In the first movie, Scar is pretty much just evil and dies as a result of it. In Simba’s Pride, Kovu is a descendent of one of Scar’s closest followers, Zira, who is chosen to carry out her plan by getting close to Simba and his daughter, Kiara.
Once Kovu gets to know them and falls in love with Kiara, he starts to change the ideology he has been raised on.
Kovu had a compelling story of redemption that the original Lion King did not explore.
There’s an entire generation of late ‘90s kids who can attest to crushing a ‘lil on Kovu the lion in their young years.