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 movie 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 and Disney Channel. It is the second television series to be based on The Lion King, the first being Timon & Pumbaa. The Lion Guard is a sequel to The Lion King and takes place during the time-gap within the 1998 film The Lion King II: Simba's Pride.
The second season premiered on July 7, 2017. A third season was commissioned in March 2017.
Plot
The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride (1h 21min || Best Animation, Adventure, Family Movie) -
Kion 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 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.
Characters
The Lion Guard
- Kion (voiced by Max Charles) â€" A lion cub who is Simba and Nala's son, Mufasa's grandson, Kiara's younger brother, the Prince of the Pride Lands, and the leader of the Lion Guard as well as its fiercest member. He serves as the main protagonist of the series. He often exclaims "Hevi kabisa!" His battlecry for the Lion Guard is "Till the Pride Lands end, Lion Guard defend!".
- Bunga (voiced by Joshua Rush) â€" A honey badger who is the bravest member of the Lion Guard. He is Timon and Pumbaa's adoptive nephew and Kion's best friend. His battlecry is "Zuka Zama!".
- Fuli (voiced by Diamond White) â€" A cheetah who is the fastest member of the Lion Guard, the only female member, Kion's friend and second in command. She is also the first female animal to ever serve in the Guard as mentioned in The Rise of Scar. Her battlecry is "Huwezi!".
- Ono (voiced by Atticus Shaffer) â€" A cattle egret who is the keenest of sight of the Lion Guard and Kion's friend. He often exclaims "Hapana!".
- Beshte (voiced by Dusan Brown) â€" A hippopotamus who is the strongest member of the Lion Guard and Kion's friend. He often exclaims "Poa!" His battlecry is "Twende Kiboko!".
The Lion King alumni
The following characters from The Lion King movies appear in this series:
- Simba (voiced by Rob Lowe) â€" A lion who is Mufasa's son, Nala's mate, Scar's nephew, and Kion and Kiara's father. He is the King of the Pride Lands and the leader of his Pride. Simba and Bunga share a history of having lived with Timon and Pumbaa.
- Nala (voiced by Gabrielle Union) â€" A lioness who is Simba's mate, and Kion and Kiara's mother. She is the Queen of the Pride Lands.
- Kiara (voiced by Eden Riegel) â€" A lion cub who is Simba and Nala's daughter, Mufasa's granddaughter, Kion's older sister, the Princess of the Pride Lands and its future queen.
- Timon (voiced by Kevin Schon) â€" Simba and Pumbaa's wisecracking meerkat friend. Timon is Bunga's adoptive uncle. Schon previously voiced Timon in Timon & Pumbaa.
- Pumbaa (voiced by Ernie Sabella) â€" Simba and Timon's warm-hearted common warthog friend. Pumbaa is Bunga's other adoptive uncle. Sabella reprises his role from The Lion King and its spin-offs.
- Rafiki (voiced by Khary Payton) â€" A wise old mandrill who serves as a Royal Mjuzi (a Pride Lands word for knowledge keeper and advisor) for the Royal Family of Pride Rock. In The Rise of Scar, Rafiki takes on an apprentice named Makini.
- Zazu (voiced by Jeff Bennett) â€" A red-billed hornbill and Simba's majordomo who supplies news via the morning report of the Pride Lands.
- Mufasa (voiced by James Earl Jones in Return of the Roar, reprising his role from The Lion King, Gary Anthony Williams in later episodes) â€" Simba's father, and Kion and Kiara's paternal grandfather who was killed in the original film by a wildebeest stampede orchestrated by his younger brother Scar. Since his death, he lives on as a spirit that gives Kion advice on how to get through any tough plight.
