I recently watched this movie again, with the original one, after i heard everybody and LZRD WZRD talking about how bad the Lion Guard is (and believe me, it is) i had a certain rush of Nostalgia coming over me, thinking what the Lion King actually meant in my childhood. The original one, still remains a Masterpiece for me, when it comes to Animation. When it comes to the second one...let's find out.

The Lion King came out when i was just at the age of 5. It was the first movie I can recall seeing on the big screen, and once again, Disney didn't disappoint me. By the time this sequel came out four years later, I didn't immediatly saw it, but i did hear about it. The only straight-to-video Disney sequels at that time, were the two Aladdin ones. However, after i turned 12 or so, I have watched some more of these sequels, even though they never seem to be nearly as good as their theatrical predecessors, and this particular one is sadly no exception.

Now that Simba and Nala are married, they give birth to Kiara, destined to become Queen. While she is a cub, Timon and Pumbaa are assigned to keep an eye on her when she goes out, but they are not very good at it. Under no supervision, she wanders off to the forbidden Outlands, where Scar's exiled followers now dwell! Here, she meets a young cub named Kovu, and surprisingly, they become friends! However, they do not see each other for long, as Simba and Zira (Kovu's mother) soon show up. After this, Kiara and Kovu don't see each other again until they are older, when Kovu saves Kiara from a fire! After this, he claims he is no longer part of the Outlands, and Simba is required by law to accept him into the Pridelands. However, Kovu has actually been sent to kill Simba and take over the land! Will he really do this?

The original Lion King has a lot going for it, including several classic songs, excellent animation, a suspenseful and often touching story, and good humour. The Lion King II: Simba's Pride definitely has some of those things, but to a lesser degree. I would say there definitely are some good songs, especially He lives in you, which was sung on Radio by Tina Turner and we are one, but i think there also some forgettable ones. So, not Disney's worst bunch of songs, but not their best. The animation, while still impressive, I think is just slightly downhill from that of the original, though not enough to really disappoint me. There's a bit of suspense in this sequel, mostly towards the end, but not a lot, and i certainly didn't find as much touching about the story. Lastly, there is a bit of humour, but not enough. The scene where Rafiki is skeptical while communicating with Mufasa is good for some laughs, and in addition to that, Timon and Pumbaa are sometimes funny, but unlike before, they only seem to bring an occasional laugh or smile. Zazu provides a lot of humour in the original, but in this sequel, he is more of a minor character, and is no longer humorous at all! I guess this is partly because he is no longer voiced by Rowan Atkinson (you can easily tell it's not the same voice).

While watching this movie, i just couldn't seem to really get into it for the most part. For me, it seemed to get a bit better towards the end, and if it wasn't for that, I would probably give it no more than a 5/10. So, while I'm not one of the haters, u can see why this sequel has disappointed so many fans of its classic theatrical predecessor. These non-theatrical sequels from Disney clearly never get as much recognition as their theatrical predecessors, and i don't think most of them, if any of them, deserve to. If you like The Lion King, you might be curious as to where the story goes from there, but you just MIGHT be in for a pretty lousy experience. If not, you might enjoy The Lion King II: Simba's Pride somewhat, but obviously, like most sequels, you can expect it to be inferior.

But i really like this song.