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The Lion King 1 ½ Movie Review

The Lion King 1 ½ is a 2004 animated direct-to-video movie that is the second sequel to ‘The Lion King’. It’s one of the best Disneytoon sequels for sure.

The movie is very interestingly conceptualized, quite unlike any other Disneytoon or even Disney movie for that matter. The structure is wildly original and perfect for a sequel such as this one. Basically, the movie follows Timon and Pumbaa before, during and after the events of the original film, but told from their point of view, making the flick a spin-off, a prequel, a midquel and a sequel.

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Let’s touch upon all of these. As a sequel, it’s rushed as the ending is the least memorable part of the movie. As a prequel, it’s quite solid as we get to know the backstories of both these guys and how they met. It’s at its best as a midquel having in mind that the scenes where the two escape the stampede, the animals singing and so on are so much fun, though too convenient of course. Thus, we got the references to the original film’s most iconic scenes, but done tastefully and differently than usual, which I really admired.

The Lion King 1 ½ clearly needed more characters in its roster. The others besides the two are so forgettable and underutilized with maybe the exception of Rafiki himself who is very endearing and funny. Speaking of the two, Pumbaa is less developed, but very entertaining. Timon is superbly developed, very complex and wonderfully utilized throughout. The voice acting is excellent once again as they got the same actors thankfully.

What makes this movie also very strong is its above average animation and technical aspects. The visuals are not superb, but they are perfectly solid, especially for direct-to-video standards with character designs and some imagery being very good. The score is also much better than expected, especially the soundtrack. The two new songs are pretty good actually. That’s All I Need is subdued, but fun whereas Digga Tunnah Dance is infectiously catchy and energetic in the suitably African upbeat tempo.

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The Lion King 1 ½ is such a good Disneytoon sequel. It has its issues as some scenes are more uneven, but most are very good and highly entertaining. The humor is solid, the characterization is good, and this spin-off mostly succeeds in its offbeat structure as it’s a sequel, prequel and midquel all at once.

My Rating – 4