How do you feel about this movie?

[Alexterri1]

I think this speaks for itself
How do you feel about this movie over all? Do you think its good, great, bad, etc?

Personally, I voted for Hate, because I really do hate it. Its a disgrace to the franchise as far as I'm concerned

[SimbasGuard]

I voted I like it. Yes in order to actually appreciate it you have to recognize that it is a comedic take on The Lion King. I loved seeing teen Simba. Also thanks to The Lion Guard I know that this is not The Last Lion King Movie. It is just a Lion King movie...That is about Timon and Pumbaa

[Rollo]

I voted for dislike. If I was about three or four years younger, I would've voted for 'hate', because I was able to throw that word around so easily back then. And also because as a kid, I really did hate it. It completely ruined the magic of the first movie for me and for years I avoided this film like the plague, and denied it as being canon.

Fast forward to now--I still deny it as being canon, and I haven't watched it in about two years, but I can see the positives of the movie. They have nothing to do with the writing or the story itself. I think the animation is spectacular with some really gorgeous backgrounds. The score is by a man named Don Harper who is virtually unknown and it really is a wonderful piece of work, one I listen to very frequently. Lebo M provides some of his best work in this film in Timon's Travelling Theme. The voice acting is very good too, especially Timon, although it's hard to find a negative with Nathan Lane. There are several aspects of this movie that make it a far better sequel than Simba's Pride which is why I can't outright say I hate it, but these aspects have nothing to do with anything that I consider important to building a solid, worthwhile franchise--at least Simba's Pride added to the timeline and didn't crap all over the original movie. (Not too much, anyway.)

The reason this movie is so bad imo is because it's a waste of time, and ultimately a missed opportunity. It's telling the story of two characters who are not that interesting and who were as vital to the plot as the hyenas and Zazu--but you don't see a movie about those guys. It adds nothing positive to the canon. It ruins the majesty of the Circle of Life scene and several others, and one thing that always bothered me is how the movie contradicts itself several times. How are we supposed to take it seriously when it gets so many things wrong with the original storyline, like the Can't Wait To Be King scene and the ending with the hyenas? I suppose that could be a sign to not take it as canon and to see it just as a comedy, but if it isn't, then it's just an example of very poor writing.

Timon and Pumbaa already had their own TV show. That was more than enough time to spend on them. There was absolutely no need nor any desire from the majority of the fandom to have a movie dedicated to these two. It's a blatant cash cow and really only caters to the fans of the original who never really cared about TLK that much, so it doesn't mean much to them to see the original movie made fun of to such an extent, or the magic of it being cast aside for fart humour.

A fun way to pass a couple of hours, but it's a meaningless movie over all and certainly not one I'd recommend.

[Squeely]

I voted dislike. It has enough positives - great animation, great voice acting, some really funny jokes, two good songs ("Digga Tunnah" and "Timon's Traveling Theme"), cub and teen Simba growing up with T&P scenes - that I can't bring myself to outright hate it.

Still though, I dislike this film. T&P entering various scenes of TLK just isn't that funny and feels weird in a bad way to me, not to mention sucking the magic and weight out of some of them. I don't like that it does the MST3K thing, because the theater scenes really detract from the experience in my opinion. Oh, and my pet peeve about obvious and cliche songs being used for things? Alive and well here. At least in TLK, T&P singing the obvious and cliche song had some charm to it.

But the worst thing for me is, this film feels mostly pointless. I do like that it gave Timon some good characterization and explored his past, it's just such a shame that the last 2/3rds or so was just revisiting the events of TLK. We didn't need to do that.

Heck, did any fans really think T&P needed their own movie? Especially after they got their own show? Even still, I think a T&P movie could have been done a whole lot better if the approach towards it had been taken more seriously. I think it should have shown a whole lot more of Timon's past, and shown Pumbaa's past too, including their childhoods, show why both got banished, and either end with the two meeting, or end on the "one more run won't change our lives" joke. There would be room for fun characters and jokes along the way, and would have culminated in a charming little tale that didn't feel nearly as soulless.

