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Lion King II - Simba's Pride (Speical Edition)

Lion King II - Simba's Pride (Speical Edition)

List Price: $29.99
Your Price: $22.49
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A thrillng sequel to the best film of all time!
Review:
Set after Lion King and Lion King 1/2, Simba has defeated Scar and got the throne at last. Simba ( voiced by Matthew Broderick) and Nala now have a daughter named "Kiara" whom is the heir of the pridelands, one day while wondering around the pridelands she meets a mysterious lion cub named " Kovu" and becomes friends with him. Unknown to Kiara, Kovu is a young member of the banished outland pride whom were part of Scar's pride. Now there is a war between the prides lead by the dark Zira ( voiced by Suzanne Pleshette), only Kovu ( Jason Marsden) and Kiara ( voiced by Neve Campbell) with their love can straighten things up between the two prides.

Terrific sequel to both " Lion King" and " Lion King 1/2", it's another sequel that proves not all the disney sequels can stink. What works here is that some of the cast members from the original with a new one ( Robert Guillium, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Andy Dick) come back, the animation is theatrical quality on a good level and the soundtrack to it isn't bad at all.

The 2-Disc special edition is great! there are fine extras like " One By One" an all-new animated short from the makers of "Lion King" and " Lilo and Stitch", Timon and Pumbaa's virtual safari 2.0, fun games, pop-up trivia when you play the movie on pop-up triva mode, featurettes and great Picture & Sound quality.

Highly recommended movie but first watch the original then Lion King 1/2 and then this one, i think the Lion King trilogy is probably the "Star Wars Trilogy" of animated trilogies.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not too bad considering its a direct to video Disney sequel
Review: For years, Disney has been trying to capitalize on their big animated film blockbusters by making cheap direct-to-video sequels. With lower quality animation, weak retreads of the original story, replacements in the celebrity voice talent and new songs leaving much to desire, they usually aren't even worth a rental. But The Lion King II is definitely worth at least a rental.

Perhaps it was because of the films major success as the highest grossing animated film of all time, but somehow when it came time to make Simba's Pride, the producers put a little extra effort into it.

The animation is close to the original's quality. Crisp beautiful colors saturate the African landscape and much of the fire is computer animated. It's obvious the animators took their time to make it a beautiful looking film.

Also, it avoided another common fall of the direct-to-video market: almost all of the voice talent returns. Even James Earl Jones supplies a few lines as Mufasa.

The story, though very similar to the original, is fitting and has enough twists to seem fresh. This is the story of Simba's daughter, not Simba. Sure this is definitely an unnecessary sequel, but as far as unnecessary sequels, this one holds its own.

If there was one major failing of this film, it's that the new songs are pretty pathetic. Compared to the original songs by Elton John and company, these ones lack their emotion and catchiness. The opening song is beautiful, but it is lifted from a "songs inspired by the Lion King" album released just after the original film came out. Fortunately, the film manages not to re-use songs from the original film, which always feels like a cop-out.

Also, there are just a few times in the film where the pacing feels rushed. Compared to other direct-to-video films, this is much better in the pacing department, but there are still a few minor problems. Mostly nit-picks.

Overall, this one is the exception to the Disney video sequel rule. Unfortunately the songs still left a bad taste in my mouth, bad enough to give it only 3 stars. But it's a high 3 stars!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Dark & Fun...I love it!!!
Review: I bought this sequal just to complete my Lion King collection and I must say, this is definitely one of the best Disney sequals I have ever seen! Most decide to skip any form of Disney sequal as most of them are downright awful and a waste of money (such as Stitch the Movie...I bought it for my love of the character Stitch & the fact that it was $3), but this one ends up being quite rewarding.
I only gave this film 3 stars (the movie itself deserves a 4) due to the shameful extras on here. I always get excited for the Virtual Safari extra, but this one was not as unique as the ones given on Lion King & Lion King 1 & 1/2. However I did enjoy the animated short "One By One," which contains excellent animation and is just plain fun to watch! The rest of the extras are very kiddie-ish and are mainly trivia and facts for your little ones to enjoy and play around with. I feel there should be more adult-oriented bonuses (maybe along the lines of animation proceedures or the film's score, as the "Proud of Simba's Pride" featurette only lightly scratched this surface, but is a unique addition to see the faces of the voices behind the fresh characters) since this film has such a dark side to it.
I love this film for it's new set of characters and the fact that it contains the old favorites with the original voice cast. Out of the newbie characters, I mainly love Jason Marsden (as older Kovu), Andy Dick (as the dark comedic Nuka, almost a replacement for the hyena trio...or just Ed) and of course the fresh new villain Suzanne Pleshette (playing Zira, the replacement for Scar...and believe me, she is a wonderful villain!).
I even found the music satisfying, as the songs are unique, but do not come into this expecting "Circle of Life" or "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," as the songs from the original are pretty hard to compete with. The new songs and score are fun and work with this film, so I found it even more enjoyable as everything meshed well together.
Sure, this film is no Lion King, but I love it for what it is and am proud to welcome this to my Lion King Trilogy.


Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Spirit of the First
Review: I don't get why so many people hate this movie. I'm a HUGE Lion King fan, and I think that this one fully captures the spirit of the first movie. The new characters are very well done, especially Nuka and Kovu. Some people complain of how Simba acts differently in this one. Well, he does, but if those people were OPEN-MINDED they would see that Simba is trying to act like his father, but he comes off as a jerk. This movie is great and the songs is just as good as the first one, although the music to the evil song in this one (My Lullaby) is not as good as the first (Be Prepared), the lyrics show the feelings of Ziera in a different way then you might expect. But all the other songs are beautifully done. My only suggestion to those of you who will see this movie is to watch it with an OPEN MIND, and try to read between the lines, because there you'll find something great.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: that is one cool movie
Review: I don't understand the people who try to make fool connections between the real world and an annimated disney movie. Yeah, there are some holes in the plot and everything, but the first movie...geeez, it was the best of all disney movies, but Simba was growing up by eating bugs and insects...does that make any sense for an adult lion at all??? so do not try to make any sense of most of the things in these sort of movies. To me, the characters were really well drawn here, maybe much better than the 1st one, if I have to compare them. (I mean their personalities.) They have their own individualities and strenghts. Simba is cool as usual, and now more mature as how a king and father is supposed to be. He is not a boy anymore, he became a man. Yeah, Nala, Zazu, even Sarabi, Sarafina and the whole lion clans relationships with Simba could have been reflected a little better, but so what? It is still beautiful, and it would be ridiculous to compare it to the first. This movie also tries to fill some gaps that the first movie had in it's story plot.

It could have been a little longer and the background music would be much better with a Hans Zimmer touch, but still, a true Disney classic to me. Plus, it is not another Romeo & Juliet cliché like in westside story, but it is more than that.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Take "pride" in this sequel!
Review: I LOVE the original Lion King, but when Disney announced that they were doing a sequel to it I got rather miffed....the other sequels (like the second Aladdin) were an insult to one's intelligence.But when I at last saw Simba's Pride I was totally thrilled. It introduced new great characters, enchanting songs, the story was kept pretty much in the spirit of the original and, even though they probably never thought of doing a sequel when they made the first one, the story's sequel was cleverly done. The only things I didn't like about this movie was that Rowan Atkinson (who did Zazu's voice in the original) apparently couldn't supply his voice for the sequel so you can tell it's someone else's voice. Unlike in the original, the other animals (zebra's, giraffes, etc.) have a few speaking parts and even take part in one of the songs. The animation isn't as good as the original but it's still great and I thought a lot better than the other Disney sequels.These are just minor things of course, I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to animation. I love this as much as the orignal and I truly hope they do yet another Lion King sequel.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best Disney sequel ever :)
Review: I loved the first Lion King movie when I first saw it in the movies when I was four. I watched it everyday, I knew the songs by heart, ect. When I was 8 and I found out there was going to be a Lion King II, I bought it right away when it came out, and when I saw it, I was hooked! I'm 13 now, and I'm still hooked. :) LOL.

