Season 2: Review #8: “The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride”

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS! IF ONLY YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE SEQUEL TO A FILM THAT’S CONSIDERED A CLASSIC, STOP READING THIS RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!

-We Now Join Our Regularly Scheduled Review Already in Progress-

Hello, I’m The Detective Librarian and as you may have known already, I reviewed a Disney film that is nearly 21-years old and that is “The Lion King”. I said it was okay, but it’s sort of growing on me and I sorta like it. I kinda take back of what I said about this film and the characters were nice and memorable, the plot was good and it felt like the Bible, it had very powerful and epic moments, and some of the songs were interesting. After the film’s success, someone did a Broadway musical based off of the film of the same name and it was successful as well, believe it or not. However, Disney decided to make two more films after the first film as a sequel and a midquel (a film that takes place in the middle of another film)/prequel and they were direct-to-home/DVD releases. Today, I’ll be reviewing the sequel that was considered not as successful as the previous film. I’m of course talking about “The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride”, based off of William Shakepeare’s “Romeo & Juliet” (just like how the previous film was considered based off of “Hamlet”). Now it’s time to hear my thoughts about the not-so-successful-sequel. This is “The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride”.

The film opens with the first song of the film, “He Lives in You”, and it’s quite similar to the first film’s song, “Circle of Life”, but it focuses on the Pride Land’s king, Simba (voiced by Matthew Broderick in the previous film), and his wife, Nala, Rafiki (Simba’s royal monkey), and everyone else showing Simba’s newborn daughter, Kiara, with Mufasa (Simba’s dead father) watching them like God. Timon and Pumbaa (the friendly pair of a meerkat and warthog that adopted Simba in the previous film) think that Kiara is a boy like Simba was, but they faint when Rafiki corrects them saying that Kiara is a girl. Wow, what a reaction to a different gender being born off of the face of the freaking Earth. The next scene cuts to Kiara (now a young cub) getting permission from her father to go out on her own with Zazu (Simba’s royal bird) warning them about a dangerous group known as the Outsiders. Wow, what a name to a bunch of Out-siders. *Ba Dum Tsh!*

EVERYONE: BOOOOOOO!!!!! *SPLAT!*

THE DETECTIVE LIBRARIAN: Everyone’s a critic. Not you, Nostalgia Critic!

(Reference to a Joke By Trainboy7 & Dalek44)

Anyways, we’ll found out what those (quote on quote) “Outsiders” are later. So, Kiara goes out and just after she leaves, Nala explains that Kiara reminds her of Simba when he was very young. Uh-huh, back when Simba was young, inexperienced, clumsy, bad-luck prone (as usual), AND NOT SO WISE!!!!!!!! Along the way, Kiara chases after a butterfly, stands on a rock, and notices the Outlands (where the Outsiders are). Just as she’s about to risk her life and be an idiot, the odd-but-friendly pair themselves show up and scare the crap out of Kiara and that causes her to fall into the water and get rescued by Pumbaa. Why?: Because Timon and Pumbaa are now Kiara’s babysitters (thank God Simba didn’t hire “The Baby-Sitters Club” because the BSC are immature, but I digress), it’s a nice way for Timon and Pumbaa get a reward for helping Simba and Nala stop Simba’s cold-hearted, deciving, and evil uncle, Scar.

Just as the pair try to get Kiara to eat bugs (like they normally do), Kiara sneaks past them when they weren’t looking. Seriously, Timon and Pumbaa seem like BAD BABYSITTERS AND JUST WAIT UNTIL THEY START THEIR OWN BABYSITTING BUSINESS.–

SCRIPT PERSON: Hey, Detective.

THE DETECTIVE LIBRARIAN: Oh, hey. What’s up?

SCRIPT PERSON: Oh, nothing. But, did you read the news lately?

THE DETECTIVE LIBRARIAN: No, I didn’t and besides, I’m not a newspaper person.

SCRIPT PERSON: Well, I just came across this really interesting ad on the paper and you gotta go check it out.

