Deep Dive Disney: Wes Looks at The Lion King II: Simba's Pride

Welcome back to Deep Dive Disney everyone. Today, we return to the world of direct to video Disney Sequels with the follow-up to arguably one of Disney’s greatest hits, The Lion King. Today we’re looking at The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride. While the direct to video sequels are mostly known for their negative reputation, this one is one of the few that, in my opinion at least, would have worked as a theatrical sequel to the original. Is it as good as the original? I wouldn’t necessarily go that far, the animation is a smidge below the quality of the first movie and the overall narrative feels slightly less epic in scope but overall, I think that this is a much better movie than the stigma of direct to video Disney sequels would have one believe. In a similar fashion to the original, which was based on Hamlet, Lion King II is based on another play by William Shakespeare, in this case Romeo & Juliet, though thankfully, with a much happier ending. As we saw at the end of the first movie, Simba and Nala have welcomed the birth of their new daughter, Kiara. It also seems that in the time since the first movie, an offshoot of the pride that remained loyal to Scar, led by the fanatical Zira, has been banished from the Pride Lands. It’s funny, five years ago, I would have found it unrealistic that a leader who almost brought the nation he presided over to absolute ruin because of his overwhelming incompetence was able to amass such fanatical devotion from his followers but we all just lived through the Trump administration so… yeah. Also, somewhere in there, Simba and Nala had a second child who isn’t mentioned in this movie who inherited some kind of magical lion superpowers and battled Scar who had been resurrected as an evil volcano demon. I know that the Lion Guard is aimed at six-year-olds, but the more information I find out about it, but more weirdly intrigued by it I become. Anywho, young Kiara ends up forming an unlikely friendship with Kovu, Zira’s son and Scar’s chosen successor. However, the parents can’t stand the sight of each other and forbid the cubs from seeing one another. As the two cubs reach maturity, Kovu has been brainwashed by his mother to be the instrument of Simba’s assassination but while infiltrating Simba’s pride, the friendship between himself and Kiara has blossomed into full-blown romance and he finds he can’t go through with it. With their two warring families destined for a bloody conflict, it’s up to Kovu and Kiara to end the cycle of hate and help the others let go of the past. It’s a fun move and a worthy successor to the phenomenal film that came before Let’s get right into, The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride.

Main Character:

Despite the fact that his name is in the title, Simba isn’t really the main character this time around. Instead, the torch of protagonist has been passed to the next generation and is shared between Kovu and Kiara. We’ll start with Kiara, who, for all intents and purposes, is a Disney Princess. No, she’s not part of the official franchise or anything like that, but she does have all the qualities one has come to expect from your typical Disney Princess. She’s free spirited, dreams of a life outside of the confines of her kingdom, constantly disobeys her overprotective father, and feels that love is more powerful than violence and hatred. This by no means makes her a bad character, just one we’ve seen several times before.

Kovu on the other hand is a lot more interesting. That’s our friend Jason Marsden, the same guy who played Max in A Goofy Movie, providing the voice of Kovu and he does a great job. Due to the situation in the Pride Lands, Kovu has basically found himself at the center of a war that he has no personal stake in. Kovu would just as soon forget the beef between Zira and Simba but as Scar’s chosen heir, he must fulfill that destiny or risk letting his family down. Despite the fact that he’s the chosen one, he’s ultimately little more than a pawn in Zira’s plot for vengeance. See, Kovu was raised to believe that Scar was some kind of hero and that Simba was an evil usurper. Zira likely drilled that warped version of reality into him from a very young age, but once Kovu grows close with Kiara and learns the real version of events, he changes his tune pretty quickly. I always got the sense that Kovu was never truly interested in his mother’s vendetta and was grateful for a way out. However, even when he joins the good side, he’s still insecure, feeling that, as Scar’s successor, Scar’s evil must still be a part of him, meaning that he’ll never truly be accepted. Sadly, that comes to pass as Kovu eventually finds himself an outcast on both sides. If it weren’t for Kiara, he probably would have washed his hands of the whole conflict but fortunately, he is made to realize that uniting his family is more important. If I had one nitpick when it comes to Kovu, it’s that feel that his arc would have been stronger had he been Scar’s actual son. I get that Disney did not want to make it clear that Kovu and Kiara were blood relatives, but I think some of his insecurities would have been way stronger if he had a stronger connection to Scar. As it stands, people are basically blaming this kid because Scar picked him as his heir when he likely just a newborn cub. Still, both Kovu and Kiara are good characters and their story was interesting enough to keep me invested.

