When we left off our beloved lions of the Pridelands, Simba and Nala had welcomed a cub of their own into the Circle of Life... but what else? At last, Disney gave us an answer with "The Lion King II: Simba's Pride", a Direct-To-Video [DTV] sequel with stunning animation, lively music and song, and a continuing story that should have been in theaters.

That little cub just so happens to be a daughter, Princess Kiara, and very much like her father, Simba, she is an adventurous child that wants to play and explore. Simba plays the overprotective dad here, wanting Kiara to be the wise future Queen that she is born to become while also wanting to be as good of a ruler as his father, Mufasa, was and - as shown and mentioned a few times in the film - still is. However, all is not safe in the Pridelands as Scar's former pride of lions, led by the power-hungry lioness Zira, plots a way to avenge Scar's death through his apparent heir, Zira's youngest son, Kovu. By a twist of fate, Kiara and Kovu meet and become fast friends; unfortunately, the war between their families is refueled as the cubs grow into grown lions with different destinies, not knowing that their friendship is quickly growing into something more.... and could possibly be the key to resolving the feuding prides once and for all.

The story, based loosely on Shakespeare's tragic love story "Romeo and Juliet", is well-adapted here to tie with the original Lion King story, as well as to add enough action, drama and conflict to keep the viewer interested and to obviously keep it Disney-friendly for family viewing. A few things were altered for the sequel though, such as the gender of Simba and Nala's cub [who was originally a male when the original film debuted in 1994], but it doesn't really hinder with many of the facts and storylines that were continued in the original animated classic.

I feel that the movie's strongest points are in the characters. Kiara and Kovu play our star-crossed lovers, each bound by their parents' wishes and desires for them - Kiara as Simba's legacy and Kovu as Scar's paw-selected heir. Each of them aren't perfect, with Kiara being an imperfect hunter and Kovu knowing only about fighting, but together they learn from the other's strengths. The other new characters - mainly the Outlanders of Zira, Vitani and Nuka - are well-developed and make you understand the reasons why they do what they do. To be honest, Nuka is quite the interesting of the three Outlanders, with his issues against Kovu being somewhat of a catalyst for the film's eventual ending.

However, it is Simba that is the dominant focal point yet again, as he balances protecting Kiara from harm, leading the Pridelands as their King, and dealing with the always-plotting Outlanders and preventing them from getting what they believe is theirs. The loss of his father in the first movie is still quite a bother for him, and without that paternal guidance later on in his life to teach him more about the importance of being a wise and just ruler, Simba is quite a mess here, usually relying on Mufasa's rules of judgment than his own. Yes, he tries so hard to follow in his Daddy's paws, but it only makes him realize the error of his ways by the film's climax. It's good to have a main character have a main role in their own sequel once again... Why don't more sequels do this... and do this well? Clearly, "Simba's Pride" did it right.

Overall, the animation is beautiful and quite a high-quality on a DTV budget, making it very close to theater-quality. Everything was smooth and gorgeous to look at. Most of the songs - especially "We Are One" and "He Lives In You" - help continue the original theme of everything being connected and such, but it's much like the usual types of songs. There's the theme songs, the villain song, the fun song, and the love song... [and another one, but I'm not sure what to consider it as....] All of them are there and somehow they manage to be woven into the story very well. [I should know - I have the soundtrack.] The best fact about this sequel is that almost all of the original cast of old characters [Simba, Nala, Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki and Mufasa] were reprised by their original voice actors. The newer characters had great voice talent, such as Jason Marsden and Neve Campbell as the leading lovers and the late great Suzanne Pleshette brings Zira to life with a vengeance. I love the fact that the characters sounded so familiar; it makes it feel both nostalgic and new all at the same time and I thank Disney for getting most of the original cast to continue the Lion King legacy.

If there's any weak points, I didn't really find any... The comedic humor of Timon and Pumbaa weren't too bad here, as their roles have been moved to being supporting and Simba's other eyes when it comes to Kiara. Perhaps that's why they got their own movie with the release of 1 1/2.... but they were a little annoying with their jokes by the middle of the movie.

Still, this is a great sequel to continue SImba's journey of becoming a great King of his own right, as well as bring in new characters and added depth to a dramatic story that should be watched again and again. A must-watch for all TLK fans.

- Juuchan17

"Sometimes what's left behind can grow better than the generation before... if given the chance." - Simba, "The Lion King II: Simba's Pride"