My Movie Review on The Lion King 1½ · 2:45pm Jan 14th, 2020
Yo, what's up, peoples?
This is your friendly film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.
And today, for my 101st film analysis, I'm gonna give you guys my take of "The Lion King 1½".
Here's the summary of it:
Having grown tired of being unable to fit in his colony and always messing things up, Timon decides to embark on a journey for something better than digging and hiding underground, which is a new home and place in life. On his journey, Timon meets and befriends Pumbaa, and they traverse throughout Africa until they eventually meet and befriend Simba.
What whacky sort of adventures with the dynamic duo are in store for us?
Well, let's find out.
Now I'll be honest about this:
The only problem that I found with this movie was that it contained some large contradictions to that of its highly awesome predecessor, which I felt could make the film's canonicity questionable.
Two examples in the film are these:
1. In the first movie, Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed were shown to have overheard Scar blame them as the real enemy, before attacking him after he's overthrown and getting engulfed by the flames. In this movie, though, they're shown to be among the hyenas that cornered Timon and Pumbaa as part of the pair's trap before eventually falling in the tunnel and never being seen again.
2. The first film showed Timon and Pumbaa hiding in the bushes after Simba politely tells them to leave him and Nala to talk alone before "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" starts. In this film, though, they're shown to be hiding in the bushes as Simba and Nala express how jubilantly happy they are to see each other before Timon declares that he and Pumbaa need to put a stop to Simba and Nala's developing romance.
Other than that, though, this movie has a negative reputation amongst audiences that I can't understand! It's actually a fun installment of the Lion King franchise.
The direction by Bradley Raymond, the screenplay by Tom Rogers, and the additional material by Roger Allers, Irene Meechi, Evan Spiliotopoulos, and Bill Steinkellner, were extremely well-worked.
Despite having contradictions, the film tied itself together and carried a lot of meaning and purpose. It was fun seeing Timon and Pumbaa having more backstory, especially considering that they weren't the most recurring characters of the first film. The fleshing of what Simba's life with Timon and Pumbaa was like was particularly enjoyable. Along with that, the film carried hilarious comedy, great moral, and tons of heart. The elements of Timon and Pumbaa watching their movie in a theater was gut-bustlingly original for a Disney film, might I add.
The animation of this movie was likewise impressive.
For a direct-to-video film, Raymond certainly knew how to elevate the animation to a look and feel of theatricality. The colors of the film were beautifully vibrant, and the animation used with the elements of earth, such as the grass, dirt, and water, were awesome!
The music by Don L. Harper was another element I enjoyed.
He isn't Hans Zimmer, but...Harper created music that perfectly matched Zimmer's work in the first film, all the while bringing in a spark of his own. The new songs created for the film, "Diggah Tunnah" and "That's All I Need" were creative and melodious to listen to, and the use of songs like "Jungle Boogie" were entertaining too.
Finally, the voice acting, casting, characters, and character development were nicely done.
Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella gave perhaps the best and funniest performances as Timon and Pumbaa yet, and their characters had excellent development throughout the movie. The additions of Timon's mother and Uncle Max were wonderful as well, and Julie Kavner and Jerry Stiller were perfect for the parts.
In conclusion, "The Lion King 1½” may be flawed, but it's an incredible film nonetheless. If the goal was to create something to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Lion King franchise, Disney did a great job at doing just that.
So, I rate "The Lion King 1½" 4½ out of 5 stars.
Maybe you can blame inconsistencies to flawed memory on Timon and Pumbaa's part.
...
"What will the children look like?"
I've never particularly cared for this movie. Not to ruffle anyone's feathers, but Timon and Pumbaa were never really my favorite characters in TLK. I don't hate 'em, but I don't love 'em, either. I much preferred TLK2 over this one.
5186188
I'm pretty sure that could qualify as the first modern crack-ship.
This was hit-or-miss for me. Some parts were good, but the rest of it felt like a cash-in.
5186195
Disney was well ahead of their time...
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I like Timon and Pumbaa but I agree.
I agree this was a great Lion King movie. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if Timon and Pumbaa told their backstory POV to Kiara, Kovu and the Lion Guard some time ago.
I have yet to see it, so I will reserve judgement until I do.