Simba: Not much to be proud of?

[Azdgari]

I dunno if this goes in the Simba topic, but I figured I'd put it here because it's specific to this movie.

So, in the first one, we can pretty much agree that Simba was the man towards end. He was the smart, noble, determined, hero of a lion that beat Scar and yada yada yada. Everybody loved Simba in the Lion King.


Buuuut...

In LK2, he becomes totally different. For one thing, he displays some really, reallllly crappy judgement. In fact, I almost see him as an antagonist in the movie. He pretty much actively works against peace with the outlanders. He's willing to straight up prejudice Kovu for being an outsider, and ends up exiling him basically because he's just an outsider. Either that or he was so stupid and shortsighted he couldn't see Kovu wasn't actually behind the attack. Towards the end, he's even willing to, at first, ignore a chance for peace when Kiara and Kovu intervene, wanting them to leave so he can kill Zira. Where has Simba's judgement gone?

And as a father, he falls flat on his face. He goes from being overprotective to downright oppressive. He has literally no faith or trust in Kiara. He constantly sends Timon and Pumba to spy on her, and completely ignores her (correct) assessments of Kovu, choosing instead to stupidly banish him and alienate a potential ally and tool that could be used to bring peace between the Outlanders and the Pridelanders. As things go on, he gets even worse to Kiara. "No more hunts for you, EVER!" "You will not leave Pride Rock! You will stay where I can keep an eye on you!" Geez, Simba, what?

I mean, I kind of understand he's afraid of losing people he loves because of Mufasa. But in TLK2 it's way out of proportion. If you watched TLK1 and TLK2 without understanding the continuity, with the exception of a few scenes and the We Are One song, you'd think it was a completely different character.

Also, where the heck was Nala to slap him when he was totally out of line? I mean, I know she got basically axed from the movie, but shouldn't she have been going against Simba when he was being so stupid?

I guess it's just kind of sad to me that you see Simba as such a great, admirable hero when he climbs Pride Rock and roars at the end of TLK1 and he acts like such an idiot in TLK2. What happened to you, Simba? You didn't even apologize to Kovu at the end. You just said you were wrong and that he did belong. Anybody else kinda disappointed in the big S in the movie?

[KopsTheTerminator]

You have got some REALLY good points there, mate. Simba in SP is almost nothing like the Simba in the original. All I can guess was that after he learned that Scar was behind his father's death, he hated everything about Scar so much, that he was blinded by his hate for him and his followers. He understood only the half of the we are one quote, until Kiara cleared it all. And I still think that Simba would continue, if it wasn't for the clouds to clear, meaning that Mufasa agreed with Kiara, therefore Simba had to agree with Kiara as well.

[PrincessKiara]

I completly agree with everything you said. Simba was this big hero in TLK, who overcame his fears, faced his past and won in the end..

But in SP... UGH. I really, really dislike what they did to Simba (and Nalas) characters in this movie. Nala still offered advice to Simba, but she lost her edge. She was way too gentle and soft with him when she should have grabbed him and shaken him to make him see sense. Nala is very underplayed in SP, she still fulfills her role given to her in TLK, but in a more subtle and less direct way.

And when it comes to Simba.. he acts like dung in SP. I hate what he’s doing to Kiara: Denying her freedom and having no trust in her. He seems to think that she can’t move three steps without seriously injuring herself.

[Panda-chan]

I agree with you there, Azdgari. Simba even looks different than he did in TLK, but that's a discussion for another topic lol. In the first movie we can see he clearly isn't very confident in himself, and he relies mostly on Mufasa's guidance to nudge him in the right direction. In SP, however, this is terribly exaggerated in his character. He tries to copy Mufasa in every way possible, is fiercely protective of Kiara, and rules his kingdom like a dictator. I suppose this shows that even the most noble of heroes have their weak points.

[KovusTrueMate]

Simba + SP =

[QueenRalexia]

I think he changed so much because he had to become a parent and be more responsible

[KiarasMate]

It all comes down to character development and storyline in this case. We can't expect Simba to be exactly the same after we last saw him in TLK1. Obviously, there was a lapse in time and things change, it's a natural given. Being a father and living through what Simba had to would surely result in a similar character that I think Simba portrayed in TLK2SP but the biggest reason why he acted the way he did was because it was crutial for the storyline of the movie itself. It's really as simple as that. None of the life lessons would have been learned if Simba had acted differently and since Disney was going after the whole Romeo and Juliet angle, they had to alter Simba's character accordingly. It might not mirror that of his character from the original movie but in my opinion, that's a good thing. It adds even more depth and complexity to Simba's already rich character. Just my opinion though. ^^

[SnowyCheetah]

I think there are a few factors here:

1. Simba did not have a normal childhood. Most of what he learned came from Timon and Pumbaa. And quite seriously... I think he did quite well for having such a childhood

2. After having such a childhood, he was quickly thrust into having to be an adult, King and a father. Quite a transition, and I don't think he had the time or mental ability to make the adjustment.

3. As we all know, there weren't many aspects of SP's creation that didn't suffer from Disney's laziness compared to the first film. I think a combination of hastiness and laziness caused a major deficit in SP's plot and script integrity, hence Simba's unrealistic and much-changed personality compared to his personality in the first movie.

[HeartsForTheClueless]

Simba just changed between the months. He became more stressed too, and now he's a father.

[FloraTheDarkFaerie]

I think there are a few factors here:

1. Simba did not have a normal childhood. Most of what he learned came from Timon and Pumbaa. And quite seriously... I think he did quite well for having such a childhood

XD you have a point there, who can be normal growing up with THOSE TWO? XD