The Lion King 1 1/2 (DVD)

...and hated this film at the same time! I loved it because I am so fond of Timon and Pumba, but I hated it because it took away some of the charm one gets while watching the first Lion King. It was not at all pleasant for me to watch certain nice scenes in the first movie being reduced to pure coincidence or happening because of what I like to call the Timon-and-Pumba-Touch. However, I will still rate this film as four stars because if you do not take ...
...certain nice scenes in the Lion King 1, this is actually quite a nice film. The songs are nice and it provides an extremely humoristic and delightful break from the Circle of Life and Pride Rock. This film also incorporates the addition of new lovable characters, which I am sure will please any Disney Lover across the world.



The story is narrated from Timon and Pumba's perspective. The two of them are settled quite ... more

I loved and hated this film at the same time! I loved it because I am so fond of Timon and Pumba, but I hated it because it took away some of the charm one gets while watching the first Lion King. It was not at all pleasant for me to watch certain nice scenes in the first movie being reduced to pure coincidence or happening because of what I like to call the Timon-and-Pumba-Touch. However, I will still rate this film as four stars because if you do not take into consideration the way that it spoils, or even degrades certain nice scenes in the Lion King 1, this is actually quite a nice film. The songs are nice and it provides an extremely humoristic and delightful break from the Circle of Life and Pride Rock. This film also incorporates the addition of new lovable characters, which I am sure will please any Disney Lover across the world.

The story is narrated from Timon and Pumba's perspective. The two of them are settled quite comfortably in a movie theatre and are watching the first Lion King- with some twists. They have decided to introduce the audience to what actually happened out of camera focus during Simba's adventure: Where Timon comes from, how he met Pumba, and includes some other interesting details that weren't described in the first movie- like what happened during the time that they took care of Simba.

The story does not have a single drop of suspense for those who already watched the first film (since the ending is already known!), but I would rather say that this is a re-telling of the Lion King with a twist. As mentioned above, what I particularly liked was the introduction of new characters, such as Timon's Mum and his Uncle Max. The two of them appear at the very beginning of the film where Timon's original homeland and family life is shown and these two above mentioned characters are quite simply, an endearing addition to Disney Characters. I really loved the scenes between Timon and his mum. I think that these scenes contributed to the whole family touch that Disney producers incorporated in the Lion King series.

While in the first movie the central thematic feature is family with a touch of friendship, this one is quite the opposite: Friendship is quite easily the main feature of the film, with just a splash of family bonding as the subplot. I would say that this is my kind of movie because there is a lot of escapism for the audience. The few scenes that happen to be touching or slightly more intense than the rest are quite quickly followed by some bend-over-laughing slapstick humor by Timon and Pumba. They are so comical in all their actions that they quite simply take away some of the intensity of the first movie. This might be a positive element for some, or a negative one for those who, like me, felt that it spoilt the charm of the Lion King 1.

The dialogue in this film is also less intense than in the first one. I would rather describe the dialogue as being light and preppy- and includes lots and lots of one-liners, especially from Timon. Actually, it is through the one-liners than the audience gets to dive deeper into the personalities of Pumba and Timon. I also loved the way that the producers depicted the chemistry between the two of them as friends. In fact, the impression that I got after watching this film was that Timon and Pumba were meant to become best friends and that fate lead to certain circumstances into contributing towards strengthening their friendship as a whole.

DVD Extras include:

• Deleted Scenes
• Games
• The Making of
• Featurette

I was not particularly fond of the extras because I felt that it was more suited for children than adults. The game part was fun, but I have to admit that my little niece had more fun with that section than me!

Overall, I have to recommend those who want to watch this film to watch the first Lion King before. Otherwise, the whole charm and message of the first movie will be completely lost. The Lion king 1 1/2 is more like the Scary Movie series- taking a movie and incorporating it into a new plot to poke fun at certain instances in the first film. But it is truly a refreshing and nice storylines with great laughs and one-liners. Highly recommended to those who already watched the first Lion King!

Thanks for reading!

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