THE DETECTIVE LIBRARIAN: Okay, let me see here.–

THE DETECTIVE LIBRARIAN (READING): “Are you in trouble? Do you want to have great babysitters that don’t act immature or be lazy and stuff like that? Well, you’ve come to the right place! Just call Timon and Pumbaa’s Babysitters Organization! Just call 1-840-684-TIMON-AND-PUMBAA-BABYSITTING. Call now! I mean it because we need bugs and Uh-oh! Here comes the newspapers guys, bu-bye!

THE DETECTIVE LIBRARIAN: Wait. WHAT?! SURELY, you CAN’T BE SERIOUS, SCRIPT PERSON!!

SCRIPT PERSON: I AM and don’t call me Surely!

So, Kiara goes to the Outlands (disobeying her father’s instructions) and stumbles upon a cub that resembles a younger version of Scar. His name is Kovu and he starts teasing her and they come across a bridge of alligators that nearly eat Kiara and Kovu. Luckily, they escape from the swamp of alligators just in time. However, when they reach the other side, they come across Kovu’s vengeful mother, Zira (voiced by the late Suzanne Pleshette), the leader of the Outsiders at the same time Simba, Nala, Timon, and Pumbaa show up! Simba and Zira have an epic roar-stand-off and it turns out that the Outsiders are Scar’s family that was exiled to the Outlands after Scar’s death. Wait a minute, HOLD ON! There’s a continuity error in this one, we never saw Scar’s family in the previous film and WAIT A SECOND!!!! Scar must’ve married Sarabi (Simba’s mother) after Mufasa was killed, so that pretty much makes more sense.

Back with the story, Kovu is actually Zira’s adopted son (which means that he was found in the open) and Simba exiles Zira and Kovu (again), while taking Kiara home and finding out from Zira that their biggest feud between the Outsiders and the Pride Lands has just begun. What a family feud (not the game show), and it’s really based off of “Romeo and Juliet” alright. Simba returns his daughter to the Pride Lands, still not happy over his daughter’s mistake. Kiara then doubts herself, until Simba teaches her that being a lion or a lioness is in her blood during the song, “We Are One”. This is really a way to teach kids to not have doubts and commit suicide after making a mistake. After all, we all make mistakes so that we can learn from them instead of making the same mistake again like an idiot. Meanwhile, we get to see the other part of the Outlands for the very first time, along with the rest of the Outsiders.

This includes Kovu’s crazy older brother, Nuka, and his sister, Vitanni. Zira, as her hateful and vengeful self, gets very angry over Kovu coming across Kiara and just as she puts her adopted son onto a bed-thingy, she realizes that coming across Simba and his family is the key to getting back the Pride Lands. After this, she sings her lullaby, or should I say: “My Lullaby”, in a very dramatic and intense way. Meanwhile, the crazy-lunatic himself, Rafiki, is alone in his tree keeping track of what’s going on and is communicating with the ghost of Mufasa. He realizes that Mufasa’s plan is to unite the Outsiders and the Pride Lands, have Kovu and Kiara fall in love, and become one. What a plan, heh, I wish I made plans like that.

After time goes by, Kiara grows up to be a young adult (now voiced by Neve Campbell) and is now able to go and hunt on her own. Simba, however, is starting to become doubtful about Kiara, so he sends Timon and Pumbaa (again) to watch Kiara. Meanwhile, at the Outlands, Zira trains Kovu, now a young adult, voiced by Jason Marsden, and seems like a lionized version of ToonKriticY2K and Zuko from “Avatar: The Last Airbender”, (something you would see when someone’s being brainwashed or hypnotized) over Kovu’s mission. Here’s how it went like. You should go see it for yourself, click on it.:

Yeah, intense right? While Kiara tries to hunt a bunch of wildbeests in a field, Nuka and Vitanni (now grown-up) begin Zira’s evil plan to kill Simba and take the Pride Lands. Zira’s plan is to have Nuka and Vitanni start a fire they collected from a volcanic cave, then, bring it to a field to start the fire. Timon and Pumbaa’s babysitting business continues once again when they find Kiara, who’s now upset over Simba not trusting her actions and stubbornly decides to hunt on her own. Geesh, Kiara is a very stubborn daughter of the main character from the previous film and the lion that is Mufasa’s son. Seriously, would you ever want to go out with her if she ever acted like this?:

ZOO KEEPER: Now, be careful Kiara because there are other animals that are dangerous in the zoo.

