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Heartwarming / The Lion King II: Simba's Pride

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♫ Love will find a way. ♫
  • The entirety of "Love Will Find a Way" primarily occurs after Kovu's exile, and Kiara runs away to find him. When the two finally reunite, they give each other relieved smiles before happily running to each other. It especially hits as Kiara buries her head in his mane, and the camera circles them lovingly embracing.
    • Kiara is now happy to see Kovu again, who is also delighted. After the song ends with Mufasa (in the form of the wind) watching over them and clearing the sand away, he's happy they're together again. The two young lions see the butterflies excitedly as they run down the hill laughing and lie beside a nearby pool. Kovu licks Kiara's cheek and then sees their reflection, which becomes complete since the other half is formed.
      Kovu: Hey, Look, We are one.
    • The lyrics alone can be this, combined with a severe Tear Jerker. More generally, the song can also be taken as an anthem for any couples whose love is stigmatized by society, such as LGBT couples (it helps that the lyrics have no direct association with the plot, aiming for more subtle symbolism).
  • "Upendi" is a fun, light, romantic love song. From the get-go, Kiara has the time of her life and rolls with everything Rafiki throws at her and Kovu (literally). Kovu starts nervous, reluctant, and almost shy due to being out of his depth with happiness and simple fun, but slowly starts laughing and having fun with Kiara.
  • "We Are One" as Simba shows Kiara their kingdom and reassures her that she will always find strength in her people. The song and his gentleness in guiding her to be a good queen is such a sweet father-daughter exchange.
  • During Kiara's "He Lives in You" presentation, the cub mischievously tries to catch some dust in the wind. It's later shown that Mufasa's spirit uses the wind to communicate with Rafiki. Knowing this, it could be Mufasa teasing his granddaughter and playing with her.
  • The end of this exchange:
    Kovu: He (Scar) wasn't my father, but he was still... part of me.
    Kiara: "My father said there was a... darkness in Scar that he couldn't escape.
    Kovu: Maybe there's a darkness in me, too.
    Kiara: (nuzzles him reassuringly)
  • Simba's talk with Kovu about Scar:
    Simba: Scar couldn't let go of his hate, and in the end, it destroyed him.
    Kovu: I've never heard the story of Scar that way. He truly was a killer.
    Simba: Fire is a killer. What's left behind can sometimes grow better than the generation before...if given the chance.
  • The ending:
    • Simba admits he was wrong about Kovu after accusing him of being behind the Outlanders' ambush, accepting him and all the remaining living outsiders back into the pride.
    "Kovu? I was wrong. You belong here. Let's go home. All of us."
    • Earlier on, Vitani is the first of the Outsiders to realize the meaning of Kiara's words, which brings them together and outright defies Zira.
      • What makes this even more poignant is that Vitani stands beside her brother, whom she effectively helped raise as a cub and whom she had knocked out during the Outsiders' ambush on Simba upon noticing his attempts to save him. If that isn't a good way for her to redeem herself and make up with him, the standards for making that judgment must be nigh-impossible to reach.
    • Kovu and Kiara get married after others deny their relationship for the entire movie. They're very much in love and happy to get their happy ending.
    • Given how much Simba initially despised Kovu for being his murderous uncle's chosen heir to the throne, seeing Simba come around and accept Kovu as "his" eventual successor is special. In an ironic twist of fate, Zira gets what she wants, and Scar's dying wish will be fulfilled as Kovu eventually becomes King of the Pride Lands. Only not as Scar's heir but as Simba's.
    • All the animals of the Pride Lands cheer for Kovu and Kiara's wedding, showing that after hating Kovu and driving him out, they change their heart as much as Simba did.
    • Mufasa's spirit is making one last comment before the end credits.
  • When Kovu and Kiara first meet, they get off on the wrong foot, with Kovu making fun of her for being a Daddy's Girl. But when crocodiles attack them seconds later, he quickly attempts to defend her, shouting, "I'll distract them! Run!"
    • Right before the crocodile attack, Kovu, after mocking and annoying Kiara, boasts about Outsiders not needing anyone to take care of them. Kiara, rather than snap back at this kid who was being rude to her, responds with, "Really? Cool!" demonstrating her innocence and good nature. Kovu, in turn, seems a little surprised, but indeed pleased, that Kiara is impressed by him; considering his brother (and sister to a lesser extent) is a Big Brother Bully, and his mom is, well, Zira, he's probably not used to meeting someone who's genuinely impressed by him.
    • Kovu and Kiara both help each other escape from the crocodiles and become friends as a result. They seem to have already formed crushes on each other even at this young age, with Kiara telling Kovu her name in a flirty voice and him appearing to be flustered in response.
  • When Zira offers Kovu up for Simba to kill in the film's beginning, Simba never once makes any threatening motion to the cub. Simba has just learned that Kovu is allegedly Scar's heir and is a likely threat in the future. Despite that knowledge, Simba only looks at the cub, and the look on his face, before he looks back at Zira is utter disgust. His final line in the encounter, "Take him and get out", is notably calmer, but you can also hear a mixture of disgust and sympathy. Simba is livid that Zira would let her child be killed, but is also sympathetic to Kovu in that moment because he knows he went through this. Regardless of how antagonistic Simba is towards Kovu in the latter half of the film, there are some lines he will never cross.
  • Nuka and Vitani might bicker a lot, but it's clear that they care about each other beneath the surface. It goes into Tear Jerker when Vitani is devastated by his death.
