New information about Disney's sequel to the 1994 animated feature The Lion King

Disney's been pretty tight lipped on this one, but finallly, some information was released by Variety magazine about the long-awaited sequel to The Lion King:

Lion Redo Disney is forging ahead with Simba's Pride, the direct-to-video sequel to The Lion King. Variety says Talk Radio star Andy Dick has just signed to voice the villainous Nunka, the son of Scar. The studio has been talking to Jennifer Aniston and Sarah Jessica Parker to voice Aisha, the daughter of Simba. Now, it looks like that role will go to Parker, whose beau, Matthew Broderick, is returning as Simba. One potentially racy element to the video is that Scar's spawn tries to woo Aisha. Scar and Simba were brothers, of course, and Variety says the subject of potentially incestuous cartoon lions has been a topic of heated discussion among top Disney executives.

Well, Variety is a fairly reliable source, except for one slight error in this article. It states that Scar and Simba are brothers, when in fact, they are uncle and nephew, respectively. Also, the sequel will be a direct-to-video release, much like the sequels to Disney's Aladdin, The Return of Jafar and Forty Thieves. Being a direct-to-video release, the Television Animation department will head up the project.

The above article is a bit sketchy about the actual plot of the movie, so here is a brief synopsis:

The cub at the end of The Lion King turns out not to be the next King, but a daughter to Simba and Nala, named Aisha. The young cub is grown, and meets a mysterious lion named Nunka. This is unclear: either they fall in love with each other, or Nunka courts Aisha. The plot thickens when it is learned that Nunka is the estranged son of Scar. Simba must learn of a way to cope with the fact that his daughter is in love with the son of the lion that killed his father, Mufasa.

Also released was very early information on the music of TLK2 : Simba's Pride. The below transcript is from a songwriter's convention. Whether or not it is reliable information is unknown, but it's all the author could find:

10:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. THE BEST WAY TO WRITE THE BEST LYRICS Hit lyricist Marty Panzer offers advice on writing lyrics that stand out and stand up over time. Includes an open discussion of:collaboration, the marketplace, demands of artists and producers and overcoming creative blocks.Panzer co-wrote the Kenny Rogers classic, "Through The Years," and more than 30 Barry Manilow recordings, including the standards "It's A Miracle", "Even Now" and "This One's For You." These and other recordings by Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Julio Iglesias, Michael Crawford and Teddy Pendergrass, among others, have earned him 30 gold and platinum albums and over 70 million records sold. Most recently, Marty completed lyrics and dialogue for the MGM Grand production of EFX starring Michael Crawford, as well as "We Are One" for the Disney sequel to The Lion King entitled Simba's Pride

It is unknown if this song, titled "We Are One", will be used in the movie, but all indications is that it will.

The projected release for The Lion King 2 : Simba's Pride is in the summer of 1997. Previews of the movie are expected to be a part of the Hunchback of Notre Dame video when it is released in March of 1997.

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