Maybe because I grew up with The Lion King, I initially found it offensive to make things so comical and "not serious". It seems that they have twisted everything.

Nevertheless, it is fun to try to see things in a different perspective.

It does not do well as a movie on its own, but it explains stuffs in the original, though the explanations may sometimes be disappointing.

Graphics are still quite nice, the music is not so good because my favourite songs aren't there. Yet, I really didn't expect much from a comedy like this.

The new characters are not memorable at all.

Well, there is a good thing here. The hyenas now became the main antagonists. I love Shenzi and now we know more about what happened to the hyenas when the duel between Scar and Simba took place.

When I first Timon & Pumbaa silhouettes on the lower corner of the screen, I thought it will be something like Mystery Science Theater 3000, with the two kings of comic reliefs would be commenting the movie. Well, it wasn't like this...

As I programed my brain to not consider any direct-to-video sequel of Disney films as being part of the canon, I wasn't bothered to see moments of the movie being "retelled by their point of view" to make some enjoyable but forgettable jokes. Actually, I thought it was a better idea to do this than to do a sequel full of decharacterizations and continuity mistakes like "The Lion King 2": here it's just fun upon the original movie, and TLK2 tried to eat the remains of the original TLK.

Well, we got many continuity mistakes here, as the origins of the friendship among Timon and Pumbaa was show on their TV series, and here they tell a new one, quite different. But, what the hell, as you watch it, you really began to not take it seriously.

It can be somewhat fun, but you can live without seeing it.

I think the best thing I can say about TLK1.5 is that it made me want to re-watch Lion King again... it was like movie-length advertisement for the original Lion King... beyond that though, it had absolutely no substance or character of its own.

I didn't care about Timon's plight... largely because we never saw why he was such a terrible meerkat digger. (Although I'll agree with the other reviewers on this one--good song.)

I didn't care about Pumbaa's plight... largely because it's hard to believe that the other animals can cast off his generally likeable character just because of his smell... and yet, Timon has no reaction to it whatsoever. Horrible, crippling odor? Nope, can't smell a thing! I love ya, buddy.

This movie is a sidedish when I really wanted the full meal.

I hate cheap Disney sequels, but I hate their cheap midquels even more...

Funny, but nothing I really want to see again.

Okay, I've seen the film. Heck, I've seen all of the TLK films, and this is the worst of the three.

No offense, the animation was very good (better than most DTVs nowadays; I have to give Disney credit for improving their animation on DTVs) and about 80-90 of the original voice cast returned (which is a big plus). The songs were okay (I really liked "Digga Tunneh", probably the best song in the film); the rest of the songs . . . watch the original for a better version of them, okay? But the fact that it follows the story of how Timon and Pumbaa met and that they witnessed major events of the original film (without realizing it) just . . . . destroyed the film.

Yes, this is a film for the grown-ups to understand. Most kids (especially the young ones) probably wouldn't get some of the jokes in it. Some scenes were a bit LOL hilarious, but it faded into stupidity. I just didn't think it was a necessary film at all, with exception of the background story of a very dramatic meerkat with a dream. Yeah, that's pretty much it.

Overall, watch it once. It's only funny at points, but if you want a better version of what happens in this movie, just stick with the original film. It's much better and more worth the watch.

My rating: 2 stars.

How can this be so popular? It's a stupid mid-quel created to milk the cash cow that was Lion King about ten years after the cow was dry. It's a stupid idea, putting Timon and Pumbaa at every major event in the first movie. They arent supposed to know Simba was a prince, but they show up at his birth? Come on, people!

Edit, 2007: this movie's rating has been changed in line with my new guidelines for DTVs, which boil down to 'I don't expect this to be 'Bambi''.

WOW! Thank you Tom Rogers! After 10 years, you've finally given me a reason to join in the party and rejoice in 'The Lion King' - because without that over-rated original, this terrific, hilarious prequel or midquel or whatever the hell it is, couldn't exist!

Though Pumba gets equal billing, Lion King 1-1/2 is told mainly from Timon's POV (did I mention that he single-handedly saved the original movie from character Hell?). Its starting point is probably around the same time as TLK's, or slightly earlier - however the two films take quite a while to intersect, and whenever they do, it's done with delicious cleverness. I mean, I don't usually laugh at fart jokes, but this movie contains maybe the greatest one ever committed to celluloid.

I think we should get something straight from the outset. 'Lion King' was, on the whole, a fairly earnest film aimed at kids. So was 'Simba's Pride'. They each had their lighter moments (well, the first one did, anyway), but essentially they were dramas. 'Lion King 1-1/2' ain't no such thing. It's not just a straight-out comedy, it's a send-up of the original film. An affectionate send-up, sure, but it's irreverant to the point of satire. Finally, this isn't a kid's film with a few mature gags for adults: it's a film which is intelligent enough to probably go over some _adult's_ heads in places.