The story takes place after the first Lion King movie with Simba and Nala's daughter, Kiara. Just like her dad, Kiara is adventourous and very curious. Simba is very protective of his daughter, and doesn't her stray far from watchful eyes. One day while playing in the Pride Lands (along with being followed by Timon & Pumbaa) Kiara sneaks off to the forbiddon Outlands, and meets a young lion cub named Kovu. The 2 cubs become best friends, but when Simba and Zira (Kovu's mother) find out the 2 our friends, they forbid Kovu and Kiara to see eachother, since, Zira tells Simba, that Kovu was chosen by her mate Scar "to follow in his pawprints and become king". Simba tells Kovu and Zira to leave, and so do heading for the Outlands. Simba takes Kiara back to Pride Rock and explaines to her that she is the future queen of the Pride Lands, and "We are all apart of the Circle of Life. We are one".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile in the Outlands, Zira teaches Kovu how to hate, and to kill Simba for control of the Pride Lands. Kovu & Kiara don't see eachother for many years, until they reunite as young adults. Kovu asks Simba to join the pride, and Simba agrees. At his stay at Pride Rock, instead of killing Simba, Kovu teachers Kiara how to hunt, and Kiara teachers Kovu how to have fun. Soon Kovu & Kiara fall in love. But then while Simba and Kovu are taking a walk in the Pride Lands, Zira and the Outsiders ambush them! Kovu escapes, but Simba is injured. At Pride Rock, Simba thinks Kovu lead him into the trap. Kovu pleads to Simba for forgiveness, but Simba does not listen, and sentences Kovu to excile. Upset, Kiara follows Kovu, and the 2 young lions know "love will find a way" for them to be together. In the Pride Lands, the Pride Land lions and Outland lions are fighting for Pride Rock. But then when Kovu and Kiara appear, Kiara tells Simba that everyone is apart of the Circle of Life. Outraged, Zira tries to attack Simba, but Kiara blocks her way, and the 2 lionesses tumble in a ravine. Kiara survives, but Zira is never seen again. And so, the Pride Land lions and Outland lions take their place in the Circle of Life. And Kovu & Kiara are together at last.
~~~~~~~~~~~
I recommend "The Lion King II" to all Lion King fans. Buy it now, and trust me, you WON'T be dissapointed! :)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A great Sequal
Review: I'm seventeen, but didn't want to give my credit card so I had to use the kids review...When this movie came out I was half interested, disney sequals are normally just rip off plot re-dos of the originals, but I loved the Lion King and was curious as too what they had done with the sequal -plus I had needed to rent another movie to get the Rodger's mug.
When I saw it I was thrilled, in it's own way it is as good as the orginal, though nothing can really show up the Lion King. This movie, as the original, clearly shows emotions and is very powerfull, and it has it's own plot line rather then an incarnation of the original.
Simba's Pride has a much darker feel too it, with Zira's plotting for revenge and the passionate "My Lullaby" (Which can't be compared to Be Prepared, but is as good in it's way)and even Simba is seen with some rashness as he bannishes Kovu from the pride lands.
Like in the original the supporting characters were great (Except for Nuka, who was just pathetic in my opinion) Vitani and Zira have their good sides as well, Vitani more then Zira, and are human rather then pure evil (I feel the same about Scar).
I liked Kovu's character, I think he was played out quite well, and Kiara was a good character as well, though they could have done more development on her, she isn't girly, but she could have been stronger in standing up to Simba.
The music I find was really good, except for the song Upendi, which was really -odd?- they were great, My Lullaby and Love will find a way are very powerfull songs, and even small ones like One of Us are filled with emotion.
The plot was original, and it was really passionate which was what I liked on the movie, the animation was pretty good, if inferior to the Lion King, but Simba's Pride is a great sequal, probably better then some of the disney originals.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Well, I guess it's ok....
Review: I've never really liked Disney sequels (ie, Peter Pan 2, Pocahontas 2, Little Mermaid 2, etc...), but this one is an exception. The story follows the adventures of Simba's daughter, Kiara. All she wants to do is explore the Pride Lands unsupervised, but her father fears for her safety. One morning little Kiara goes wandering off too far, ends up in the forbidden "Out Lands", and meets another young cub named Kovu. They become great friends against Simba's and Zera's (Kovu's mom's) wishes. It's pretty much a total conflict between the Pride Landers and the Outsiders, ending up with Kiara and Kovu having to solve the problem. The story isn't too bad, but Disney sequels can always use some improvement, as usual. My sister and I still have fun pretending to be Kiara and Kovu. And the animation isn't top notch, but it's good. To round it all out, I think the kids will probably enjoy it. Go ahead and give it a try, but I can't promise you that you'll like it. Me and my sis have always enjoyed it ever since we bought it though, so I'm sure somebody in the family will love it. :)

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Oh, Disney, Why?
Review: Lame.

The concept was nice enough, I suppose. But I found the move to be lacking in so many ways. The music made me wince - that was probably one of the worst things in the film. The songs were completely forgetable, and cheap.

Don't get me wrong - I adored the Lion King. And I thought it was interesting to have the daughter fall in love with Scar's son. But it was a poor follow up to that wonderful first film.


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