This is a question I'm answering with a rousing YES! Why? Lots of reasons.
A long time ago, when I was a kid, I used to buy most all of the Disney direct-to-video sequels when allowance permitted, or used to beg and got more or less all of them. I fell for their tricks hook line and sinker. I've still got them all, too -- Return to the Sea, The Enchanted Christmas, Pooh's Grand Adventure, The Return of Jafar, Aladdin and the King of Thieves, etc. -- but then I grew up a bit and realized what a scam it was and that they were really cheapquels. Since The Little Mermaid II, I've never bought a direct-to-video cheapquel from Disney (although I did crack and get Balto II: Wolf Quest from Universal, which was fairly good.)
Anyway, the only Disney cheapquels I still love are Pooh's Grand Adventure and Simba's Pride. Looking back on it recently, I thought Simba's Pride was very successful in providing a solid continuation of the original story with good quality animation (if not up to the original), the same great voice cast, and more exellent songs. If The Lion King is Hamlet, then Simba's Pride is Romeo and Juliet (albit with a happy ending) and it turned out very good.
So naturally I trust that the next installment is going to be just as good, and I've been following it for the last few years with keen intrest. I've been proven right about its quality so far, with all of the clips I've seen yet being great and very, very funny. Not to mention that my favorite character has always been Pumbaa and it's nice to see him and Timon getting spotlighted.
They did have their TV show, too, which I also loved. Although that doesn't seem to count as canon anymore, really, because I distinctly remember episodes about Timon's banishment from the meerkat colony and him bumping into Pumbaa and they aren't the same sanerio as is used in the movie. Not that that's a bad thing, though. This way could be even better. For the record, I seem to remember Timon's banishment involving him trying to woo a girl and ignoring his responsibilities, but I'm not really sure. Could someone with a better memory of the show elaborate?
Plus, this project has been getting the best buzz I've ever heard for a direct-to-video sequel. So far I've seen a few reviews, all of which have been posotive, as well as Prince Phillip's reaction posted here on the board. And I also heard good things about it while it was in production. Such as:
So what's the real high point of this direct-to-video project? Disney animation fans are finally going to get to see a fully animated version of "Warthog Rhapsody" (Tim Rice & Elton John's first stab at trying to write a comic song for Timon & Pumbaa). Ernie Sarbella gives an absolutely killer vocal performance as Pumbaa in this song. As does Nathan Lane as Timon. The downside of the project?... The Lion King 1 1/2 : Hakuna Matata's story is a bit on the thin side. Not as thin as--perhaps-- Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas. But still pretty slight. The upside?... Animation on this project is being done by Disney Television Animation Australia. The very best of Disney's direct-to-video operations. (Why are they the best? Well, the Australians actually *GET* the American sense of humor. So no one has to laboriously explain to the animators there how to properly time out a scene in order to get a laugh back stateside.
and, from someone working on the movie,
5. This is most definitely Timon's film - Pumbaa plays an important part, but the film is really as much about Timon's journey as the original TLK was about Simba's journey.
6. And it is very, very funny. No bias here: the lecia reel cracks us up every time. I didn't particularly care for TLK2, but this... THIS is the sequel I would have chosen to make. And I consider myself a true TLK fan.
Both of these are among the very old and interesing news bits on TLK1.5 that appear at <a href=
http://www.lionking.org/sequels//TLK1.5/ target=blank>The TLK WWW Archive</a>.
Plus, they've got a lot of the original talent back -- the voice cast, of course, but Tim Rice, Elton John and Hans Zimmer also contributed to the project.
And I'm kind of on a Lion King high at the moment. I'm really excited for the franchise again -- I experienced it at IMAX, the original classic came home on a great-looking DVD with some nice extras, this looks great, Simba's Pride is coming back as an SE DVD, and I get to see the musical when it tours here in March. Plus, the original movie is 10 years old this year. What a year for the franchise, and what a way to celebrate the anniversary. It's just a shame that Simba's Pride won't be out again until August so I can't have an anniversary marathon of all three on its actulal anniversary date. (It had a limited release on June 15, 1994 and went wide June 24, 1994, and then returning to theaters on November 18, 1994 to use its popularity to promote the then-upcoming theatrical release of Pocahontas with a trailer. After beating out Aladdin as the #1 highest-grossing animated movie of all time up to that point after the re-release, it exploded onto video March 3, 1995 if I remember correctly. I remember that I got my copy when I was sick with the chicken pox. Mom brought it home, but I couldn't have it until I got done with the missed work my kindergarten teacher brought over to the house.) But if I must I can watch the VHS to cap the marathon, or I can have a marathon show once TLK2 does hit DVD again. (I missed out on the Limited Issue version, just like all 8 other LI discs.)
Okay, that's probably the longest answer ever written to a yes-or-no question, but it was fun to remmeber.
In short, even though I'm not expecting it to be up to the level of the original and do have my reservations (especially the plot holes, timeline errors, and Timon and Pumbaa with the remote), I've heard so much good about it that this seems forgivable. I'm going to loosen up and enjoy. I'll be getting it and watching it day one and hope that it can equeal or surpass Simba's Pride. I grew up on The Lion King and wouldn't ever dream of missing the chance to return to the Pride Lands.
)
I can't wait to see it, especially since it shows "older kid" Simba! 
