The Lion King 1 1/2 DVD Review:

Evidently, viewers who saw “The Lion King” don’t know the half of it. According to Timon and Pumbaa, there’s much more to the story, and they relate their own hilarious version in a Walt Disney’s 2-Disc DVD release entitled “The Lion King 1½ .” If you’re one of the few people who missed “The Lion King,” no worries, this quasi-sequel will still entertain you and make you laugh out loud many times while watching it.

The original voices of Nathan Lane as Timon and Ernie Sabella as Pumbaa work their magic again here. Timon tells Pumbaa, “Sarcasm is a foreign language to you” with an inflection that’s pure Lane comic arrogance. And Sabella’s naïve vocal antics for Pumbaa compliment his sophisticated (?) partner perfectly. Timon, the clumsy merecat, and Pumbaa, the lonely warthog, make a great team once more. Using a “Mystery Science 3000” approach to their story, the two friends comment on their movie – even stopping certain scenes until refreshments (a sack of worms, of course) arrive. Their flick shows how they met, their rescue of Simba, and what they did to help him become the Lion King. Never mind that they failed to achieve all their goals – such as when they tried to stop Simba from “feeling the love tonight.” After all, nobody’s perfect.

In addition to most of the original “Lion King” characters, this DVD release introduces Timon’s overprotective Mom (Julie Kavner) and his outrageous Uncle Max (Jerry Stiller). And there are some wonderful new songs as well as a colorful Esther Williams-type finale that seemed to come right out of an old MGM musical. Director Raymond Bradley and his crew must’ve had a great time working on this project!

The DVD bonus features offer lots of fun for viewers of all ages. I especially enjoyed the “Before the Beginning” featurette, mostly because it includes the only interview Nathan Lane has done for a “Lion King” movie. It’s also interesting to hear producer George Mendoza and director Bradley present deleted scenes and explain why they were dropped. And the clever mockumentary about the legend of Timon adds even more humor to this entertaining DVD.

For the kiddies, there’s a virtual safari plus games like “Find the Face,” a “Hidden Mickey Hunt,” and “Who Wants To Be King of the Jungle?” (similar to TV’s Who Wants To Be a Millionnaire?).

A hard-to-resist DVD? You don’t know the half of it.

Betty Jo Tucker

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