is a completely different lion. Parenthood has turned him into a worrying, overbearing bore, constantly berating Kiara and telling her what she can and can't do. It's no wonder she disobeys him. Not only does this make the once lovable character less sympathetic to audiences, it also adds to the muddy morals of the film, which seemingly endorses defying your parents and doing as you want with no regards on the effect it may have on others.  

 

With the exception of He Lives in You, the songs, by a variety of writers, are not a patch on the original movie's Tim Rice and Elton John compositions. One number entitled Upendi is a shameless attempt to recreate Hakuna Matata, while also borrowing visual elements of I Just Can't Wait to Be King. The other tunes are pleasant enough, but it is doubtful you will be humming them after watching the movie. 

In spite of its shortcomings, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride was a roaring success, becoming one of the biggest selling VHS titles in the history of the format. Predictably, a further sequel followed; The Lion King 1 1/2 (Bradley Raymond, 2004) offers a clever spin on the first movie and is in itself an original and appealing work. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of The Lion King 2. With an 80 minutes running time, it is not an especially long movie. But pedestrian storytelling, stock characters and forgettable songs means Simba's Pride will hold little interest for all but the youngest of Lion King fans.