- Scar (voiced by David Oyelowo) â€" Simba's deceased uncle, Kion and Kiara's great-uncle, and Mufasa's younger brother. He is the main antagonist of the second season. Scar was once the leader of a Lion Guard before Kion and also had the Roar of the Elders, but the power went to his head and he began to believe that he should be king instead of Mufasa. He lost the Roar after he used it to destroy his fellow Lion Guard members when they refused to help him overthrow Mufasa. Later in life, he orchestrated his brother's death with the help of his hyena henchmen. After being defeated by Simba in a vicious fight, he was mauled to death by the hyenas when he tried to pin the blame of Mufasa's death on them. By the end of The Rise of Scar, Kion unknowingly summons Scar back as a fiery spirit in the Outlands' volcano after he uses the Roar in anger when Janja provokes him. In "Let Sleeping Crocs Lie," Scar takes in Kiburi's float and announces his plans to unite all the animals in the Outlands to takeover the Pride Lands and defeat the new Lion Guard and Simba, who were unaware that Scar had returned. In "Divide and Conquer", Kion briefly witnesses Scar's spirit in the flames of a fire before it vanishes, but is unsure of what to make of it. Only a strange scorch mark remains, which Rafiki recognizes as a sign of terrible evil. In the following episode "The Scorpion's Sting", Scar reveals himself to the Lion Guard while they are in the Outlands collecting volcanic ash needed to cure Simba from a scorpion sting.
- The Outsiders â€" A pride of offshoot lions that were loyal to Scar. After a failed takeover following Scar's death, Simba banished them to the Outlands where they tried to invade the territory that Jasiri's clan lives in. Kion defeated them with the Roar of the Elders which sent them flying to the Outlands' termite mound area which became their base of operations.
- Zira (voiced by Nika Futterman) â€" A lioness who is the mother of Kovu, Vitani and Nuka and the leader of the Outsiders. She was a loyal follower of Scar. After a failed takeover following Scar's death, Zira and those involved were banished to the Outlands with her family by Simba.
- Kovu (voiced by Jason Marsden) â€" A lion cub who is the chosen successor of Scar, Zira's youngest son and the younger brother of Nuka and Vitani. Prior to the series, he briefly befriended Kiara. Marsden previously voiced adolescent Kovu in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride.
- Nuka (voiced by Andy Dick) â€" An adolescent lion who is the oldest son of Zira, the older brother of Kovu and Vitani, and a member of the Outsiders. Dick reprises his role from Simba's Pride.
- Vitani (voiced by Lacey Chabert) â€" A lion cub who is Zira's daughter and the sister of Nuka and Kovu. Chabert reprises her role from Simba's Pride.
Supporting characters
Pride Landers
- Tiifu (voiced by Sarah Hyland) â€" A lion cub friend of Kiara and a member of Simba's Pride who is somewhat more sensible than her constant companion Zuri.
- Zuri (voiced by Madison Pettis) â€" Another lion cub friend of Kiara and a member of Simba's Pride who is somewhat vain and hates getting dirty.
- Makuu (voiced by Blair Underwood) â€" A Nile crocodile who is the leader of his float after he defeated Pua in a "mashindano" (a fight for dominance in the crocodile float where the winner becomes the new leader of the float and the loser has to leave). In the first season, Makuu and his float antagonized the Lion Guard and caused trouble. In season 2, Makuu has reformed from his trouble-making ways as he works to become a better leader for his float and the Pride Lands.
- Makini (voiced by Landry Bender) â€" A young mandrill who becomes Rafiki's apprentice. She is one of a few characters who knows that Kion speaks to the spirit of Mufasa.
- Big Baboon's Troop â€" A troop of olive baboons that resides in Nyani Grove.
- Big Baboon (voiced by Ford Riley in Return of the Roar, Dee Bradley Baker in later appearances) â€" An olive baboon who is the leader his troop.
- Gumba (voiced by Jacquez Swanigan) â€" A young olive baboon who is a part of Big Baboon's troop.
- Basi (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) â€" A hippopotamus who is Beshte's father and leader of his pod.
- Pua (voiced by Gerald C. Rivers) â€" The former leader of the local Nile crocodile float. He was challenged by Makuu to a "mashindano". Upon being defeated by Makuu, Pua left the float.
- Thurston's Herd â€" A herd of plains zebras that resides in the Pride Lands.
