The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (October 27, 1998)

This is the first of two direct-to-video sequels to The Lion King. It follows Simba’s daughter, Kiara as she wrestles with her duty as future queen while staying true to be herself. She ends up become entangled with a male lion, named Kovu, the son of a lioness who was part of the lion’s that were banished from the Pride lands for following Scar. It is essentially a version of Romeo and Juliet, while the original film took after Hamlet. The animation actually fairly well done, easily the best of any of these direct-to-video sequels I have reviewed so far. Its characters are pretty well done, both expressive and fluid. The backgrounds and environments, however, are where it shows its lesser quality. All of the actors return to reprise their roles, with two exceptions, Scar and Zazu, which adds to its authenticity. There are also a few new songs that are fine and fit the story, but they are not memorable. Kiara takes after Simba in her stubbornness streak, while Simba now resembles his father, Mufasa. Simba only wants to prevent her from making the same mistakes he did, but this ends up pushing her away (while also projecting Scar’s transgressions onto Kovu, an innocent). It is understandable but super predictable. Kovu has been indoctrinated by his vindictive mother to hate Simba, and by extension, Kiara. Their similarly controlling parents, however, help bring them together and their love helps repair the broken relationship between the two prides (after Kovu’s mother, Zira is taken care of). Kira and Kovu are fine characters and their budding relationship is honestly pretty cute. Overall, Simba’s Pride is one of the better sequels, an interesting, but cliché, edition to The Lion King franchise.

Final Rating: 5.5/10