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Description |
1998 - 75 Minutes
Although
of a slightly higher quality than Disney's previous made-for-video animated
sequels, THE LION KING II: SIMBA'S PRIDE comes nowhere near the level of its
big-screen predecessor (which is the fourth-highest grossing film of all-time
worldwide), either musically or artistically.
Kiara (voice of
Neve Campbell), the daughter of Simba the Lion King (voice of Matthew Broderick)
and his mate Nala (voice of Moira Kelly), is a free-spirit who is always
wandering off in the African Pride Lands. Escaping her bumbling babysitters
Timon (voice of Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa (voice of Ernie Sabella), Kiara runs off
to the forbidden Outlands. There, she befriends Kovu (voice of Jason Marsden),
who's the son of Zira (voice of Suzanne Pleshette), an outcast lioness who was a
friend of the late Scar, and who has been exiled by Simba. As Kovu grows, Zira
plots to use his friendship with Kiara to destroy Simba, but Kovu's obedience to
his vengeful mother begins to wane as he and Kiara fall in love. The betrayed
Zira ambushes Simba and makes it look like Kovu set him up, but Simba escapes
and exiles Kovu. Kiara runs after Kovu and brings him back, just in time to help
break up an impending battle between Zira's and Simba's forces. When Zira's
warriors turn on her, she tries to kill Kiara, but falls into a river and is
killed, and Simba welcomes Kovu into his family.
After
several substandard made-for-video animated sequels, Disney had a chance to
finally get one right with a worthy follow-up to their 1994 classic, but they
blew it by taking the cheap route once again, as THE LION KING II: SIMBA'S PRIDE
is just another undistinguished and formulaic marketing "product."
Produced by Disney's television animation units in Australia and Canada, the
artwork competently imitates the lush look of the original, but is rarely
inspired and has a cut-rate appearance, as evidenced by the skimpy backgrounds
and limited action. Aside from the poignant story about parent-child bonding,
one of the reasons that THE LION KING was so good was because its Oscar-winning
score was not only perfectly integrated into the story, but the superb songs by
Elton John and Tim Rice could also stand on their own. By contrast, the new
songs shoehorned here are totally unmemorable and all too obviously designed to
sound like the original hits, notably the precredit "He Lives in You,"
which copies the "Circle of Life," and the jaunty "Upendi,"
which echoes the classic "Hakuna Matata." While the original story
could be described as BAMBI-meets-Hamlet, this one borrows from the
Bard's Romeo and Juliet for its cliched
young-lovers-from-feuding-families plot, along with a simplistic "hate
destroys" and "can't we all just get along" message. Though most
of the original characters and their voices are back, they all sound bored,
apart from the zesty addition of Suzanne Pleshette as the scheming Zira. The
overall result is OK for kids, who will enjoy the low humor provided by the
comical meerkat Timon and the flatulent warthog Pumbaa, but it could have been
so much better.
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Cast
Information |
 | Matthew Broderick .... Simba (speaking) (voice) |
| Neve Campbell .... Adult Kiara(speaking) (voice) |
| Andy Dick .... Nuka (voice) |
| Robert Guillaume .... Rafiki (voice) |
| James Earl Jones .... Mufasa (voice) |
| Moira Kelly .... Nala (voice) |
| Nathan Lane .... Timon (voice) |
| Jason Marsden .... Adult Kovu (speaking) (voice) |
| Suzanne Pleshette .... Zira (voice) |
| Ernie Sabella .... Pumbaa (voice) |
| Liz Callaway .... Adult Kiara (singing) (voice) |
| Lacey Chabert .... Young Vitani(speaking) (voice) |
| Cam Clarke .... Simba (singing) (voice) |
| Ashley Edner .... Young Kiara (growling) (voice) |
| Edward Hibbert .... Zazu (voice) |
| Michelle Horn .... Young Kiara (speaking) (voice) |
| Jennifer Lien .... Adult Vitani (voice) |
| Crysta Macalush .... Young Vitani (singing) (voice) |
| Gene Miller (VI) .... Adult Kovu (singing) (voice) |
| Ryan O'Donohue .... Young Kovu (voice) |
| Charity Sanoy .... Young Kiara (singing) (voice) |
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Director
Information |
Directed by
Rob LaDuca (co-director)
Darrell Rooney
Writing credits
Jonathan Cuba (additional writing)
Flip Kobler
Cindy Marcus
Mark McCorkle (additional writing)
Bill Motz (additional writing)
Gregory Poirier (additional writing)
Bob Roth (additional writing)
Robert Schooley (additional writing)
Linda Voorhees (additional writing)
Jenny Wingfield (additional writing)
Produced by
Jeannine Roussel
Original music by
Nick Glennie-Smith
Film Editing by
Peter Lonsdale
Art Direction
Fred Warter
Sound Department
David E. Stone .... sound
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Miscellaneous
Information |
Country of
origin: U.S.
Genre: Animated; Children's; Musical
Color or
b/w: Color
Production
Co(s).: Walt Disney Enterprises
Released
By: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
MPAA
rating: NR
Parental
rating: Good for children
Running
time: 81
Production Companies
· Walt Disney Productions (aka Walt Disney Pictures)
Distributors
· Walt Disney Home Video
· Buena Vista Home Video [us]
 
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