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Disney’s
“The Lion King” roared into
theatres in 1994 and captured the imagination
of both children and adults with its beautiful
animation, compelling story and memorable
music. I still consider it to be one of
my favorites of Disney’s newer classics.
The score by Hans Zimmer and Elton John,
with its basis in the rhythmic tones of
South African music, is hypnotic and emotionally
powerful. So popular was the film, that
it has spawned two direct-to-DVD sequels,
a highly successful Broadway Musical and
various animated series on the Disney channel.
Hakuna Matata indeed…
Of the two direct-to-DVD sequels released,
neither really lived up to the original
material, but do they ever? For the most
part, the fine folks at Disney know a cash
cow (or lion as the case may be) when they
see one, they pounce. To date, almost all
of the Disney animated classics have had
sequels made, and most of them have been
less than stellar. This isn’t to say
they aren’t any good; it’s just
that they aren’t as good as their
predecessors.
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Pretty much the same is the case for “The
Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride”, which
is due out on video in one of Disney’s 2-Disc
Special Edition sets.
“The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride”
takes up shortly after the birth of Simba and
Nala’s cub, Kiara. Simba is, of course,
the new head of pride and he soon finds that his
little girl has the same head-strong attitude
and exploratory habits he had as a little cub.
Life for the pride has pretty much returned to
normal with Scar out of the picture, but what
Simba doesn’t know is that there is a new
threat on the horizon. Zira, Scar’s mate,
has plans of her own and intends to use her own
cub, Kovu as a means to destroy Simba and take
over the pride.
Most of the original voice talent is back for
the sequel, including Matthew Broderick as Simba,
Moira Kelly as Nala and James Earl Jones as Mufasa
(in a flashback sequence). And it comes as no
surprise that Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella are
back as Timon and Pumba, respectively, considering
they were the breakout stars of the first film
(so popular were they in fact that they got their
own animated series as well as headlining “The
Lion King 1 ½”). The only noticeable
voice change was that of Rowan Atkinson as Zazu,
who was replaced by Edward Hibbert.
Some of the new talent that was enticed to join
this sequel included Suzanne Pleshette as Zira,
Jason Marsden as the adult Kovu, Neve Campbell
as the adult Kiara, and Andy Dick as Nuka (Kovu’s
brother).
“The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride”
tries very hard to elicit the same kind of emotional
impact that the first film evoked, but unfortunately
it just doesn’t hit the mark. A part of
the problem, aside from the animation not being
as lush as the original, falls directly in the
lap of the composer. Here the reins were taken
over by Nick Glennie-Smith who has only a handful
of film scores totally credited to him. Most of
his other projects required writing only some
additional music here and there. The songs in
the film aren’t bad, but they’re rather
formulaic, bland and rather forgettable. This
drags the entire production down.
The only really strong piece in the film is the
song, “He Lives in You”, which was
written by Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, and Lebo
M, with music by Hans Zimmer. This particular
piece was written for the Broadway Musical and
was incorporated into this sequel. It’s
my favorite song from the stage version and it
seems oddly out of place here.
As is the case with all of Disney’s Special
Edition DVD releases, they didn’t skimp
a bit on the extra features. The first disc includes
a ‘pop-up’ video mode with all sorts
of trivia, and karaoke lovers have the choice
of playing just the songs from the film complete
with sing-along lyrics. The second disc has more…
a lot more…
The best feature has to be the all new animated
short, One by One.” Created by Lebo M, it’s
a highly entertaining musical piece. Timon and
Pumbaa fans will get a kick out of the “Find
Out Why” featurette where they answer questions,
as much as they will their Virtual Safari 2.0
(which is similar to the feature found on “The
Lion King 1 ½” DVD). There is a short
‘Making of…” featurette that
delivers little bit of behind the scenes info
as well as a music video for the song “Love
Will Find a Way.” On the educational front,
we find a short featurette that’s “All
About Lions”, a shell game that you play
against Rafiki, and the Pride Land game that makes
the kids use their book smarts.
I wish I could say that “The Lion King 2:
Simba’s Pride” was a better all-around
film, but it just has too many strikes against
it. I also felt more like the sequel was geared
towards a younger audience than the original (though
not in the over-the-top way “The Lion King
1 ½” was). Everything about it reeks
of simplicity more so than it does majesty. There’s
no doubt that kids will still enjoy it, but their
parents might not find it quite as entertaining.
Directed by: Rob LaDuca, Darrell Rooney
Starring (the voices of): Matthew Broderick, Moira
Kelly, Neve Campbell, Liz Callaway, Michelle Horn,
Suzanne Pleshette, Andy Dick, Jason Marsden, Lacey
Chabert, Ernie Sabella, Nathan Lane, Robert Guillaume,
James Earl Jones
Extras: All New “One by One” Animated
Short, Timon & Pumba’s Visual Safari
2.0, “Rafiki’s Challenge” Game,
“Love Will Find a Way’ Music Video,
“Find Out Why” Shorts, “Proud
of Simba’s Pride”, “Lots About
Lions”, Lion King’s Matter of Facts”
Trivia Mode,
Specifications: Family Friendly Widescreen (1.66:1)
Enhanced for 16x9 Televisions, Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround Sound, DTS 5.1 Digital Surround Sound
Studio: Disney
Release Date: 8/31/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: G
Website
We'll give a C.
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