Returning to Pride Rock, Kovu pleads Simba for forgiveness but is exiled. In the aftermath, Zira scratches Kovu, causing him to turn on her. The Outsiders then attack Simba, resulting in Nuka's death and Simba's escape. The next day, Kovu once again attempts to explain his mission to Kiara, but Simba takes him around the Pride Lands and tells him Scar's story. Upon learning of Kovu's failure to kill Simba, Zira sets a trap for them. That night, Simba allows Kovu to sleep inside Pride Rock with the rest of the pride after being encouraged by Nala to give Kovu a chance.
Kovu becomes conflicted between his mission and his feelings for Kiara until Rafiki, a mandrill who serves as shaman and advisor, leads them to the jungle, where he introduces them to "upendi" (an erroneous form of upendo, which means "love" in Swahili), helping the two lions fall in love. Kovu contemplates attacking Simba, but he is interrupted by Kiara and starts spending more time with her. Later that night, Simba has a nightmare about attempting to save his father, Mufasa, from falling into the wildebeest stampede but is stopped by Scar who then morphs into Kovu and sends Simba to his death. Simba is forced to accept Kovu's place since he rescued Kiara. As part of Zira's plan, Kovu's siblings Nuka and Vitani trap Kiara in a fire, allowing Kovu to rescue her.
Simba has Timon and Pumbaa follow her in secret, causing her to hunt away from the Pride Lands. Several years later, Kiara, now a young adult, begins her first solo hunt. Kovu explains that he does not think it is so bad to have Kiara as a friend, and Zira realizes that she can use Kovu's friendship with Kiara to seek revenge on Simba. In the Outlands, Zira reminds Kovu that Simba killed Scar and exiled everyone who respected him. He then tells her that they are a part of each other. Zira reminds Simba of how he exiled her and the other Outsiders, and she reveals that Kovu was to be the successor of Simba's deceased uncle and nemesis Scar.Īfter returning to the Pride Lands, Nala and the rest of the pride head back to Pride Rock while Simba lectures Kiara about the danger posed by the Outsiders. When Kovu retaliates to Kiara's playing, Simba confronts the young cub just as he is confronted by Zira, Kovu's mother and the Outsiders' leader. They escape using teamwork and Kiara even saves Kovu at one point.
After entering the forbidden "Outlands", Kiara meets a young cub, Kovu, and they are attacked by crocodiles. Simba assigns his childhood friends meerkat Timon and warthog Pumbaa to follow her. In the Pride Lands of Africa, King Simba and Queen Nala's daughter, Kiara, becomes annoyed with her father's overprotective parenting. The film received mostly positive reviews, with many critics deeming it as one of Disney's better direct-to-video sequels. Jeremy Irons, who voiced Scar in the first film, was replaced by Jim Cummings, who briefly provided his singing voice in the first film. Rowan Atkinson, who voiced Zazu in the first film, was replaced by Edward Hibbert for both this film and The Lion King 1½. Most of the original cast returned to their roles from the first film with a few exceptions.
Separated by Simba's prejudice against the banished pride and a vindictive plot planned by Kovu's mother Zira, Kiara and Kovu struggle to unite their estranged prides and be together. Produced by Walt Disney Video Premiere and animated by Walt Disney Animation Australia and released on October 27, 1998, the film centers on Simba and Nala's daughter Kiara, who falls in love with Kovu, a male rogue lion from a banished pride that was once loyal to Simba's evil uncle, Scar. According to director Darrell Rooney, the final draft gradually became a variation of Romeo and Juliet. It is the sequel to Disney's 1994 animated feature film, The Lion King, with its plot influenced by William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and the second installment in The Lion King trilogy. The Lion King II: Simba's Pride is a 1998 American animated direct-to-video romantic musical drama film.