by TheLionPrince » September 24th, 2015, 9:38 pm
@DGFone: "While I doubt that Disney thought that it would flop, they certainly didn't consider The Lion King as something that would be good enough to warrant a sequel. So when it became the huge hit that it was, Disney was very much caught with their pants down when it came to expanding the story. This is why the continuity never really existed in the first place."
Quite the contrary, Disney was reportedly considering a sequel to [i]The Lion King[/i] in May 1994 before the original film was released in the following month:
[quote="[url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4228685.html][i]Chicago Sun-Times[/i][/url]"]A full-blown, theater-quality "Aladdin" sequel would have taken years - and some $40 million - to make. "The Return of Jafar" took 12 months and cost less than $10 million.
Only "animation buffs," Daly says, "can discern the difference between this film and an animated classic."
"The `Aladdin' franchise is so strong we have a built-in awareness," Daly says. The quick release of "The Return of Jafar" gives Disney an opportunity to "capitalize on the franchise while it's still hot."
Disney hopes to sell several million tapes. The studio is so confident, it already is considering a direct-to-video sequel to "The Lion King" - which doesn't even arrive in theaters until June.[/quote]
(Since HighBeam Research requires a subscription monthly/yearly fee, I thought it would be best if I just paste a portion of the text.)
As for the continuity, the events following the first film was never planned out in advance so the writers had to make up the plot as they go along. The trouble with [i]Simba's Pride[/i] is that the story was constantly being re-written with Kovu and Zira to be written as Scar's son and mate, and ultimately replacing the idea with Kovu being Scar's hand-chosen heir. There was also a lack of exposition that would explain the backstories of these new characters. It depends on whether it was deliberate for story and character purposes, the storyboard crew had to press for deadlines in order to get the movie finished on time after so many delays, or it wasn't considered at all.
As for [i]The Lion King 1½[/i], you have to ask yourself does the original filmmakers having involvement with a sequel make it more canon than the others that don't? In that case, [url=http://animatedviews.com/2011/allers-and-minkoff-egacy-of-the-lion-king/][i]The Lion King 1½[/i] did have involvement with Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi[/url], and Allers explained that they attended story meetings where they "worked with them, made suggestions, came up with gags – that sort of thing." So, surely a few of the comedic gags in the film sprouted from them or was approved by them.
Lastly, since the actors and press reports confirm [i]The Lion Guard[/i] is following the events of the first two films, Kiara will likely be the same age as we last left her. Everyone is getting too worked up over a book cover, and not all of the characters in the series have been featured or announced yet.