- Thurston (voiced by Kevin Schon) â€" A handsome yet dimwitted plains zebra who is the leader of the herd.
- Kwato (voiced by Lyons Luke Mathias) â€" A young plains zebra foal who is part of Thurston's herd.
- Mbeya (voiced by Howy Parkins) â€" An old black rhinoceros who is the leader of his crash.
- Ma Tembo's Herd â€" A herd of African bush elephants that resides in the Pride Lands. They resided in Kilio Valley until it was destroyed by a fire caused by the Outlanders in "The Kilio Valley Fire."
- Ma Tembo (voiced by Lynette DuPree) â€" An African bush elephant with a broken right tusk who is the leader of the herd and the daughter of Amanifu, an old friend of Simba's who dies early in the series.
- Mtoto (voiced by Justin Felbinger) â€" A young African bush elephant calf who is part of Ma Tembo's herd.
- Mtoto’s mom (voiced by Virginia Watson) â€" An unnamed African bush elephant who is part of Ma Tembo’s herd.
- Zito (voiced by Nick Watt) â€" A grouchy and impatient African bush elephant who is part of Ma Tembo's herd.
- Johari (voiced by Ace Gibson) â€" An African bush elephant who is part of Ma Tembo’s herd.
- Zigo (voiced by Marieve Herington) â€" An African bush elephant who is part of Ma Tembo’s herd.
- Twiga's Herd â€" A herd of Masai giraffes that resides in Acacia Grove.
- Twiga (voiced by Alex Cartana) â€" A Masai giraffe who is the leader of the herd.
- Juhudi (voiced by Ivy Bishop) â€" A young Masai giraffe calf who is Twiga's daughter.
- Shingo (voiced by Phil LaMarr) â€" A Masai giraffe who is part of Twiga's herd.
- Mbuni (voiced by Russi Taylor) â€" A cheerful ostrich who is the leader of her flock.
- Muhanga (voiced by Russi Taylor) â€" An aardvark.
- Muhangus (voiced by Khary Payton) â€" An aardvark who is Muhanga's mate.
- Kambuni (voiced by Mckenna Grace) â€" A young ostrich chick.
- Shauku (voiced by Jacob Guenther) â€" A young banded mongoose pup.
- Tamaa (voiced by CJ Byrnes) â€" A fork-tailed drongo who can imitate the voice of any animal.
- Muhimu's Herd â€" A herd of plains zebras that resides in the Pride Lands.
- Muhimu (voiced by Kari Wahlgren, Emma Bunton in the UK version of "The Mbali Fields Migration") â€" A plains zebra who is the leader of the herd.
- Hamu (voiced by Lyons Luke Mathias) â€" A young plains zebra foal who is Muhimu's son. Shortly after being born, he helped the Lion Guard fend off Janja, Cheezi and Chungu.
- Swala (voiced by Tunisia Hardison) â€" A Thomson's gazelle who is the leader of her herd.
- Ajabu (voiced by Ron Funches) â€" An okapi who travels to the Pride Lands to get away from Makucha.
- Mjomba's Pack â€" A pack of aardwolves that resides in the Pride Lands and only come out at night. The Lion Guard accidentally mistook them for hyenas until Kion cleared things up and fended off Reirei and Goigoi. The aardwolves are known for keeping the termite population down.
- Mjomba (voiced by Charlie Adler) â€" A grumpy and impatient aardwolf.
- Ogopa (voiced by Marieve Herington) â€" A bright and bubbly aardwolf.
- Haya (voiced by Ogie Banks) â€" A nervous and shy aardwolf.
- Laini (voiced by Meghan Strange) â€" A galago who is the leader of her group in Ndefu Grove.
- Vuruga Vuruga (voiced by Virginia Watson) â€" An African buffalo who is the leader of her herd. Kiara once presided over their Royal Buffalo Wallow.
- Young Rhino (voiced by Kari Wahlgren) â€" A young black rhinoceros calf.
