Lion King 1 1:2

THE FLICK: For all the bad press Disney has received of late about trouble in the board of directors, the disheartening split from Pixar and the general disarray of the mouse house, allow me to give them some love for the direct-to-video debut of “Lion King 1 1/2.” While not equal to the majesty of the original, the hyperactive story combined with original voice talents like Nathan Lane and Whoopi Goldberg show some concerted effort was put into making this more than just a franchise filibuster for parent’s hard earned dough. The movie follows second bananas Timon and Pumbaa on their quest for “Hakuna Matata” as the events from the first film take place concurrently. Meaning, we see the original “Lion King” through the eyes of the comic relief rather than Simba. It’s a fun gimmick, starting with Timon’s escape from a life of drudgery digging tunnels with his family to his eventual run in a flatulent boar named Pumbaa. Together they find a paradise of no worries, into which Simba appears, grows up, and moves on to become king of the jungle. With their help of course. Seeing as these guys were the hit of the first film, it’s interesting to see if they can carry a movie all by themselves. And for the most part, Disney pulls it off. The songs are a bit lacking, but the animation is quite nice and Nathan Lane’s delivery hasn’t lost a step. Kids will love it and parents will appreciate the brief running time. THE FEATURES: Another round of applause for a job well done! Disney has surrounded the film with an entire slate of extras, games, and kid-friendly behind the scenes info. Most impressive is the “Who Wants To Be King Of The Jungle?” game, a take off on “Millionaire” that’s even led by syndicated host Meredith Vieira. The rules are the same, but all the questions relate to facts from the film. It’s a blast! There’s also a virtual safari (more like an 3D point-of-view amusement park ride), Find The Face Game (match shadows to famous Disney figures), deleted scenes (in storyboard form), a short Making Of that explains various roles in production, a Biography-type profile of Timon hosted by Peter Graves and a music video from Raven. All this goes along with a 16 X 9 enhanced widescreen transfer with Dolby Digital and DTS sound. FINAL SCORE: Add up the main attraction and the extra features and “Lion King 1 1/2” is well worth your family’s time. It’s nice to see the studio make sure its franchise creations are treated well on DVD and beyond.