The Lion King 1½ -- It's here! What do you think? SPOILERS!

[Prince Adam]

I heard about the Genie series: it was going to be a TV series or series of DTV's that told about Genie's backstory, or what he did when he was "off to see the world".

And I once read a children's book about how Mufasa and Zazu and Sarabi all met. Wouldn't make a bad film if it was fleshed out...
We just need someone who sounds like a young James Earl Jones.

[Jake Lipson]

Well, The Lion King 1½ has been embraced by the public. I've heard mostly posotive reaction, and it's sold <b>over 3 million copies</b> since Tuesday. It may well dethrone Simba's Pride after all.

Since its Tuesday release, Walt Disney Pictures' THE LION KING 1 1/2 has sold over 3 million combined DVD/VHS units in North America, it was announced today by Bob Chapek, President of Buena Vista Home Entertainment. Based on this sales figure alone, THE LION KING 1 1/2 is now positioned to be the best-selling direct-to-video DVD of all time.

[Mermaid Kelly]

That really sucks that I didn't get a booklet. It's the first time that I haven't gotten one. Oh well, I'll get over it.

My Alice in Wonderland didn't have a booklet. I was so pissed and kept wondering why it didn't have one.....it still bothers me. Does anyone know what was in that booklet?

[MickeyMousePal]

My Alice in Wonderland didn't have a booklet. I was so pissed and kept wondering why it didn't have one.....it still bothers me. Does anyone know what was in that booklet?

No booklet on my Alice in Wonderland either.
It just had a slip of:

Mine had a ad of Save $2 of Robin Hood or The Aristocats or The Rescuers.
Coming soon ad for Pocahontas, Mary Poppins and Lilo and Stitch on Masterpiece Edition 2 disc DVD.
Alice in Wonderland card game.

I guess none of them had a booklet.

You're welcome Mermaid Kelly.

[2099net]

No, there is an Alice Booklet.

Scene Selections are on the back, the cover image on the front and inside there is the traditional Disney special features organisational chart.

[Mermaid Kelly]

On mine had that, I was talking about a little booklet with cupons

[indianajdp]

After multiple viewings I am very underwhelmed by this one.
It just doesn't grab me and I find many of the connections to the original silly and just plain unnecessary.

Call me old school, I guess.

[englishboy]

the cheapquels just get worse. The animation is poor at best, but the story is terrible. It has all the storytelling pollish of one of the SNL skits that just never ends--and is never funny to begin with. It's dull, slow, and never pays off in the final scene. Worst of all, it intercuts segements of the original, reminding me each time what a far superior film The Lion King was to this pathetic knock-off.

I do mind the poor animation, but seriously, how much would it cost to keep a film in development until a decent script emerged. This is one of the least expensive aspects of producing these crappy cheapquels. Why, oh why can't Disney develop decent stories for these movies? The plot arc is sketchy. The dialogue is embarassing. The character development is a joke. Timon and Pumba were more developed as side kick characters in the original than they are in this stew of leftovers and fettid meat which ironically tells THEIR story.

My two cents: Skip this one. Or rent it, if you must. It's clearly for the 4-6 year olds who need a visual pacifier while their parents get some work done.

My vote: show this piece of garbage at the March 3 stockholders meeting so that any holders on the cusp will know exactly what to do with Eisner!

[AwallaceUNC]

BRILLIANT! I bought it yesterday (last copy in the store!) and have watched it THREE TIMES! It's HILARIOUS.... the review on this site is dead on the money! (Except the songs, which I liked a little more, and the Raven video, which I kinda enjoyed).

I, too, was immediately excited by the blue castle. I think I told those I watched it with about the opening changes like 20 times and they had to tell me to shut up

The rerecorded music is an initial distraction, but I think you overlook it quickly. The music is all background music, so it doesn't become a huge deal. The concepts built around them are so funny!

The special features are great too, though they probably would have fit on one disc (maybe). The price was no higher for it, though, so I won't complain. The virtual safari is great... I 'rode' every possible track combination and they were great, I love the WDW take-offs.

I still haven't watched the Deleted Scenes, or gone through the hidden mickey track, but I will soon enough. And can I just say that I love the whole hidden mickey concept for this?

And DTS sound surprised me too. I wouldn't think a DTV straight-to-video release would warrant that. However, the DTS isn't really needed, as audio isn't the strong point of this. (QUESTION: My DTS audio track skips every few minutes, and I'm using a DTS-equipped home theater system (other DTS has been playing fine). The disc's DD track works fine. Anyone else had this problem???)

And the return of Whoopi! She's my favorite actress, so I loved this for that too!

And perhaps my favorite part: the cameo of all the Disney characters at the end! BRAVO!

Parody is my kind of humor, and this sort of resembled that, so maybe that's why I liked it so much, but I give it a big thumbs up!

-Aaron