The Lion King II: Simba's Pride is a 1998 American direct-to-video animated movie and the sequel to The Lion King. It is about Simba and Nala's cub, Kiara, who meets a cub named Kovu. Like how the first movie was based on the Shakespeare play Hamlet, this movie is similar to another Shakespeare play, Romeo and Juliet. It was later retitled The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride when it was re-released as a special edition DVD on August 31, 2004. In 1998, Disney believed that Simba's Pride would be so popular that it shipped 15 million copies to stores for the October 27 release date. Disney sold 3.5 million copies in three days.  Thirteen million copies were sold while it was still in print in the late 90s. In 2004, another sequel was released, a part prequel-part midquel (called an "in between-quel" by its teaser trailer), The Lion King 1½.

The story 
Simba and Nala have a daughter, Kiara. Timon and Pumbaa are assigned to be her babysitters, but she easily escapes their care and ventures into the forbidden lands. There she meets a lion cub named Kovu and they become friends. What she and her parents do not know is that Kovu is the son of Zira - a banished follower of the now-dead Scar. She plans to raise Kovu to overthrow Simba and become the king of the Pride Lands. This tests not only Kiara and Kovu's relationship as they mature, but Simba's relationship with his daughter.

Cast 

Singing voices

Key characters 
 Simba - Mufasa and Sarabi's son, Scar's nephew, Nala's husband, Kiara's father and the current King of The Pride Lands.
 Princess Kiara - Simba and Nala's daughter Mufasa and Sarabi's grandaugther, Kovu's wife, heir to the throne and the main character.
 Nala - Simba's wife, Kiara's mother and the current Queen of The Pride Lands.
 Zira - Kovu, Nuka and Vitani's mother, Scar's former mate, the leader of the Outsiders. She wants to avenge the death of Scar against Simba and his pride.
 Kovu - Zira's son, Nuka and Vitani's younger half brother, Scar's stepson. He was chosen by Scar to become king of the Pridelands.
 Vitani - Zira's (and Scar's) daughter and second in command, Nuka's younger sister and Kovu's older half sister. She sides with her mother. At the end, Vitani goes against Zira's wishes when she realizes that she is no different than Simba and his pride. She is only seen twice in the movie.
 Nuka - Zira (and Scar's)son, Vitani's older brother and the older half brother of Kovu who dies in an attempt to murder Simba.
 Rafiki - Mandrill who encourages Kiara and Kovu to fall in love in Upendi.
 Timon and Pumbaa - A comical duo who babysit Kiara and unsuccessfully try to teach her the philosophy of Hakuna Matata.

Soundtrack 
An audio CD entitled Return to Pride Rock: Songs Inspired by Disney's The Lion King II: Simba's Pride was released in 1999. Although not promoted as a soundtrack to the movie, it contained all the songs from the movie and some additional songs inspired by it by Lebo M. The complete track list of the CD:
 "He Lives in You" - Lebo M
 "We Are One" - Cam Clarke, Charity Sanoy, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Chorus
 "Upendi" - Robert Guillaume, Liz Callaway, Gene Miller, Ladysmith Black Mambazo
 "One of Us" - Chorus
 "My Lullaby" - Suzanne Pleshette, Crysta Macalush, Andy Dick, Chorus
 "Love Will Find a Way" - Liz Callaway, Gene Miller, Chorus
 "We Are One" - Angelique Kidjo
 "She Believes in You"* - Lebo M
 "Song for the Children"* - Lebo M
 "I Want to See the Moon"* - Lebo M featuring Sharon Dee
 "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"* - Lebo M
 "Love Will Find a Way (End Title)" - Kenny Lattimore, Heather Headley
(A * indicates songs inspired by the movie)

On August 31, 2004, Disney released an "enhanced soundtrack" to coincide with the movie's 2-Disc Special Edition DVD. However the CD contained everything from the Return to Pride Rock CD except the "inspired songs".

References

Other websites 
 
 
 
 

1998 movies
1998 animated movies
American family movies
Disney animated movies
English-language movies
Movies about lions
Movies based on Romeo and Juliet
Sequel movies
The Lion King
Disney direct-to-video movies