I SIMPLY SAT THERE ENTHRALLED LISTENING to how the two finally came together as boyfriend and girlfriend. The first time they met was in college. For a dance being held, he asked his roommate if his girlfriend had any friends, he could be fixed up with to take to the dance. The girlfriend did and the first time the two met was the day of the dance. Things seemed to be fine that evening, and he even went out on a second date with her. However, that is where the dating status ended. Unbeknownst to him, by the end of the second date the girl who had been fixed up with him did not care for him. Two years later they bumped into each other at a party off campus. They talked on and off throughout the night but left at separate times. It was not until their senior year, when they bumped into each other at a concession stand at the college’s football stadium, that a fuse was lit. He walked her back to her seat and by the time they got there they agreed to meet at an afterparty. It was at that party where the fuse ignited their hearts. They quickly became a couple since they saw each other multiple times throughout the week and weekends. However, a decision was looming over their heads regarding their graduation.      AFTER HIS GRADUATION, HE WAS SCHEDULED to enter the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School in a southern state. The question they were mulling over is whether she returns home and the two of them maintain a long-term relationship, or she relocates to where he will be stationed and find a job. Though they knew each other for the first three years of college, it was their senior year where they blossomed and grew into a loving couple. She decided she would move with him, find a job and a small apartment to live in. That decision worked out well because they easily found themselves in a steady routine and continued to grow within their relationship. After a little over a year, they got engaged and started to plan a wedding, which was going to take place just before he was to get his first assignment. All their planning fell into place; they had a brief honeymoon vacation before they had to pack and combine their belongings and move to Germany. For the next few years, they would wind up moving three more times, along with their children who were born in different countries. When they told me this tale, their daughter was sitting with us; it was the first time she had heard about how they met. And it was a chance meeting at a concession stand that made everything possible, including her. Their story reaffirmed my belief that there are no accidents; there is a reason for everything, and it is proven again in this family fantasy adventure film.      LOST AND ON HIS OWN, A YOUNG cub has a chance encounter with another cub that puts the two of them on a journey that will have a dramatic effect on their destinies. With Aaron Pierre (Rebel Ridge, Brother) voicing Mufasa, Kelvin Harrison Jr (It Comes at Night, Waves) voicing Taka, Tiffany Boone (The Midnight Sky, The Chi-TV) voicing Sarabi, Kagiso Lediga (The Umbrella Men franchise, Wonder Boy for President) voicing young Rafiki, and Preston Nyman (Crooked House, Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom-TV) voicing Zazu; this sequel like the original was a visual wonder. Everything looked totally real. As for the story, I appreciated the idea behind it; however, with it being told in flashbacks, I felt some of the drama was lost. Plus, adding in the comedic interludes did not provide a continuous buildup of events. Also, it took me longer to get engaged with the characters, leaving me slightly bored in the beginning. Despite not having the same magic feeling as the first one, this movie’s message and my belief with there being no accidents, I am glad I saw this on the big screen.

2 ½ stars