The Lion King 1 ½
Starring: Pumbaa and Timon with Ernie Sabella, Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Jerry Stiller and Julie Kavner
Directed by: Bradley Raymond
Music by: Elton John & Tim Rice
(DVD release)

Bluntly Speaking? The Lion King 1 1/2 is visually beautiful, musically delightful and slap-the-knee-till-it's-raw funny! There are oodles of fun filled hours and super-wide smiles awaiting you; no matter what your age. And it's also a rare "fun-for-all" family inclusive dvd set. Grab you credit card... Buy It

With all of Hollywood in full prequel sequel mode it's not surprising The Lion King has been "revisited." There's a part two due shortly - but this version is kind of a prequel (a pre-part two edition) where we meet up with Nathan Lane, err, Timon - who's still as ever the over dramatic little soul and his pal Pumbaa, the ever happy, surprisingly wise, flatulent boar. Here the filmmakers show us, with escorts Pumbaa and Timon, how these two culturally diverse Serengeti dwellers became bestest of friends and ultimately affected (Lion King) Simba's life more than any of us could have known. They share the "truth" behind several key events in the noble's life…

Story goes…Timon is dreadfully unhappy with his life of burrowing and digging tunnels as a career. He just knows somewhere - out there - is a world filled with adventure. He has a really bad day and kind of turns his entire tribe against him. He figures now's as good a time as any to exit stage left and seek his own way.

The wise and wacky monkey meets up with him and supplies some life altering fortune cookie-like wisdom to the searching Timon. Naturally Timon translates the monkey's words into his own interpretation and off he goes.

Meanwhile deep in the marsh lands…Pumbaa is a wanderer, a loner-type. Always has been. Thanks to a bright moon filled evening the two shall meet. As we know, this meeting sets forth a circle of life story we are all familiar with, but maybe not as we thought we knew it.

The script is adorable, the characters as rich as the original. And since it's a DVD release the extras are phenomenal. Our DVD hosts, the infamous Timon and Pumbaa "guide" us through the film, stopping at points to share their personal thoughts and memories of the film . There's also an entire extra dvd disk filled with games and featurettes for the family to share. One game, "Find The Face" lets the kids match silhouettes of famous Disney characters to their animated selves and a family-style version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" called "Who Wants to be King of the Jungle" hosted by Meredith Viera lets the whole family join in the fun! You'll answer trivia questions based on The Lion King films . If you get stuck you can "Poll the Herd" or "Phone an Animal" for help and hopefully continue on towards your goal of King of the Jungle. The neat part is each time you play there's new questions to answer.

Also within the extras disk 2 DVD is a Virtual Safari ala an amusement park ride - hilarious and carloads of fun! Campy and well orchestrated for maximum giggles, I assure you. For the music lovers in the family there's a video "Grazing in the Grass" with Disney Channel's Raven (- along with the disk 1 film score by Elton John and Tim Rice). The "Hidden Mickey Hunt" had me dazed and confused I couldn't fing hair nor tail of the fella! Sadly, I don't have that "Mickey Vision" anymore…

You'll go behind the scenes with the filmmakers and cast in "Before the Beginning: The Making of The Lion King 1 1/2." The ever-charming Nathan Lane is simply precious! There's even storyboard-styled "Deleted Scenes" for you; you'll actually meet Timon's father!

As if all that was not enough they've also added a mock-u-mentary hosted by Peter Graves called "Timon: Behind The Legend." Clever? You betcha! Timon is spotlighted with old family snapshots and interviews with his family and friends.

· DVD Features:
o Disc 1
o The Movie
o Deleted Scenes
o Hidden Mickeys Treasure Hunt game
o Disc 2
o "Who Wants To Be King Of The Jungle?" trivia game
o Timon & Pumbaa's Virtual Safari 1.5
o "The Making Of The Lion King 1 1/2" featurette
o Timon: Beyond The Legend (mockumentary)
o "Grazing in the Grass" music video starring Raven
o Find the Face game
o Widescreen anamorphic format
o Number of discs: 2
Buy It