TLK II. The direct-to-video sequel to The Lion King. If TLK was a Disneyfied Hamlet, the sequel is Romeo and Juliet.

Basic plot summary: At the end of the last movie, the lions faithful to Scar were exiled. Simba's daughter Kiara meets (and falls in love with) the exiled Kovu, who was chosen to be Scar's successor*. Of course, Simba doesn't like this, and neither does Kovu's mother Zira. Complications ensue.

I think this movie lost a lot of the "Africanesque" feel of the first one. I remember yurkhing at all the floaty red hearts in "Upendi".

An early rough animation of the movie found its way to the Internet before the movie was released, affording fans a sneak preview, as well as inside knowledge of lines cut from Simba's Pride, such as Nuka's last words or Timon's line that broke the fourth wall.

The soundtrack is pretty nice, but "Love Will Find a Way" was a bit too water-sappy for my taste.


* Well, everyone "knows" Kovu really ought to be Scar's son, but then Kiara would be falling in love with a cousin and Disney don't play that game. Similar fudges were in the first movie--see if you can figure out who Nala's father is.