Lion King II

[osprey_archer]

Because The Lion King II was made by Disney’s second-string animators, who were mostly relegated to producing subpar sequel films (it’s surprising that Disney took so long to grasp how much easy money it could make if it made sequels that were actually good, but there you have it), it’s not technically on our list of Disney animated films. But Julie felt that I absolutely HAD to meet Kovu, Scar’s definitely-not-a-son, which the movie takes great care to establish because if Kovu was Scar’s son then he would be Simba’s daughter Kiara’s first cousin once removed, and do you want to get cousincest all up in this Disney film? DO YOU?

It’s a star-crossed lovers story that hits pretty much every beat you would expect from a star-crossed lovers sequel to The Lion King, but in a way where you’re like, “You know why star-crossed lovers stories always seem to contain that beat? It’s because that beat is so satisfying when it’s well done, and by god did they do it well here, even if it is predictable.”

Kovu apparently had something of a fandom back in the day, and I can see why Who doesn’t love a tortured bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks? Especially when he’s not actually bad, just a little growly and rough around the edges, but really he’s so innately good that he turns away from badness almost as soon as he is among the nice lions of Simba’s pride.

Kovu was raised in such deprivation that when he and Kiara are looking for pictures in the stars, Kovu (1) has never looked for pictures in the stars before (because his mother raised him for the one monomaniacal aim of avenging Scar’s death, which did not allow any room for such things as “play”), and (2) interprets a picture in the stars as depicting “two lions fighting to the death over a scrap of meat.” Then he glances over at Kiara awkwardly, like he suddenly realizes that maybe this picture reveals a little too much about his deprived childhood.

But of course Kiara, in classic Disney princess style, is a sunshine girl who moves them swiftly past any potential awkwardness. After all, they still need to have a goofy musical number (I particularly enjoyed the hippos swinging on a Newton’s cradle made of vines while Rafiki sings to Kiara and Kovu about love), get together, and reunite their sundered prides through the power of love! (All except Kovu’s mother, because it wouldn’t be a Disney movie if at least one villain didn’t fall to their death.)

The second-string animators, apparently delighted to have some decent material for once, pulled out all stops on this one. It’s not as detailed as the animation in the original Lion King, but there are some gorgeous sunsets and lovely shots of the savannah, and they clearly had a blast animating all the animals. That scene where Simba banishes Kovu from Pride Rock and all the animals on the savannah sing about “Disgraaaaace”? Classic. Glorious.

Comments

[sovay]

because his mother raised him for the one monomaniacal aim of avenging Scar’s death

Just for totally non-filial reasons?

[osprey_archer]

I strongly suspect that Kovu WAS Scar's son until someone realized (presumably awkwardly late in the production) that this would make him Kiara's cousin, and then they inserted the DEFINITELY NOT SCAR'S SON bits to avert the cousincest. He looks so much like Scar! His mother is obsessed with avenging Scar! But... apparently there is no blood connection to Scar.

[sovay]

He looks so much like Scar! His mother is obsessed with avenging Scar! But... apparently there is no blood connection to Scar.

I just don't think first cousins once removed is that much of a danger to the social order (or the gene pool, nineteenth-century eugenic panic notwithstanding), but, eh. I suspect your suspicions are correct.

[osprey_archer]

I agree with you re: first cousins once removed, but I would bet a large sum of money that it's the sort of thing that would send Disney into a moral tailspin. (See also Zeus: Faithful Husband of Hera in Hercules, and also the fact that in the Lion King universe, lions and indeed all other animals on the savannah appear to mate monogamously.)

[katherine]

I'm squinting at concept art trying to decide if Kovu looked even more Scar-like then.

https://www.lionking.org/sequels/TLK2/

[osprey_archer]

I think he does. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the movie grew out of the realization that viewers really dug Scar, so what if we made a movie about Scar... but a Scar who was nice???

[asakiyume]

"What if Scar, but Nice?" is reminding me of the Honest Trailer for Raya comment, "Because when you unleash the imagination of Disney animators, these days they come back with, What if Cloud, but Bad?"

(obvs don't watch that honest trailer if you don't want spoilers... it will be many a moon before I see Raya, but the ninja girl and Little Springtime saw it and were talking about it, and they mentioned the honest trailer, so...)

[osprey_archer]

Our plan is to watch Raya once it's free on Disney+ and once we've caught up on the rewatch... which may take some time to happen, although we are moving along at a pretty good clip now that we're putting our minds to it!

[copperfyre]

I have vivid memories of watching this film at a sleepover when I was a kid, and being absolutely bowled over by the disgraaaaace song, so much so that we all just kept singing it for the next week or so whenever we got together (our poor, poor parents...).

[osprey_archer]

For the rest of my life whenever I hear the word disgrace I am probably going to envision that zebra wailing "Disgraaaaaace!"

[asakiyume]

Wait, so Simba banishes Kovu at first? That must be early on, right? Does that make him sort of a bad guy in this, or just Dense Dad? [ETA: Clearly not dad of Kovu; Dense Dad of Kiara]

[osprey_archer]

Well, it LOOKS like Kovu has just betrayed Simba to his evil mother, which almost gets Simba killed, and Simba was just starting to trust Kovu, too... so you can see why Simba banishes him, although of course he is mistaken.

[asakiyume]

nodding--makes sense. After all, you can't have that bad-boy rep without some actual bad-boying (or apparent bad-boying, even if Not Really)

[osprey_archer]

Exactly. Kovu's dark mane is kinda like a lion black leather jacket, but you've gotta have something to back up that jacket or you just look like a poser.

[asakiyume]

I looked at the concept art and I like how he has, like, dark circles under his eyes and sort of a pompadour.

Hello my name is Kovu

[osprey_archer]

EXACTLY. A classic 1950s bad boy in lion form! (And like James Dean in Rebel without a Cause, or indeed the Fonz in Happy Days, although Kovu looks like a bad boy really he is a sweetie pie.)

[asakiyume]

I mean I think those guys are too--"but actually sweet" is a key point.

[lokifan]

DECEPTION! DISGRACE!

Iconic.

LMAO I never realised that was why they establish Kovu as Definitely Not Scar's Son but you're totally right!! Even though idk, I mean in the UK even straight-up first cousins wouldn't be too shocking.

I love bad-boy Kovu, and Simba trying hard at the dadding <3

[osprey_archer]

I may never hear the words DISGRACE! again without a flash image of that zebra, giving its all to the song.

America is Weird about first cousins (although we weren't always... Rose marries her first cousin in Louisa May Alcott's Rose in Bloom), but I realize that most of the world thinks this is a weird thing to be weird about.

I like that Simba's difficulties with dadding are exactly the difficulties Simba WOULD have with dadding - like, of course Simba would be overprotective - but you can still see that he loves his daughter so much.