KIARA: Yeah, whatever, I can do this on my own!

ZOO KEEPER (THINKING): Gosh, what a stubborn lioness!!

KIARA: Hello, I’m Kiara and who are you?

MR. CROCODILE: WELL! I’M, MR. CROCODILE AND I CAN I INTEREST YOU WITH MY NEWEST INVENTION?

KIARA: Um, okay? What is it?

MR. CROCODILE: It’s called, “THE TIME MACHINE THAT TAKES YOU BACK TO THE GOOD OL’ DAYS INSTEAD OF THE CRAPPY NEW DAYS!!!!!!!!!” Like other time machines, it allows you to go back in time into the good ol’ days!!

KIARA: Wow, this seems like an invention I would try.

KIARA (THINKING): Unless, if he really means that.

-13 Minutes of Time Traveling Later-

KIARA: Hey, this isn’t a time machine. IT’S A TRAP!!!

-OH, NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-

KIARA: Oh I should’ve listened to my zoo keeper!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CURSE YOU, MR. CROCODILLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyways, Nuka starts the fire and Kiara, Simba, and everyone else notices it, with Zira and Kovu watching by and having Kovu carry out the rest of Zira’s plan. Kiara goes into the fire and tries to escape, but then passes out due to the smoke. Wow, that was the most over-the-top way to teach kids the consequences of breathing smoke in a fire. As Nostalgia Critic would say: “Y’know, for kids!” Kovu finds Kiara, unconscious, and carries her, then escapes the inferno with Zazu flying close by and witnessing the entire thing. Kiara regains consciousness and is very surprised to see Kovu again, just as Simba, Nala, and Zazu arrive and we have ANOTHER dramatic confrontation/roar-stand-off!

Simba (being a stubborn father) decides to forbid Kiara from hunting again and Kovu lies that he’s now a rogue of the Outsiders (part of Kiara’s DEADLY plan), which causes Simba and Zazu to reluctantly agree to let Kovu stay. So, they return back to the Pride Lands, leaving Kovu to sleep outside for the night (like leaving an innocent cat, dog, or hobo to sleep outside in the cold and be left to rot). Kovu criticizes Kiara not being a good hunter, which causes her to plan a hunting lesson tomorrow morning before going to bed. Later that night, Simba gets probably one of the most creepiest and disturbing nightmare sequences ever put in any kids’ movie! THAT PROVES THAT SIMBA HAS PTSD (post-traumatic-stress-disorder). See it for yourself (again):

So, yeah. It would be even MORE disturbing than say, the clown nightmare from “The Brave Little Toaster” or any other Disney dream sequence. The next morning, Kovu tries to attack Simba, who doesn’t mention his nightmare to anyone. What gives, Simba? You could just easily talk about your– oh, right, you don’t want to talk about your father’s death from the last film. Kovu’s attempt to kill Simba fails when Kiara calls him to start the hunting lesson they planned last night. During the lesson, Kovu scares Timon, have him and Kiara do a little race/chase against some birds, come across rhinos, get chased by the rhinos with Timon and Pumbaa following behind, and then hide. THIS causes Kovu to have a change of heart (that’s kinda sweet, which shows that everyone has a kind side, right?).

