Review of The Lion King 1½ (2004) by Cj S — 10 Jul 2010

While it never stood a chance to match the original in quality, "The Lion King 1 1/2" stands out as DisneyToon's most legit expansions of Disney's main feature films. Obviously serving as the "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" to the first movie's Hamlet-inspired tale, the direct-to-video sequel comes up with plenty of clever ways sidekicks Timon and Pumbaa managed to influence the events of the first film throughout their own adventure.

The film is far sillier and lighthearted than even the mediocre "The Lion King II," being somewhat reminiscent of the hilarious "The Emperor's New Groove," but this actually works to its benefit, poking reverent fun at the first film's more iconic moments, including a really cheesy rendition of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight." "1 1/2" even features vastly improved animation over its immediate predecessor, even nearly matching the first -- which is pretty essential, since several scenes are justifiably reused here.

Though John Lasseter's decision to shut down production on direct-to-video sequels to Disney's classics was a very wise decision, at least open-minded fans of the first film can point toward "The Lion King 1 1/2" as being, at the very least, a very worthy exception. Wouldn't mind receiving this in some kind of combo Blu-Ray pack whenever the first manages to get let out of that freaking vault!