The Lion Guard


The Lion Guard is an American animated television series developed by Ford Riley and based on Disney's 1994 film The Lion King. The series was first broadcast with a television film titled The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar on Disney Channel on November 22, 2015, and began airing as a TV series on January 15, 2016, on Disney Junior. It is the second television series to be based on The Lion King, the first being Timon & Pumbaa. The Lion Guard is a sequel and spin-off to The Lion King and takes place during the time-gap within the 1998 film , with the third and final season taking place in parallel with the film's second act, followed by the final two episodes of the series serving as a continuation to the film.
The second season premiered on July 7, 2017. A third season was commissioned on March 15, 2017, and premiered on August 3, 2019. The first eight episodes of season 3 were made available on-demand and the DisneyNow app on the same day. The series finale aired on November 3, 2019.

Plot

is the son of King Simba and Queen Nala, the younger brother of Kiara and the prince of the Pride Lands. As the second-born of the Lion King, he is gifted with a power called the Roar of the Elders and becomes the leader of the Lion Guard, a team of animals who protect the Pride Lands and defend the Circle of Life. Kion, along with his friends Bunga the honey badger, Beshte the hippopotamus, Fuli the cheetah, and Ono the egret, sets out to keep the Pride Lands safe and protected from animals who do not respect the Circle of Life.
Starting in season 2, the Lion Guard's mission becomes harder when Scar returns as a fiery spirit with plans to destroy the Pride Lands. Scar forms an army consisted of animals from the Outlands, the Outlanders. This eventually leads to an all-out battle between the Pridelanders and the Outlanders.
After Scar's defeat at the beginning of season 3, the Lion Guard travels out of the Pride Lands of Africa and across the world to get to the Tree of Life to cure Kion and Ono of their battle injuries. Kion's team also gets a new member, a martial eagle named Anga who replaces Ono's position as the new keenest of sight after Ono temporarily lost his eyesight, while Ono gains a new position as the smartest.
Once reaching the Tree of Life, the Lion Guard assists in defending the haven from intruders together with the Night Pride, the royal family who rules the Tree of Life and its protectors. After Kion and Ono are healed and their enemies defeated, Jasiri and Janja come looking for them and alerts them that Zira and her pride are back. The Lion Guard returns to the Pride Lands, only to find out that the conflict has already been settled. Zira's daughter and Kovu's older sister, Vitani, forms her own Lion Guard in their absence, causing an argument between them and Kion's Lion Guard. However, after seeing Vitani's confidence in becoming a leader even without the Roar, Kion allows Vitani's Lion Guard to succeed his Guard as defenders of the Pride Lands. Kion and his friends return to the Tree of Life where Kion marries Rani and is crowned King of the Tree of Life with his family and friends attending.

Episodes

Characters

The Lion Guard

The characters returning from The Lion King and its sequels and spin-offs appear in this series:
The series was announced by Disney on June 9, 2014 on the run-up to the first film's 20th anniversary. Disney Junior general manager Nancy Kanter stated: "It's kind of like The Lion King meets The Avengers." The series' announcement came after a meeting between Kanter and Disney chief executive Robert Iger. Iger suggested to Kanter that Disney Junior should consider producing content to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Lion King in 2014. Disney had shown early footage to young test audiences, who were able to make suggestions, such as adjusting the look of the hyenas. Disney Consumer Products launched a line of toys to tie into the television series, as well at book titles based on the series such as Return of the Roar, Can't-Wait to be Queen, Bunga the Wise, Meet the New Guard, Fuli Finds Her Place, Join the Lion Guard! and Kion's Animal Alphabet. A sneak peek of The Lion Guard was shown at the 2015 D23 Expo. On August 12, 2015, a sneak peek was shown, with new information that the television movie was scheduled to air in November 2015 to be titled The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar. On October 9, 2015, it was announced that Return of the Roar would premiere on November 22, 2015, on Disney Channel.
On coming up with the idea, the series' creator and executive producer Ford Riley noted that at the end of The Lion King we see the presentation of Simba and Nala's newborn cub. In , we see that the cub in question is Kiara and that she will be the future queen. Riley was interested in the idea of a second-born cub and what his role would be if Kiara is destined to become queen. Additionally, he was inspired by his 8-year-old son. "Every Thursday, he and his buddies go to the park and they have this imaginary superhero team and they have all these imaginary adventures. That's when it hit me. Let's have a group of superheroes in the Pride Lands– The Avengers meets The Lion King!"
Riley confirmed the timeline of the series; in Simba's Pride, there is a years-long time gap, The Lion Guard takes place during the years in-between Kiara's first meeting with Kovu as a cub and her first hunt as an adult. Riley also noted the inclusion of Swahili into the series; "e’ve hired Sarah Mirza, who wrote the book on English-Swahili translations. We’ve been using Swahili not just in names of characters and places but also in the language of the show itself."
Classic mythology is used as inspiration for the show. About Return of the Roar, Riley noted; "The whole laying on hands where Kion gives the mark of the guard to the rest of the team, that goes back to the Bible." Riley noted that protecting the Circle of Life is the main theme of the series; "The animals who respect it don’t eat too much, allow for the grass to grow, and larger animals to eat smaller animals. Our bad guys come from those that don't respect the Circle of Life. They just want to eat and wreak havoc."
In terms of giving The Lion Guard, the same look as the original film, director Howy Parkins stated that they were mindful to keep the essence of The Lion King. To that end, the crew did extensive research on the look of the backgrounds and characters and were able to obtain some original model sheets. Also, Barry Atkinson and Mike Surrey, background painter and supervising animator for Timon on the original film respectively, were brought in to consult with the series' background artists, animators and storyboard artists.
Speaking on the show's educational aspect, Parkins stated that research was done on animals and habitats in the Serengeti, and that this information is woven into storylines without being overt.

