Toon Talk: Lion King II: Simba's Pride (Special Edition)
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To the sequel’s credit, most of the original cast returned, including Matthew Broderick (Simba), Moira Kelly (Nala), Robert Guillaume (Rafiki), and Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella, whose Timon and Pumbaa shtick is a little strained this go round. (Even James Earl Jones’ late Mufasa makes a few heavenly appearances. Original Zazu, Rowan Atkinson, sat this one out; here the hornbill, barely noticeable in a diminished role, is voiced by Frasier’s Edward Hibbert.) The new additions range from the luscious verve of Suzanne Pleshette as Zira (surely relishing her diva villainess role to the utmost) and the finely modulated Jason Marsden as the older Kovu, to the annoying screech of professional idiot Andy Dick as Zira’s older, termite-ridden son Nuka and Neve Campbell’s utterly blah rendition of the older Kiara (why anyone would cast this actress for her voice is beyond me). (Some points of interest on the new cast members: Ironically, Pleshette and Marsden would go on to voice similar roles with a similar relationship in the English redub of Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away; Campbell’s Party of Five little sister Lacey Chabert voices the role of Kovu’s little sister, Vitani … hmmm, with names like Zira, Nuka and Vitani, all the Outlanders sound like refugees from a Planet of the Apes movie.)
The disparity in the performances between the two new main characters brings up the film’s vital flaw: coming off like a self-centered, well, princess, Kiara’s personality makes it hard to feel affection for her, while Kovu’s is more fully developed. Like the best of Disney heroes from Pinocchio and Dumbo to the Beast and Quasimodo, he is an outsider struggling to fit in with the norm. Even a last ditch effort to have Kiara show some heroics (she tries in vain to save Zira in the climax, but alas, Zira meets the fate of the best of Disney villains: a high fall to her death) doesn’t help matters much, eventually leading to a rather dispirited ‘happy ending’.
(c) Disney
The two sole bonus features on disc one are tied to the film directly, leaving all the stand-alone features for disc two. In addition to the now standard Disney Song Selection (on screen lyrics for all the songs), there is the Lion King Matter of Facts feature. Turn it on, and relevant nature tidbits pop up on-screen throughout the film. Educational, I suppose, but with weak attempts at wit and the jolting jungle sound effects that announce their appearance makes this attempt (yet another try at a ‘kid-friendly’ audio commentary-type feature) annoying at best and intrusive at worst.
Disc two leads off with the “Love Will Find a Way�? Music Video, notable for its star (Heather Headley, who originated the role of Nala on Broadway and went on to win a Tony Award for Disney’s Aida) and location: the Tree of Life at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. In the “Backstage Disney�? section, you’ll find five of the Timon and Pumbaa Find Out Why shorts; produced for the National Science Foundation in 2000 and seen in between cartoons on ABC Saturday mornings, these brief bits taught youngsters such scientific facts as why we sneeze or how airplanes fly. Interesting, I suppose, for Lion King completests, but hardly required. Why not T & P’s “Stand By Me�? music video instead? T & P return to narrate the mini nature doc Lots About Lions, and there’s the short ‘making of’ documentary titled Proud of Simba’s Pride, which proves just how much a moron Neve Campbell really is. Aside from an interesting view from director Darrell Rooney on how the film shows the “other side of Pride Rock�?, it mostly dissolves into a love fest by the end.
T & P, who have a surprising presence in all the bonus features in this set considering their lackluster work in the main feature, return yet again with Timon and Pumbaa’s Virtual Safari 2.0, the third and final of these supposedly innovative interactive features. Not quite as cheeky as the first two, there a still a couple of laughs to be found, including a sly reference to, of all things, Oklahoma!, and a surprise jet-set cameo. T & P now board a crudely CGI-ed elephant named Gertie (a possible reference to Windsor McCay's famous dinosaur) for this adventure. Rounding out the “Games and Activities�? section are two more games: Pride Land Games, a disposable series of math, shape and matching quizzes hosted by (surprise!) Timon and Pumbaa. A bit more interesting is Rafiki’s Challenge, a virtual variation of the shell game that is actually challenging as it gets faster. Alas, neither of these games have any pay off - they just stop.
And finally, from the ridiculous to the sublime:
The original short One by One has quite a history. Originally heard on the Rhythm of the Pride Lands album and featured in The Lion King on Broadway (like “He Lives In You�?), this song, written by Lebo M (the famous chanter of “Circle of Life�? fame) was developed into a short for the now defunct third Fantasia feature, and that lineage sure shows. As directed by Pixote Hunt (who directed the Beethoven section of Fantasia 2000), this awe-filled celebration of color and transcendence is a joy to behold.
To say any more may tarnish the simple enjoyment of this mini-masterpiece, but its safe to say two things more: this short will hopefully be eligible for the Animated Short Subject Academy Award, and its presence herein definitely makes it worth the price of the DVD.
Toon Talk Rating: B