1) I prefer almost everything about The Lion King II's depiction of Simba over the first movie. Even though they both obviously have issues (and by my personal count, the latter more than the former), I Iike Simba's portrayal and moreover his design here moreso than seeing him during his young adult years. I actually wonder if people amongst the general public know that the most popular picture of Simba on social media (this one, often wearing a "thug life" chain and/or cap and shades:
) is actually from the sequel -- which in turn they may not know actually know exists.2) I think the music of the second film (both the score and most of the musical numbers) is on par with, if not superior than, some of the music from the original film. By the same token, if The Lion Guard's score ever gets released in full, it would easily rival some of the music from both films.
3) Speaking of The Lion Guard, while Fuli is my favorite guard member, she's actually the most useless member of the team. Sure, she can run fast but cheetahs have limited stamina, and realistically she's the most fragile of the five animals. Real cheetahs are ill-equipped for fighting (they have small heads with relatively weak bites, thin frames and forelimbs incapable of actually grasping, and blunt, non-retractable claws) and rarely get involved in physical conflicts with other animals, meaning they usually back down when faced with a threat; heck, they can hardly protect their kills from a small flock of vultures. Given this, I know this is a kiddie cartoon, but still it makes her seem more foolish than Bunga at times, especially since she's old enough to know this (given that she lives on her own and hunts for herself) but is usually the first one to charge at whatever enemy the guard is facing. (Bunga, at least, is clearly still a kid. Fuli's more like a teenager, or at least clearly more mature than the rest of the group.) Heck, she should've injured herself several times over in this first season alone.