Later that night, Kovu and Kiara follow Rafiki to a dating location after star gazing and we get a romantic song called “Upendi”. Don’t know what it is? It means “love” in Swahili! This causes Kiara and Kovu to fall in love, they could maybe defeat a bad guy or save the day with the power of love (like in the 1999 version of “The Haunting” and “Frozen” *SPOILER ALERT*)! Anyways, Zira and Vitanni watch by as Simba lets Kovu stay for the night and are both angered that Kovu’s now a double agent. The next morning, Kovu tries to talk to himself about the current situation and makes a confession about his mission, but it’s interrupted when Simba wants to talk with him with an evil-like face. The face drops when he tells Kovu about Scar’s past and into the location of where the fire started from earlier and it leads them to (you won’t believe this) an A-M-B-U-S-H. What does that spell?: AMBUSH!!!!!!!!!

The ambush shows the Outsiders with Zira leading the team and it’s revealed that Kovu accidentally lead Simba into the ambush. Well, that escalated quickly. Simba tries to escape and goes up a dam of logs blocking a river, but then gets stuck. Nuka (his usual insane self) tries to kill Simba, but then he falls into a bunch of logs and then gets killed. Nuka said his last few words, but here’s what the original version went like.:

NUKA:.I’m sorry. Mother!……I tried.

ZIRA: Shhhhhhhh……

NUKA:……Well……I finally got your attention, didn’t I?……….

So, I would’ve PREFERRED that scene and it would’ve been more emotional because of Nuka wanting to get attention from his mother. I mean, it would be more sad for kids. Anyways, all the Outsiders are dismayed over Nuka’s death and Zira gets so upset and enraged that she gives Kovu a scratch on the cheek and it somehow gets into his eye and blames him for betraying his pride, Scar, and killing Nuka. As Kovu runs away to the Pride Lands, Zira decides to take the entire kingdom by force. Meanwhile, Simba returns home and tells everyone about what happened earlier. This causes an alternate version of “We Are One”, called “Not One of Us”, a scene that has Kovu exiled/banished into the Outlands in a abusive way.

Kiara and Simba begin to argue about Kovu and Kiara is so upset that she yells at her father claiming that he’ll never be like Mufasa! OW! OW, OW, OW! NO! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING KIARA AND SIMBA?!?!?!?!!?! Critic, play your reaction!:

“NO, HE DID NOT” indeed! SHAME ON YOU, MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kiara runs away from the Pride Lands to look for Kovu and they reunite during the song, “Love Will Find a Way” (similar to “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”). After Kovu and Kiara cuddle each other, Kiara explains that they have to return to the Pride Lands, otherwise, the two families will be divided badly for all eternity. She’s right, Kovu because think about it! What would happen if a war that lasted for years, months, days, weeks, or even decades continued? This would bring the entire population to it’s knees and let’s just hope the next scene doesn’t have a war in it!

The Outsiders prepare to attack (okay, I spoke too soon) and Simba orders Timon and Pumbaa to look for Kiara after hearing Kiara’s disappearance and the Outsiders’ dramatic march to the death! He forms all the lions he could get to fight back in a battle of wits against the Outsiders. Oh great, a war that could end the world as we know it! Hey wait, animals don’t use guns, bazookas, cannons, AND MOST OF ALL, TANKS! FREAKING TANKS THAT WOULD BE DANGEROUS TO ALL OF MANKIND! BUT, THIS IS WAY TOO OVERRATED FOR THE LITTLE CHILDRENS!!!!!!!!!!!! So, Disney, what your doing is a really dark way of teaching children and families what happens in war, famine, or family feuds (no not the game show)! Still, you can never be too careful.

So, Timon and Pumbaa join Simba’s army to fight the Outsiders (even though they were supposed to look for Kiara) and I swear that this scene is like the marching scene in Tines Sensahthe’s “Tobias and the Half-Pariah” except that was a much better fan “Thomas” film and this scene from “The Lion King 2” doesn’t include diesels, demon-possessed Duck, alternate versions of the characters in the TV or “Railway Series”, or steam engines doing a battle of wits against the diesels! So, the battle begins and Timon and Pumbaa defend themselves with a (possible) fart joke (in real life, soldiers or enemies would not fall for that!):

GOOD SOLDIER #1: Uh oh! I’m outta bullets! What are we gonna do, Jerry? We’re surrounded?