[Rollo]

[quote="Squeely"]Heck, did any fans really think T&P needed their own movie? Especially after they got their own show? Even still, I think a T&P movie could have been done a whole lot better if the approach towards it had been taken more seriously. I think it should have shown a whole lot more of Timon's past, and shown Pumbaa's past too, including their childhoods, show why both got banished, and either end with the two meeting, or end on the "one more run won't change our lives" joke. There would be room for fun characters and jokes along the way, and would have culminated in a charming little tale that didn't feel nearly as soulless.[/quote]

This is actually an awesome idea, Squeely. I refuse to believe that none of the story writers could come up with an idea that wasn't focused on the 'midquel' plotline. Surely someone must've come up with something that DIDN'T have T&P revisiting the events of the first movie. But personally, I think T&P lack the charm to stand on their own--they work best as side characters to a far more developed and appealing character (Simba), and only that. The show was not that great. I think they felt they had to re-use the Lion King's original story to get a more fandom-wide appeal.

[Simba_Lion]

I voted for love. I'm glad that we can get to know Timon and Pumbaa better and their story, but still, in some scenes I consider the first movie as canon (for example the scene of 'Can you feel the love tonight?')

[stanna]

Being a fan of the first Lion King, I was definitely looking forward to this movie, but I knew there was really no way it could be as good as the original. I know that many Disney fans are wary of the direct-to-video movies, as I have mixed feelings of them as well.

While watching The Lion King 1½, I tried to figure out what my own viewpoint was regarding this movie. Am I going to be so devout about The Lion King that I will nitpick at certain scenes, or am I just going to accept this movie as just another look at The Lion King story? Most of the time, I found myself embracing the latter.

The Lion King 1½ definitely has its cute and funny moments. Timon and Pumbaa stole the show in the first movie and definitely deserved a movie that centered around them. People just love these characters! My favorite parts of the movie include the montage of Timon & Pumbaa taking care of young Simba and the surprise ending featuring some great cameos.

I could have done without many of the bathroom jokes though, like the real reason everyone bowed to baby Simba at the beginning of Lion King 1. I guess those types of jokes are for the younger set (which after all is the target audience. I don't think many kids are really concerned about Disney's profit margin on direct-to-video movies.)

However, I will say that I was somewhat annoyed when they directly tied in scenes from the original movie to this movie. I'm just too familiar with the original that those scenes just stuck out like sore thumbs to me. Something would be different with the music or the voices that it would just distract me.

As for the music, it wasn't too bad, but don't expect any classics to come from this movie. At least LK2 had the nice ballad, "Love Will Find a Way." As for the voicework, it was well done in this movie. Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella did a great job as always, and even new cast members, the classic comedic actor Jerry Stiller and Julie Kavner (best known as Marge Simpson), did a great job also. You can even enjoy these great voice talents even more by checking out the Virtual Safari on Disc 2 of the DVD. That feature is definitely a lot of fun!!

So all in all, The Lion King 1½ isn't a perfect movie, but it's cute and entertaining. I think many Lion King fans will enjoy it and appreciate it for what it is - a fun, lighthearted look at the Lion King masterpiece from our funny friends' perspectives.

[Chavratheserval]

I don't really like it. But it's for comedic effect. But SO much of it...not a good thing. So really meh? Don't hate it but don't like it. But you gotta admit, I love the parts with Simba's life in it now those were good. There were other good parts, but very few in my opinion.

[thechangingmyname]

I didn't care for it. I vaguely remember watching it as a little kid because of the scene where he snuggles with Timon and Pumba at night. That's all I remembered. I recently tried to watch it and didn't get past the first 19 minutes. I dont mind comedy, but to me, it was just boring and not that funny. I think I'd have liked it without all the focus on Timon and the majority of the focus on Simba instead.

[Vorkey]

I know it was just for laughs, but it annoys me when they go back and try and add stuff to a movie that was already perfect. And I was looking forward to a real Lion King 3 movie coming out one day, so I wasn't impressed when they put all their effort into making this turd instead.