- Hadithi (voiced by John O'Hurley) â€" A legendary African hawk-eagle who faked having invented the Hadithi Spin.
- Bupu's Herd â€" A herd of sable antelopes that resides in the Pride Lands.
- Bupu (voiced by Michael Dorn) â€" A stubborn sable antelope who is the leader of the herd and values polite behavior.
- Boboka (voiced by Erica Luttrell) â€" A sable antelope who is part of Bupu's herd
- Chura (voiced by Meghan Strange) â€" An African toad.
- Kifaru (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) â€" A poor-sighted white rhinoceros.
- Mwenzi (voiced by Rhys Darby) â€" A red-billed oxpecker who is Kifaru's tickbird and best friend.
- Kulinda (voiced by Elise Allen) â€" A hamerkop who leaves her egg in Ono's nest while she builds a new nest that is safe from predators. She later names her baby Ona, in honor of Ono.
- Tumbili (voiced by Ace Gibson) â€" A Zanzibar red colobus who is the leader of his troop. He grew tired of Furaha's antics and sent him away.
- Chama (voiced by Jacob Bertrand) â€" A young fun-loving African bush elephant who used to be part of Ma Tembo's herd. He, Mzaha, and Furaha are best friends and share a tree together near Big Springs.
- Mzaha (voiced by Cade Sutton) â€" A young fun-loving sable antelope who used to be part of Bupu's herd.
- Furaha (voiced by Mekai Curtis) â€" A young fun-loving Zanzibar red colobus who used to be part of Tumbili's troop.
- Nyuni (voiced by Nolan North) â€" A western yellow wagtail who temporarily becomes an unofficial member of Bupu's herd.
- Hodari (voiced by Justin Hires) â€" An electric blue gecko who dreamed of being in a crocodile float. Makuu made him an honorary member of his float due to his bravery when confronting Kiburi.
- Kongwe (voiced by CCH Pounder) â€" An African spurred tortoise who is the oldest and wisest animal in the Pride Lands.
- Kinyonga (voiced by Meghan Strange) â€" A veiled chameleon who helped the Lion Guard by spying on Scar in the Outlands.
Outlanders
- Jasiri's Clan â€" A clan of friendly spotted hyenas that resides in the Outlands. Unlike Janja's clan, Jasiri and her hyena clan respect the Circle of Life and mostly scavenge for food.
- Jasiri (voiced by Maia Mitchell) â€" A spotted hyena living in the Outlands who is the leader of her clan and allies with Kion.
- Madoa (voiced by Maisie Klompus) â€" A spotted hyena who is Jasiri's sister and is part of her clan.
- Tunu (voiced by Crimson Hart) â€" A spotted hyena cub and brother of Wema who is part of Jasiri's clan.
- Wema (voiced by Fiona Hart) â€" A spotted hyena cub and sister of Tunu who is part of Jasiri's clan.
Back Landers
- Badilli (voiced by Jack McBrayer) â€" A friendly cream-colored African leopard from Mirihi Forest in the Back Lands who was driven out of his territory by Mapigano. The Lion Guard trained him to have enough courage to drive off Mapigano.
- Dhahabu's Herd â€" A herd of plains zebras that resides in Dhahabu Grove in the Back Lands.
- Dhahabu (voiced by Renée Elise Goldsberry) â€" A rare golden zebra who is the leader of the herd. Bunga admires her greatly.
- Raha (voiced by Rico Rodriguez) â€" A plains zebra who is Starehe's brother and part of Dhahabu's herd.
- Starehe (voiced by Raini Rodriguez) â€" A plains zebra who is Raha's sister and part of Dhahabu's herd.
Other characters
- King Sokwe (voiced by John Rhys-Davies) â€" A mountain gorilla who is Majinuni and Hafifu's father. He and his troop of mountain gorillas live in the Theluji Mountains.
- Hafifu and Majinuni (voiced by Phil Lester and Dan Howell) â€" Two mountain gorilla princes and sons of King Sokwe who come to the Pride Lands to deliver a message to Simba.