GOOD SOLDIER #2: Uh. Uh. *Sees Random Cat* AHA! Stand back every peoples because this cat’s loaded with you don’t wanna know!

EVIL SOLDIERS: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!! RUN!! *BAM!*

GOOD SOLDIER #2: See, I told you earlier that having a cat’s tail as a gun would work after all!

CAT: *Growl* RAWR!!!!

GOOD SOLDIER #2: AAAHH!!!–

-Cover Your Eyes, Small Childrens-

Just as Simba and Zira are about to kill each other, Kiara and Kovu leap out and confront their parents. We get a (probably) pretty touching scene here: Kiara explains that “we are one” and the Outsiders are them all along. This causes the war to end, Simba and the other Outsiders to see the error of their ways, and have Simba reconcile with his daughter. Zira, however, is still vengeful that she tries to avenge Scar one last time by lunging out at Simba before being pushed towards the edge of a cliff by Kiara to protect her father. Simba goes after the two lionesses, whose lives are at risk when they hang at the cliff.

To make matters worse, the log dam from earlier breaks open and floods the river. Kiara tries to help save Zira, but Zira misses her paw before falling to her death. I swear (again) that THIS is really something you would see in an “Indiana Jones” movie, actually, Disney DID borrow “Indiana Jones” AND it seems like a cheap scheme to get more cold-heart-cash! Well, Zira’s original death was that Zira was going to commit suicide by not doing what Kiara said and then letting go of the cliff, fell, and died. Everything is wrapped up after this; Simba helps her daughter, Simba welcomes the Outsiders and tells Kovu that he belongs here and was wrong about him, and Kiara and Kovu get married, just like Mufasa planned it would be! We get one last roar from the characters and a reprise of “We Are One” with Mufasa’s words echoing, “WE ARE ONE!”

THE END.

POST-FILM-FOLLOW-UP

This movie seems like an alternate version of “Romeo and Juliet” and Disney’s way of retelling the segregation laws in the Southern part of the United States from the 1950’s-1960’s, which was when the whites and African-Americans could not get along and thank God that the segregation laws are over and we won’t have to have racism in the U.S. again! After all, Kiara and Kovu really acted like Martin Luther King Jr. in this film. I praise the film’s animation, even if it looked unrealistic at times and some animation errors, the funny faces the characters make, the new characters, and some of the songs. However, I do point out that the plot was a mixture of good and bad that includes some plotholes like Zira’s death because I thought it was rushed and I would’ve preferred her original death before it got cut in the final production. Besides, those funny faces are like Rainbow Dash’s funny faces in “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic”, except that she was trying to entertain the guards at Sugarcube Corner and the audience. See it for yourself if you haven’t.:

Also, the acting is a little bit off like when Kovu shouted “NOO” while roaring and running away. I felt that line was a little bit cheesy, but overall, the acting was fine. As I stated before, the new characters were interesting like Kiara, Kovu, and Zira because Zira felt like a female version of you know who, Kiara’s arguments with Simba felt realistic and a teenager fighting with his or her parents, and Kovu was kind of a light-hearted version of Scar and a Gothic version of Zuko and ToonKriticY2K. Overall, this film is average and I find the first film better than this film entirely and I always will admit that the first “Lion King” will be the best out of the trilogy (or should I say, saga). But, it’s still not bad.

You can watch it, get excited, and feel like this is a decent epilogue over the first film entirely. So, I’m going to rate “The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride” a 5/10, even if it wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. You should really watch first film. I’m The Detective Librarian and just wait until you see the prequel that is supposed to be the final film in the trilogy and see you later!

P.S. If you haven’t heard about ToonKriticY2K, then absolutely check out his videos. He’s a reviewer like me and he also does other things besides reviews. If you’re into reviews of things you like including “Thomas & Friends”. “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic”, or anything else, this youtuber is for you. Click on the link that’ll take you to ToonKriticY2K’s channel, but please remember that his videos do contain some swearing, so please view at your own discretion. That’s all and good night everybody!

LINK TO TOONKRITICY2K’S CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/user/ToonKriticY2K