The Lion King 1

The Lion King was a great movie. The Lion King 1 is a not so good. The Lion King 1 retells The Lion King story from the point of view of Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog. The problem is that their story is not very interesting or worth telling - except to squeeze more money out of The Lion King franchise.

Timon the meerkat is a bumbling misfit who one day decides he's better off living on his own. While alone in the wild, he runs into Pumbaa the warthog. They have a few misadventures together before eventually running into Simba - about half way through the movie. And the movie never really picks up until they run into Simba. In the meantime you have to sit through 45 minutes to an hour of story - Timon and Pumbaa -- that's not very interesting.

Kids will still probably like this but if you are an adult who enjoyed - and still enjoys - The Lion King, this can get a bit tedious as you wait for Simba to show up and get things going.


Typical Hollywood Formula Junk begging for your dollar   February 11, 2004
18 out of 62 found this review helpful

When are people going to open their eyes and see that all Hollywood is throwing at you is unoriginal, rehashed, remakes, and tired old concepts? Don't you want or demand something new? Is it just easier for people to just numb themselves to it for the kids? Hollywood is using your kids against you to steal your money. This is the PERFECT example.

Lion King 1 1/2 is yet another telling of the classic Lion King. Who cares? We have the original. Finding Nemo is the same story as Monsters Inc and Ice Age. Little kid lost, gotta get home.

Yet time and again parents feed on this stuff. WAKE UP! When your kid asks for this movie just say NO. Let them know that you already have the Lion King. Yes, it IS that easy. That's what I told my kids when they wanted Little Mermaid 2 or all the other 2's from Disney. Guess what? They saw those movies at their friends house, because their parents couldn't say no, and they hated them! My kids came back to me and told me how bad those sequels are and they were GLAD I didn't buy it. If YOU try this too, it will work. But don't rub it in their face, just teach them the difference between original stories and Studios begging for a buck.

If you stop buying this junk, then you wont encourage the suits in Hollywood who are driving nice cars and living in huge homes all because of YOUR hard earned money. Clearly the message you send to Disney, when you buy into this, is "we don't need original ideas Mr. Eisner because we can't tell our kids no."


A suprising delight in the Lion King saga!   January 1, 2005
John Lindsey (Socorro, New Mexico USA.)
15 out of 18 found this review helpful


The untold story of everyone's favorite Meerkat "Timon" ( voiced by Nathan Lane) during the events of Simba's birth on how Timon with Pumbaa ( Ernie Sabella) and Simba met, how Timon was a outcast and getting to know Timon's mom ( Julie Kavner who played Marge Simpson) and Uncle Max ( Jerry Stiller).

A suprisingly good and hilarious prequel/sequel mix to " Lion King" and " Simba's Pride" that is a rare treat in the world of direct-to-video Disney animated sequels with a creative and original storyline with ideas. There is a MST3K-style opening with Timon and Pumbaa watching the original movie's beginning then tells us the story behind the original Lion King, the original cast is back such as Matthew Broderick, Robert Guiume, Whoopie Goldberg, and Cheech Marin return to reprise their roles with great theatrical quality animation.

The 2-Disc DVD is quite good on the flawless picture & Sound quality, the extras are quite good like the deleted scenes, fun games, Grazing in the Grass music video by Raven, Timon and Puma's virtual Safari 1/2, featurette on how the film was made and a Mockumentary on Timon done by Biography's Peter Graves.

If you want a hilarious and creative animated film that proves that not all direct-to-video animated stink these days, then i highly recommend this movie even to understand some of the original Lion King's plot holes.


One and a half is right (stars that is)   February 11, 2004
Thomas E. Graham Jr. (mechanicsburg, PA USA)
14 out of 32 found this review helpful

Disney, the word itself brings images of magic, great storytelling and fun and entertaining. This movie is none of these.I noticed right from the start that I was annoyed watching this film. The constatnt interuption of Timones "remote",which I assume was supposed to be clever, turns out to be annoying. What was Disney Thinking??? Unoriginal in every way. It actually ruins my ability to even want to watch the original "Lion King"! As endearing as Timone and Pumba are, they can't pull a whole feature on their own. Sorry Disney.I'm even sorrier I forked over twenty hard earned dollars for this "film".
This film is only a rehash of the first one, who realy cares about these two guys. I know I didn't come away feeling very entertained. This is Disney recycled. Save your money folks.
I wish I did. :(


4 Stars on the Strength of the Trailer   January 14, 2004
Mark Clegg (Great Britain)
13 out of 36 found this review helpful

Clever teaser trailer promises a smart and funny movie. The animation in the recent expanded trailer seems to try it's best to match the original, at least as much as it's limited budget probably allows.
I also love the ingenious title. Unfortunatly changed in my native Britain to 'The Lion King 3 - Hakuna Matata' - ain't that a hoof in the head! Anything with Nathan Lane involved has gotta have some merit though.