- Uroho (voiced by Sinbad) â€" A yellow baboon who is the leader of the Traveling Baboon Show. He and his fellow baboon performers Mwevi and Mwizi stole food from around the Pride Lands, but later saw the error of their ways when the Lion Guard saved them from Janja's clan.
- Mwevi and Mwizi (both voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) â€" Two yellow baboons who are members of the Traveling Baboon Show.
Antagonists
Outlanders
- Janja's Clan â€" A clan of male spotted hyenas that live in the Outlands and do not respect the Circle of Life.
- Janja (voiced by Andrew Kishino) â€" A cunning and ruthless spotted hyena who is the leader of the clan.
- Cheezi (voiced by Vargus Mason) â€" An excitable spotted hyena and one of Janja's right-hand henchmen.
- Chungu (voiced by Kevin Schon) â€" An unintelligent spotted hyena with a slightly heavier build than the other hyenas who is the other of Janja’s right-hand henchmen.
- Nne (voiced by Beau Black) â€" A sly and stout but smart spotted hyena.
- Tano (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) â€" A devious and sloping but smart spotted hyena.
- Mzingo's Parliament â€" A flock of white-backed vultures that live in the Outlands and is allied with Janja's clan.
- Mzingo (voiced by Greg Ellis) â€" A calculative white-backed vulture who is the leader of his parliament. He sometimes serves as Janja's spy and scout.
- Mwoga (voiced by Cam Clarke) â€" A foolish and clumsy white-backed vulture who is a member of the parliament.
- Ushari (voiced by Christian Slater) â€" An Egyptian cobra who often conflicted with Bunga and would get disturbed whenever the Lion Guard was near him. In the season 2 special The Rise of Scar, Ushari finally gets fed up with the Lion Guard disturbing his peace and inadvertently finds out that Kion talks to Mufasa's spirit. He informs Janja of this which leads to the two of them orchestrating events that enable them to summon Scar's spirit. Upon Scar's spirit being unleashed, Ushari becomes a second-in-command to him in Scar's plot to unite all the animals of the Outlands in a plot to get revenge on the Pride Lands.
- Reirei's Pack â€" A pack of black-backed jackals that live in the Outlands.
- Reirei (voiced by Ana Gasteyer) â€" A clever and manipulative black-backed jackal who is the leader of the pack.
- Goigoi (voiced by Phil LaMarr) â€" A greedy and dimwitted black-backed jackal who is Reirei's mate.
- Dogo (voiced by Jacob Guenther) â€" A black-backed jackal pup who is one of Reirei and Goigoi's sons. He has blue eyes compared to the other pups who have brown eyes.
- Kijana (voiced by Amber Hood) â€" A black-backed jackal pup who is Reirei and Goigoi's daughter and Dogo's sister.
- Shupavu's Group â€" A group of skinks who are friends with Ushari and serve as his spies in the Pride Lands.
- Shupavu (voiced by Meghan Strange) â€" A sneaky fire skink who is the leader of her group. She dislikes being close to Pride Rock.
- Njano (voiced by Ford Riley) â€" A crafty, blue-tongued rainbow skink who works with Shupavu and is her second-in-command.
- Nyeusi (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) â€" A stealthy black western rock skink who works with Shupavu.
- Waza â€" An observant blue skink who works with Shupavu.
- Nyata â€" A swift purple skink who works with Shupavu.
- Kiburi's Float â€" Former members of Makuu's float who were kicked out and banished from the Pride Lands for their treachery towards Makuu and Simba.
- Kiburi (voiced by Common) â€" An arrogant Nile crocodile who was part of Makuu's float. He and his followers defied Makuu's orders which led to them working with Ushari. While Kiburi challenged Makuu to a "mashindano", his three followers tried to attack Simba from behind only for the Lion Guard to intervene. Kiburi and his followers were kicked out of Makuu's float upon his loss and were exiled to the Outlands by Simba, with Kiburi vowing to have his revenge someday. Upon running into Ushari again, Kiburi and his followers were led to Scar's spirit in the hyenas' volcano and formed an alliance with him.