Spin-off

A short-form series called It's UnBungalievable starring Bunga and Ono was produced by Disneynature and premiered on Disney Junior on January 9, 2016. In the series, Bunga and Ono pick two animals to compete in contests such as "Who's Quicker?" "Who Has Better Hair?" and "Who's Hungrier?" The series features live-action animal footage provided by Disneynature.
#Episode
1Who's Quicker?
2Who's Mightier?
3Who Has Better Hair?
4Who's Hungrier?
5Who's the Better Babysitter?
6Who's Cuter?
7Who's Sillier?
8Who's Louder?
9Who's Brainier?
10Who's a Better Flyer?

Broadcast

Like its American counterpart, Return of the Roar premiered on November 22, 2015 on Disney Channel in Canada, while the series premiered on January 17, 2016 on Disney Junior, two days after its American premiere. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, Return of the Roar premiered on Disney Junior on February 8, 2016, while the series premiered on April 13, 2016. In Australia and New Zealand, the pilot debuted on February 6, 2016 and the series began airing on February 28, 2016 on Disney Junior. In Southeast Asia, the pilot premiered on March 20, 2016 on Disney Channel and the series itself on April 17 on the Disney Junior block on Disney Channel.

Home media

DVD releases

Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.
TitleRelease DateEpisodesAdditional Features
The Lion Guard: Return of the RoarFebruary 23, 2016Television movieMusic video of Beau Black performing "Here Comes the Lion Guard."

Talking Lion Guard Backpack Clip
The Lion Guard: Unleash the PowerSeptember 20, 2016
  • "Fuli's New Family"
  • "Bunga the Wise"
  • "Eye of the Beholder"
  • "Follow That Hippo!"
  • "The Search for Utamu"
  • "Never Judge a Hyena by Its Spots"
Lion Guard Power Necklace
The Lion Guard: Life in the Pride LandsJanuary 10, 2017
  • "The Rise of Makuu"
  • "The Kupatana Celebration"
  • "Bunga and the King"
  • "Never Roar Again"
  • "The Imaginary Okapi"
Music videos: "A Trail to Hope", "Teke Ruka Teleza"
It's UnBungalievable shorts
Five Lion Guard Wristbands
The Lion Guard: The Rise of ScarJanuary 9, 2018
  • "The Rise of Scar"
  • "The Trouble With Galagos"
  • "Janja's New Crew"
  • "Baboons!"
  • "Lions of the Outlands"

Soundtracks

A second soundtrack release entitled The Lion Guard: Disney Junior Music was released digitally on September 1, 2017.

Reception

Max Nicholson from IGN gives the pilot episode score of 7.7, describing the special as "a fun-filled, if younger-skewing, hour television." He praised the pilot for introducing more of the Lion King lore, and also the animation, music, and performance of the new voice actors. However, he finds Janja and his clan lacks the appeal to make a compelling villain.

Awards and nominations