The Lion King 1 1/2 is an enjoyable experience for anyone who's enjoyed the hilarity of the film.
The game's story is the same as the film. Timon is a meerkat who has been hated by most of his kind, due to the fact that he's up to his stupid antics. An example would be at the beginning of the film where everyone's working and singing until the tunnel collapses because Timon was building a "skylight". His dream however, was to go and find himself a new home. In the film, Timon, after his accident, had a new job. Guard duty. A few seconds later, he breaks into song and the 3 hyena's (that were voiced by Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, and Jim Cummings) start chasing him along with the other meerkats. This however, was not in the game. After his "accident", and I use that term loosely, with the hyenas, he then sets out on his journey to find a new home. On his journey, he runs into Pumbaa, a warthog who has gas problems. Very bad gas problems. They become best friends and they go out to find a new home together.
As I said, the game follows the same story as the film. The game is a 2D platformer. The key is to reach the end of the stage. Timon and Pumbaa have their own seperate abilities. Timon can dig into the ground, and Pumbaa can push heavy objects. You will also obtain bugs in each level. There are 45 bugs in each level. Collect all of them, and you will unlock extras. You will also see clips from the film during the course of the game. The game also has a level select system. However, to get to the next stage, you must complete the level, or watch the movie clip.
Now onto the judgement:
The sound and music do pay great homage to the film. At the level select screen, the infamous "Hakuna Matata" plays in the background. The other musical tunes are just tunes from the film. The song "Hakuna Matata" might get annoying at some points. Especially for myself, because I hate the song, even though the song was written by Elton John, one of my favorite rock stars. Yes people, Elton John is a rock star. Don't believe me? Listen to Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, or watch the "Chef Aid" episode of South Park.
The graphics in this game are pretty good. The scenery and character designs pay great homage to the animated film. It's also very colorful. The graphics may look kiddish, but hey. The game is based on a G-rated Disney film. What do you expect? Graphics from Doom?
The gameplay, like I said, is simple 2D platforming. I don't think I need to say anything here, except that it also contains some puzzles that require Timon and Pumbaa's abilities. It may get repetitive, but nothing serious here.
The game may take you at least a couple hours to beat, but it is worth a second playthrough if you're up to it. Problem is, that the game is too easy for older gamer standards. Overall, here's my final judgement:
The Lion King 1 1/2 for the Game Boy Advance is well suited for fans of the film or for a younger audience, however, older gamers might get a bit of enjoyment out of it. Other than that, older gamers might want to stick with the original Lion King on the SNES or Genesis if they want a more challenging Lion King video game, or just watch the movie. The game gets 7 juicy bugs out of 10.