Villain:

When I eventually redo my Top 20 Disney Villains Countdown, I think that Scar will still come out ahead of Zira but I do still think it’s worth noting that in many ways, Zira is significantly worse. I’ve called Zira a Scar fangirl in the past but I think it would be more accurate to refer to her as the militant leader of a cult that worships Scar. So fanatically devoted to Scar was Zira that revenge on Simba for killing him has become her entire reason for existing. This bitterness and obsession with revenge has made Zira pretty much a complete psychopath who, by her own admission, needs to imagine Simba’s agonizing death simply to help her sleep and night. Jesus lady, that’s fucked up. To Zira, everyone, even her own children, is either an enemy or a pawn in her vendetta. In her first scene she has an intense stare-down with Simba who reminds her that the penalty for any who violate their exile is death. In response, Zira willingly pushes her own son in front of Simba, daring him to take his life. Now, we the audience know that, despite his mistrust of the outsiders, Simba would never murder an innocent child in cold blood. This is though, Kovu sure as hell doesn’t know that and given her low opinion of Simba, Zira may not either. So, at best, she made her son think he was going to be executed just to further drill it into his head that Simba is the enemy and worst, she willingly offered him up as a sacrifice to mess with Simba and save her own skin. Jesus Christ! I thought the Evil Queen and the Lady Tremaine were bad… and they are, but neither of them ever tried anything this sadistic. But that’s the thing about Zira, she is the last remnant of the hate that Scar could never let go of. That hate passed from Scar to his most loyal devotee and for a while, to her children. In the end, when Zira’s pride rejoins Simba’s, Zira is the only one who can’t let go and that ultimately proves her undoing as she’d rather die than accept Kiara’s help and rejoin Simba’s pride. Sadistic, twisted, spiteful and bad to the bone, Zira is seriously one bad kitty.

Side Characters:

We may as well talk about Nuka and Vitani, Kovu’s brother and sister. There’s not much to say about Vitani. She’s a true believer in Zira’s cause until Kiara helps her and the rest of her pride see sense. What’s worth noting about Vitani is that she’s voiced by Jennifer Lien, better known as Kess from Star Trek Voyager. Nuka, who’s voiced by Andy Dick, on the other hand, has a bit more going for him. As the eldest of Zira’s children, Nuka feels that he should have been Scar’s chosen one. Obviously, since Nuka is clearly an idiot and a coward, you can see why Kovu got picked. Because of this, Nuka is desperate to prove himself and have his moment, something that ultimately costs him his life. Since Zira blames Kovu for Nuka’s death, this serves to further mess with Kovu’s head since killing his own brother is how Scar rose to power.

We’ve covered all of the new characters and most of the returning characters haven’t really changed that much so let’s move right on to Simba. While he’s still very much the same character we know and love from the first movie, and you can definitely see where he’s coming from, but… Simba’s kind of a jerk in his movie. I do appreciate that Simba, whom we know to be someone with a good heart and a noble spirit, is not immune to the cycle of hatred. Actually, Simba reminded me a lot of King Triton this time around. He’s overprotective of Kiara and doesn’t seem to trust her to live her own life. Now, mind you, Simba just wants his daughter to be safe, but he still comes across as overbearing. Still, he does eventually learn like everyone else that the conflict is pointless and invites Zira’s outsiders to join his pride at the end, so that’s cool.

Songs:

Best way I would describe this film’s soundtrack is to say that it inadvertently tricks you into thinking it isn’t as good as it is. See, I stand by what I said about the original soundtrack being one of the best in Disney history. It is a damn near untouchable collection of songs and instrumentals. Now, the songs from Lion King II are actually really good. I even listen to several of them all the time just for fun. I would daresay it’s almost as good as the original, the keyword being “almost.” However, because this film is a direct sequel, it can’t help but be compared to the original and inevitably fall short in that comparison. What’s worse is that there are several songs that are trying to be spiritual successors to songs from the first movie, so when you hear a song that sounds like it’s trying to be this movie’s Circle of Life, this movie’s Be Prepared, this movie’s Can You Feel The Love Tonight etc., the songs don’t quite feel as strong when you compare them to songs that are way better. However, if you listen to them divorced from the original, you realize that this is actually a damn good soundtrack.

