The Lion King 2 -Specific Scene Discussion (contains spoilers)

[Zoofan15]

(the deleted version vs the original)

On the whole, I thought the Lion King 2 was even better than the original. It had a stronger storyline, essentially a war between two prides of lions and a Romeo and Juliet love story that ultimately united them. The singing was also slightly less rampant.

Spoiler: Discussion about deleted scene

Zira is one of my favourite villains of all time and my favourite character in the Lion King 2. I recently watched this deleted scene of her death and by far preferred it to the scene that was left in:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v5NK1u-hYo

While ‘suicide’ is no doubt something Disney would be reluctant to touch upon, I saw this scene as something more. It was the fact that Zira chose death rather than accept defeat. She was a powerful villain and while she lost the war, she won in her own way by choosing to end things on her terms. This combined with the chilling and resolute “NO.....NEVER!!!!!” gave this scene maximum impact. Her death scene in the movie (edited so she merely slipped and fell) seems weak in comparison and not nearly as fitting.

What do you guys think?

 

[Jambo]

(the deleted version vs the original)

On the whole, I thought the Lion King 2 was even better than the original. It had a stronger storyline, essentially a war between two prides of lions and a Romeo and Juliet love story that ultimately united them. The singing was also slightly less rampant.

Spoiler: Discussion about deleted scene

Zira is one of my favourite villains of all time and my favourite character in the Lion King 2. I recently watched this deleted scene of her death and by far preferred it to the scene that was left in:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v5NK1u-hYo

While ‘suicide’ is no doubt something Disney would be reluctant to touch upon, I saw this scene as something more. It was the fact that Zira chose death rather than accept defeat. She was a powerful villain and while she lost the war, she won in her own way by choosing to end things on her terms. This combined with the chilling and resolute “NO.....NEVER!!!!!” gave this scene maximum impact. Her death scene in the movie (edited so she merely slipped and fell) seems weak in comparison and not nearly as fitting.

What do you guys think?

I agree this deleted death scene is much better than the other but they probably changed it with children in mind. Children could be encouraged to commit suicide by watching this scene and by thinking how popular the first movie was, there would’ve been a lot of children watching this one. That’s my opinion but I do agree the scene is very impactful.

The Lion King is my favourite movie of all time. I enjoy watching it even today. I don’t really like the sequal’s compared to the first movie.

 

[Sarus Crane]

Since I've only read Romeo & Juliet and Julius Caesar (for school) I got lucky in not having to read Hamlet. I liked Romeo & Juliet but Julius Caesar was boring. Bias alert!!! I like the both Lion Kings but I like #2 better because Zira seems just so much more evil than Scar ever was. Some of those closeups when she's staring straight at you with those devil-red eyes are still freaky!!! Scar was mostly a wuss when it came to fighting. Zira would've gone up the whole pride if she could and the whole Kovu being an outsider, but wanting to distance himself from the bad side was a more fun storyline. I also especially liked how Disney reinforced Simba's fears by showcasing that nightmare he had. I also enjoyed the songs especially "We Are One" and "Upendi" better than the ones in the first film. I know there's always backlash in Disney sequels but I think as far as they go this was one of the few sequels along with Lady and the Tramp 2 and possibly Little Mermaid 2 that held the essence of its precursor without being too cliche.