The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride

It is the sequel to Disney’s 1994 animated feature film, The Lion King, with its plot influenced by William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and the second installment in The Lion King trilogy. According to director Darrell Rooney, the final draft gradually became a variation of Romeo and Juliet.

Produced by Walt Disney Video Premiere and animated by Walt Disney Animation Australia, the film centers on Simba and Nala’s daughter Kiara, who falls in love with Kovu, a lion from a banished pride once loyal to Scar.

Separated by Simba’s prejudice against the pride and a vindictive plot planned by Kovu’s mother Zira, Kiara and Kovu struggle to unite their estranged prides and be together.

Most of the original cast returned to their roles from the first film with a few exceptions. Rowan Atkinson, who voiced Zazu in the first film, was replaced by Edward Hibbert for both this film and The Lion King 1½ (2004).

Jeremy Irons, who voiced Scar in the first film, was replaced by Jim Cummings, who briefly provided his singing voice in the first film. Simba’s Pride received mixed reviews from critics.

After Kiara has grown into a young cub, she becomes frustrated with her father’s parenting, so Simba has his childhood friends Timon and Pumbaa accompany her out of concern for her safety.

Over Simba’s protestations, Kiara wanders off alone into the barren Outlands — home to an enemy pride of Scar’s exiled followers called the Outsiders — and encounters another cub, Kovu.

After narrowly escaping a crocodile-infested river, they become friendly with each other. When Simba comes across Kovu and Kiara playing, he misinterprets it as fighting and confronts Kovu just as he is confronted by Zira, Kovu’s mother and the Outsiders’ leader.

Simba later explains to her the responsibilities of queenship and that everyone is a part of each other. Zira, who is secretly training Kovu as an assassin, realizes she can use her son’s friendship with Kiara to kill Simba and usurp the throne.

Meanwhile, the spirit of Simba’s deceased father, Mufasa, plans to bring Kiara and Kovu together to reunite the Pridelanders and the Outsiders.

Years later, an adult Kovu rescues Kiara after his older siblings Nuka and Vitani start a wildfire during her first solo hunt. Alerted to Kiara’s location, Simba accepts Kovu’s offer to join the Pridelanders, though he remains suspicious of his motives.

Later, while training Kiara in hunting, Kovu begins second-guessing his mission to kill Simba and tells Kiara he is not Scar’s actual son. Simba’s friend and advisor, Rafiki, leads the lions to the jungle and helps them fall in love by introducing them to “upendi” (a form of upendo, which means “love” in Swahili).

At Nala’s persuasion, Simba has Kovu spend the night inside Pride Rock with the rest of the Pridelanders. Vitani, however, secretly sends word back to Zira about Kovu’s failure to kill Simba.

The next morning, Simba shows Kovu the Pride Lands and tells him the truth about Scar. The Outsiders launch an ambush on Simba, who Zira tricks into thinking Kovu has planned this event.

In the ensuing battle, Nuka is killed and Simba escapes. Kovu subsequently turns on Zira and pleads Simba for forgiveness, but is instead exiled. Kiara makes Simba realize he is acting irrationally and personally searches for Kovu. Upon reuniting, Kiara and Kovu realize they must resolve the conflict between the Pridelanders and Outsiders, so they return to the Pride Lands.

As a battle breaks out between the prides, Kiara and Kovu successfully convince them to stop fighting. Zira, however, tries attacking Simba out of resentment, but is thrown off a nearby cliff to her death.

Following the battle, Simba welcomes the rest of the Outsiders, including Kovu, back into the Pride Lands, thus finally reuniting them with the Pridelanders. During a later celebration on Pride Rock, Simba witnesses Mufasa’s spirit congratulating him.