The film opens on a high note with arguably the best song in the film, He Lives in You. While not quite having the same punch as Circle of Life, it’s still pretty awesome and you can’t help but get sucked into the rhythm. From what I understand this one made it into the Broadway version of the Lion King, so that’s cool.

I actually really liked We Are One. It’s got a great melody and I enjoyed the idea of Simba trying to pass on Mufasa’s teachings, even if we later learn that he may not have as good a handle on things as he may think.

My Lullaby is a wonderfully demented number that really shows us the depths of Zira’s twisted psyche. Again, it’s not quite as memorable as Be Prepared but it’s still a lot of fun and the deep drumbeats give it a great feel.

Upendi is, okay I guess. I like Rafiki trying to play matchmaker and the melody is nice but it doesn’t really do anything for me.

Love Will Find a Way is probably my least favorite though I’ll freely admit to some bias since it’s trying to emulate Can You Feel the Love Tonight which was my favorite song from the original. It’s not bad I guess, it just feels like the weak link in an otherwise strong soundtrack.

Memorable Scenes:

Once again, we have a film with a pretty solid climax. It’s nowhere near the level of the first movie but it is still pretty cool. After Nuka dies and Kovu is exiled, Zira finally decides to take the Pride Lands by force, bringing her entire pride with her to attack. The two prides meet on the field of battle as a thunderstorm rages, the outsiders covered in mud wearing it almost like warpaint. Simba gives Zira one last chance to back down, but she refuses and the battle is on. What follows is cool as hell with several lions tearing each other apart while Zira barks out orders like “Go For the Eyes” and “Break His Jaw.” All this time, Kovu and Kiara are desperately trying to reach the battleground before their families kill one another. Eventually, Zira and Simba start to fight one on one when Kovu and Kiara finally arrive and stand in their parents’ way. Kiara’s words of peace and wisdom seems to get through to everyone except Zira who is so far gone at this point she’s willing to murder her too remaining children simply because they’re standing between her and Simba. Zira lunges at Simba but Kiara intercepts, causing both to tumble over a cliff. Kiara is okay but Zira is hanging on for dear life. In a nice symbolic reversal of the iconic Long Live the King sequence from the first movie, Kiara tries to save Zira who instead willingly falls to her death rather than owe her life to Simba’s daughter. With the battle over, the outsiders rejoin the pride and everyone goes home. The Lions all roar together on Pride Rock as an instrumental of We Are One plays us out. It’s a great finale to a fun movie.

Story:

The overall theme here is the same one that can be read out of the story that inspired it, Romeo & Juliet, even though thankfully Lion King II has a much happier ending. The idea is simple, an Us vs. Them mentality will only lead to ruin and will end up hurting those around you. When one chooses to break the cycle of hate instead of perpetuate it, only then can the suffering end. It’s a pretty obvious message, but at least it’s handled better here than it is in Pocahontas. Now, I don’t mean to get up on a soap box or anything, but I honestly feel that this is a message that the world really needs right now. Let’s face it, the world is a place filled with hate and it breaks my heart because I know that so many of the world’s problems can be solved if we choose to see what we have in common rather than what divides us. Maybe I’m being foolishly optimistic but there might be a lot that humanity can learn from this cartoon about lions

The Dark Disney Factor:

Truth be told, the darkest thing in the movie is probably Zira, whom we’ve already discussed in detail. That having been said, there are still a couple of creepy moments worth talking about. There’s this one especially creepy scene where Simba has a nightmare where he has a chance to save Mufasa from falling into the stampeding Wildebeest but Scar is holding back. As Simba watches his father die, the laughing image of Scar transforms into Kovu as Simba wakes up.

The other scene I want to talk about is more funny than it is disturbing but I don’t know where else to put it. All that really happens is that Simba says he wants to talk to Kovu alone, but the animation combined with Matthew Broderick’s weird delivery totally makes it sound like Simba wants to bang Kovu. Look, Simba, my dude, if younger male lions is what you’re into then no judgement but you’re married, he’s dating your daughter and this is a kids movie. There are so many reasons that this is just wrong.

Final Thoughts: Lion King II, while not quite as epic as the original, still stands head and shoulders above its direct-to-video Disney sequel contemporaries. I honestly feel that this could have been a theatrical release but what are you going to do. I had a lot of fun reliving this one and will be humming the songs for days to come. Next time, Deep Dive Pixar returns to look at a film I consider to be an underrated classic. Join me next time for A Bugs Life