  • As soon as she gets home after the confrontation with Simba, a furious Zira rounds on Nuka for letting Kovu wander off ("You were supposed to be "WATCHING HIM!"). Kovu instantly stands up for his brother, confessing, "It's not his fault — I went off on my own," despite how terrified he is of his mother. Sadly, Nuka was always too jealous to see how much his little brother cared about him.
    • Easy to miss in that scene, but Nuka (clearly underfed) tells Zira that he hunted some field mice for her. Of course, Zira completely ignores him.
    • In more of a Tear Jerker case, the Outsiders were devastated by Nuka's death. Despite being The Unfavorite and a tall order Butt-Monkey, he was still cared for, even if his mother showed that a little too late.
      • Zira's reaction when a dying Nuka tells her to forgive him is to gently stroke his cheek to comfort him. This is the nicest gesture she had towards anyone during the whole movie.
      • Despite being fully aware that he has possibly lost the respect of Simba and Kiara and that Zira's pride are probably furious with his betrayal, what is the first thing Kovu does when Nuka falls? He races down and desperately tries to dig his brother out of the logs before Zira pushes him out of the way.
      • In a weird, somewhat twisted way, the fact that Nuka can briefly be seen smiling confidently with Zira and Vitani while Zira is telling Kovu to attack Simba on the logs shows that, for all the envy he held toward Kovu, Nuka still had some amount of confidence in his little brother and expected him to side with their family in the end. However, this can also count partly as a Tear Jerker since Nuka's death ensured that, unlike Vitani, Kovu would never be able to reconcile with him after rejecting their mother's cause.
  • A quick, blink-and-you'll-miss-it case, but Rafiki smiling up at Mufasa in relief as he performs his ritual on Kovu and Kiara during the ending.
  • Rafiki's ability to communicate with Mufasa is somewhat gratifying, showing his old friend can still console, assist, and even argue with him like they're an old married couple.
  • The second Kovu sees Timon, his immediate reaction is to slam on the brakes, and he is visibly horrified when he sees the meerkat appear out of nowhere. This shows he tries to avoid causing unnecessary injury.
  • After Simba gets ambushed by Zira and the Outsiders, he limps home and collapses in front of Kiara, Timon, and Pumbaa. Timon and Pumbaa, not in the mood for jokes now, help Kiara load Simba onto Pumbaa's back, and Timon grabs Simba's tail, saying, "It's all right, buddy. We're here for you."
    • Timon, in particular, is established as the laziest of the pair, preferring to ride on Pumbaa's head, so it really speaks to how much he cares when he gives up his favourite perch and walks it all the way home.
  • It's easy to miss, but during the final confrontation, Zira calls Kovu weaker than she thought. Given that Zira's idea of weakness is not killing, this indicates that even before he reunited with Kiara, Kovu was still questioning whether or not he was doing the right thing.
    • Another minor instance, but right before "My Lullaby", Kovu says he doesn't want to go along with Zira's plan before Zira cuts him off. This shows he opposes Zira's take on morality even as a cub.
  • A somewhat underappreciated and subtle example during the final confrontation between the two prides: after finally understanding his daughter's words and seeing all of Zira's followers promptly leave her side, Simba conclusively tells a defiant Zira that it was "time to put the past behind us." Who taught Simba this motto? Timon and Pumbaa.
    • To put into perspective, Timon and Pumbaa raised Simba under the philosophy of letting things go and not worrying about what has been done. This was the opposite of the previous film's message about confronting past demons and learning how to deal with them. But it brings a valuable lesson in this case because the root of this conflict is the lingering influence of Scar (along with his few followers), Simba's inability to put his anger at Scar behind him, and the unhealthy power it brought. But, with Scar long gone, to hang onto anything associated with him is entirely pointless. Sometimes, accepting the past is about letting it go and moving on. Simba used what his two surrogate fathers taught him to bring peace between two opposing pride.
  • A small one, but considering his status as the Butt-Monkey and stuffy thorn in Young Simba's side, seeing the warmth between Zazu and Simba shows how much things have changed.
  • At the very beginning, we have Timon and Pumbaa looking forward to helping to raise Kiara. It's Played for Laughs, with Timon planning some decidedly Anti-Role Model activities and with their assuming the cub is a boy only to screech and faint when they learn the baby is a girl. But it's still sweet. In particular, one line of Timon's: "It's going to be like old times. You, me... and the little guy." He and Pumbaa loved being Parental Substitutes to Simba, miss the days when he was a cub, and look forward to reliving those good times with the new baby.
    • Simba trusts Timon and Pumbaa enough "to trust them to babysit and look after Kiara."
  • All moments between Simba and Nala in this film. They love each other and do their best to support each other. Both do their best to raise and protect their child as Good Parents (though Simba constantly veers into overprotective territory).
    • Credit to Nala on this end, especially a Reasonable Authority Figure who still shows concern for Kiara's more dangerous antics but primarily serves as Simba's Morality Chain, tempering anger and overprotectiveness multiple times. Simba's behaviour would have been more extreme earlier on if Nala hadn't been there to bring him back down gently.
    • Simba, like his father, found a wife he loves, respects, and listens to. Ultimately, he "did" become his father in that respect.
  • A small one, but when Kiara arrives to end the standoff between the warring pride, she refers to Simba as "a wise king". Even after all the strains on their relationship by this point (Simba banishing Kovu and Kiara calling him a disgrace to Mufasa's legacy), she knows deep down that he's better than this and is capable of being the just and noble leader that his kingdom deserves.
    Kiara: A wise king once told me, "We are one". I didn't understand him then. Now, I do.

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