In this sequel to "The Lion King", the emphasis is on Simba's daughter and her relationship with the son of Scar. Naturally, Simba hates this and Scar's widow wants to use this relationship to have her son kill Simba. But both Kiara and Kovu just want to be left alone to carry on their romance. In other words, it's about two feuding families and their offspring who fall in love...."Romeo and Juliet". And, just like in "The Lion King", Simba is, at times, a bit of a jerk.

So is this any good? Well, yes and kinda yes. The animation is nice for a direct to video release (though it was released in theaters in some places outside the USA) but not as good as the original. The music, however, is about on par with the original...probably the best thing about the film. Overall, a nice film but a film that clearly is okay...not great...just okay. Enjoyable and familiar.

The first film from Disney was such a big box office success, so a sequel was almost inevitable, but it could only come as a straight-to-video release, it was pretty obvious that the quality was going to be much lower. Basically, in the Pride Lands of Africa, King Simba (Matthew Broderick) and Queen Nala (Moira Kelly),with Rafiki the mandrill (Robert Guillaume),are presenting their new-born daughter, Kiara, to the animals of the kingdom. Simba's father Mufasa (James Earl Jones) proudly watches over the ceremony from the Heavens above. Young Kiara (Michelle Horn) is annoyed with her father's overprotective parenting and sending Timon the meerkat (Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa the warthog (Ernie Sabella) to follow and watch over her. One day, Kiara enters the forbidden "Outlands", there she meets young cub Kovu (Ryan O'Donohue),they escape crocodiles and become friends, despite Kovu retaliating to Kiara's playing. Simba arrives to confront the young cub, then the leader of the Outsider arrives, Kovu's mother Zira (Suzanne Pleshette),the widow of Scar. Zira reminds Simba of how he exiled her and the other Outsiders, he warns them to stay away as they are banished. Simba lectures Kiara about the danger posed by the Outsiders, he then tells her that they are a part of each other. In the Outlands, Zira reminds Kovu that Simba killed Scar, Kovu thinks it is not so bad to have Kiara as a friend, Zira realises she can use Kovu's friendship with Kiara to seek revenge on Simba. Several years later, Kiara (Neve Campbell) is now an adult and begins her first hunt. Once again, Simba asks Timon and Pumbaa to follow her, causing her to storm off. As part of Zira's plan, Kovu's siblings Nuka (Andy Dick) and Vitani (Jennifer Lien) trap Kiara in a fire, allowing Kovu (Jason Marsden) to rescue her. After rescuing Kiara, Simba is forced to accept Kovu into the pride. During the night, Simba has a nightmare of Scar killing his father, Scar morphs into Kovu and sends Simba to his death. Kovu contemplates attacking Simba as he was instructed to, but he teaches Kiara how to hunt instead and realises he has feelings for her. Later, Kiara and Kovu talk about the Great Kings of the Past in the stars, and Kovu wonders if there is a darkness in him like there was in Scar. Simba watches the two from afar and Nala convinces him to give Kovu a chance. Kovu attempts to reveal his mission to Kiara, but Rafiki interrupts, and helps them to embrace the feelings they have for each other. The two lions fall in love. That night, Simba allows Kovu to sleep inside Pride Rock with the rest of the pride. Vitani tells Zira about Kovu's failure to kill Simba, but Zira sets a trap for them. The next day, Kovu tries again to tell the truth to Kiara, but Simba takes him around the Pride Lands and tells him Scar's story. The Outsiders attack Simba, Novu retaliates, resulting in Nuka's death and Simba's escape. Enraged, Zira scratches Kovu for his brother's death, causing him to turn on her. Kovu returns to Pride Rock to plead Simba for his forgiveness but is exiled. Kiara makes Simba realise that he is being irrational and flees to find Kovu. The two lions eventually find each other and profess their love. Kiara and Kovu decide to return to the Pride Lands and convince the two prides to stop fighting and to unite. Most of the Outsiders stand down, but Zira refuses, she tries to kill Simba, but Kiara intervenes and Zira falls in the river to her death. Simba accepts the Outsiders back into the Pride Lands and appoints Kovu and Kiara as his successors. Also starring Lacey Chabert as Young Vitani, Edward Hibbert as Zazu, and Jim Cummings as Scar. The voice cast are reasonable, the animation is fine, the story inspired Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is predictable, and only a couple of the songs ("Upendi, and "Love Will Find a Way") are alright, it may have sold a lot of copies, but it is often annoying, and definitely doesn't equal the splendour of the original, a slightly pointless animated musical drama. Adequate!

Of course, it isn't as good as the stunning original, but it's definitely better than the Little Mermaid, Jungle Book and Cinderella sequels which ranged from disappointing to lame. It's also in my opinion in the top 3 of the better DTV sequels, which are The King of Thieves(Aladdin)and Enchanted Christmas(Beauty and the Beast).

What makes it good is the welcome return of Timon and Pumbaa, who brought great comic relief, although they weren't as funny. The songs, while not as outstanding as the original, were actually not that bad at all. He lives in You is wonderfully uplifting. Zira was also very convincing, much better than Morgana. I don't think though that she was as convincing a villain as Scar, who to me is on of the best Disney villains along with Jafar, Ursula, Frollo, Maleficent, The Wicked Queen and Ratigan oddly enough. The animation actually wasn't that bad either, though sometimes fell flat in the darker scenes, but it was colourful, crisp and lively on the whole.

The negatives are very few actually. In the Little Mermaid sequel, I put more cons than pros, but not here. Kiara and Kuvu are a little unconvincing, likewise with Simba, they just lacked depth. And the story isn't quite as gripping and is sometimes a little on the predictable side. But of course, the sequel is hardly ever better than the original, with the exception of perhaps Toy Story.

In conclusion, a flawed but enjoyable sequel to a cinematic masterpiece, though the original isn't as good as Beauty and the Beast. 7/10 Bethany Cox