Put it this way. Name another Disney film where characters use words like 'existential', 'epiphany', or deliver lines like "Max! Timon's out there chasing metaphors!" - and within about 10 seconds of that there's a reference to 'Bowling for Columbine'! Nay, folks, this is no dumbed-down DTV sequel for toddlers. As matter of fact, just now I'm struggling to think of a cleverer, funnier Disney movie.

Amazingly though, fans of the original movie will probably still enjoy this - that's so long as they don't mind, or don't notice how all the serious characters from the first film are made to look ridiculous how the monolithic pivotal scenes films from the first movie are hilariously deflated. The writing for this film is just a treasure, and as far as I can see there was only one main writer. Again, wow!

Ok, at a more workaday level: the animation isn't as sumptuous as the original, but it's still probably good enough for theatrical release, and way better than what the standard of DTV was only a few years ago (I must admit 'Simba's Pride' did much to lift the quality of DTV animation, but this one sometimes nearly gets into the same ball park as the original.)

Timon, Pumba, Simba, and Nala's original voice actors are back, so everything sounds like it should. The songs aren't amazing, but they're plenty good enough.

The real accomplishment here though is the superb marriage of comedy, satire, and multi-layered storytelling (not only does the film intersect the original at numerous points, but the film itself is a film within a film, and in both films the characters are likely to break the 'fourth wall' and involve the audience, or totally break the 'reality' of proceedings. I think my favourite moment is Timon complaining that he can't think because of the background music. It's not like Mel Brooks wasn't doing stuff like this thirty years earlier, but it's cool anyway).

And with all this parody and irreverence going on, the film manages to be occasionally touching, in the same way the original was occasionally funny.

Wow, I could go on. What a great little film. If it has any fault, in my humble opinion, it's that you have to have watched the original movie to understand it.

BTW, in Australia it's called 'Lion King 3'. I assume this is because we went decimal decades ago and can't deal with fractions anymore.

When viewing this film, don't expect the majesty of the first Lion King (or even that of the second one). This film is above all meant to be more cozy and small-scale than the first two. And that is its strongest point. Because it doesn't try too hard to achieve the groundbreaking grandeur of the first one while still making a great effort in its own level. Had they tried to mimic the original Lion King, they'd have probably failed in pleasing many fans. So they went for something completely different while still keeping the feeling of the original film present.

The animation is very good, I didn't believe the rumours when I first heard the animation was supposedly as good as in the first movie, but after seeing this movie I must admit it truly is in many scenes. Even when it's not, the animation never goes below average.

The new song "Digga Tunnah" is cute and catchy, so catchy in fact that it's comparable with "It's A Small World". The other new song "That's All I Need" which is a reworked version of "Warthog Rhapsody", a song deleted from the first Lion King movie doesn't sound much like its predecessor and seeing as how they advertised the number as "a new song by Elton John and Tim Rice", it cuts short in the movie, too quickly to live up to the hype. It is, however, refreshing in a way that they only put two new songs in the movie and made them good instead of wasting time in forcing themselves to come up with 5 horrible ones. The rest of the songs in the movie are references to the first Lion King movie, Lebo M.'s version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (which for the first time is actually appearing IN a Lion King movie after being inserted on every possible LK soundtrack so far for no particular reason) and references to for example "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" and "Fiddler On The Roof".

The humour is mostly good and there are many jokes aimed particularily at fans of the first movie instead of going just for the youngest crowd. There are a few unnecessary fart jokes, but I suppose they were to be expected of a Timon & Pumbaa movie, so I can forgive them.

The character development on Timon and Pumbaa's part is very nicely done in this movie. Timon develops from a selfish but insecure character into the hero of the day while still staying constantly in-character. Pumbaa also starts out as a lonely and somewhat shy character and in the end takes a brave stand for his friends and is the first one to show his loyalty to Simba. We also get to see more of their relationship to Simba to whom they served as foster parents during his stay in the jungle.

Don't expect to see the grandeur of The Lion King all over again with this movie. It's a comedy with a lot of heart and that's all it's meant to be, and it works. A nice movie that will leave you feeling good if you take it for what it is.

I wasn't really looking forward to this movie when it came out. I thought it would be another horrible Disney dtv, but I figure since it was the last in the TLK trilogy I'd watch it. I wasn't disapointed.

There is quite a bit of humor in this one. If you are looking for the majesty that the first one, and even the second, had then you might not like this one. However, if you are a fan of the Timon and Pumbaa TV series you'll love it.

The animation in this dtv almost rivals the first one. It's smooth and the colors are very clean. I couldn't really find where any shortcuts were taken with this.

The songs aren't all that great since most were either recycled from the first TLK or remade rock songs. But the score is pretty nice in places.

Overall I think this was one of Disney's best sequals. I'd recommend it to anyone. :)

This was a creative and wonderful retelling of The Lion King from Minor Character POV. The animation lives up to what people have come to expect from The Lion King movies. I laughed hard and many points in the film. But, the only problem (and what made it funnier) is that some of the scenes were inadiquate of the original movie. But, other than that, if you love The Lion King you'll love this one! Not a dissapointment.