[quote="Panpardus"]If a sequel was made to this film, it would be canon to its own story. The "live action" and cartoon movies are two different versions of the same story, but one doesn't really affect the other. Think of it as a parallel universe of sorts.
Simba's Pride is generally regarded as one of the better sequels that Disney's made to their animated properties, so if they were to make a sequel to this
Lion King I don't think they'd shy away from at least certain elements of that story. I figure they'd at least beef up the script; give it the same treatment that the stage musical's story did relative to the original film. (I've read some fanfiction that does a pretty good job of this, particularly this one called
The Pride That Never Was:
http://akril15.com/Literature/tptnw/TPTNW.html) Of course, I'd have no problem if they drafted a wholly original story that went in a completely different direction, so long as it's good.[/quote]
Being the best of Disney's animated sequels isn't exactly a ringing endorsement... SP was still critically panned as a tepid effort, and even though I love it, I don't think it's a particularly good movie.
Kudos for citing Akril's fic, though. That one stands pretty tall in TLK fan fiction canon, and Disney would be smart to draw on that sort of material in some capacity, even if just for inspiration.