- Tamka (voiced by Nolan North) â€" An overconfident and unintelligent Nile crocodile who is one of Kiburi's followers.
- Nduli (voiced by Jorge Diaz) â€" A Nile crocodile who is one of Kiburi's followers.
- Kenge (voiced by Kristofer Hivju) â€" An enormous and ferocious rock monitor, and acquaintance of Ushari who dislikes being called "little". His venomous bite induces temporary paralysis.
- Sumu (voiced by Ford Riley) â€" A venomous scorpion who was ordered by Scar to sting Simba.
Back Landers
- Makucha (voiced by Steven Blum) â€" A cream-colored African leopard from the Back Lands who tracks Ajabu to the Pride Lands since okapis are rare creatures. Makucha is later revealed to be the leader of his leap which is first shown when the Lion Guard was looking for water in the Back Lands during a water shortage in the Pride Lands.
- Mapigano (voiced by Jorge Diaz) â€" A cream-colored African leopard who bullied Badilli upon invading his territory in Mirihi Forest in the Back Lands.
Other characters
- Mpishi (voiced by Carla Hall) â€" An African harrier-hawk who leaves her hunting grounds from an unknown land and travels to the Pride Lands looking for a rare meal. She teamed up with Mwoga to target Kulinda's newly-hatched chick.
Production
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 stated that at the end of The Lion King "[W]e see Simba and Nala as king and queen and Rafiki’s holding up the cub. In Lion King 2, [we learn] that is Kiara the cub and she’s going to grow up to become queen. I’ve got two kids, and usually stories are about the oldest child or an only child. I was really interested in a second born cub. What would his role be if Kiara’s gonna grow up to be queen?" Riley explained that 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 â€" The Avengers meets The Lion King!"
When asked where the show fits into the timeline, Riley explained that in The Lion King 2; "Kiara meets Kovu and they get into trouble. The very next scene, Kiara is fully grown and off on her first hunt. Clearly there’s a few years gap in there, so we’re filling that gap with The Lion Guard."
Riley also noted the inclusion of Swahili into the series; "[I]t’s one of those things that struck me about The Lion King that there’s all these Swahili phrases... I wanted to have that element in the series as well, so we’ve actually hired Sarah Mirza, who literally 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. Like ‘Zuka zama’ which is Bunga’s catchphrase and ‘Sisi Ni Sawa’ song. All of the characters have catchphrases which mean real things in Swahili."
Classic mythology is used as inspiration for the show. In reference to 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." On the series, he stated: "We want it to feel epic and so we’re trying to draw from as many epics in classical literature and classical television in addition to [The Lion King] itself." 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: "[W]e were very mindful to hold the essence of The Lion King, through the look of the background environments to the actual characters. We did extensive research and were also able to obtain some original model sheets... The challenge with The Lion Guard was capturing the stunning beauty and look of The Lion King, so when one of my friends, Barry Atkinson, who worked on The Lion King as a background painter, became available, we brought him in. He shared a lot of insight when it came time to look at examples that the new backgrounds artists had done. Then another friend of mine, Mike Surrey, came in to talk to the animators and the storyboard artists. He was the animation supervising director on Timon on The Lion King. So we've pulled in some favors."
Speaking on the show's educational aspect and tone, Parkins said: "We have multiple characters and stories to tell, so we've used the Circle of Life as sort of a nice story arc to the entire series as well as the feature. For the research we've done, we've been able to take facts about the animals in the Serengeti and some of the habitat information and either work them into the stories or create entire stories based on an actual fact. Without being overly educational, we are very educational. It's been a fun thing to run with through the entire storytelling process... [W]e have to be mindful of the two to seven audience. We have the music, the chase sequences, a lot of comic relief, as well as our villains, so there will be some dark moments. But we tend to pull back a little more than they did on the original movie or on a movie, for example, like Finding Nemo."
Episodes
Spin-off
A short-form series called It's UnBungalievable starring Bunga and Ono premiered on Disney Junior and Disneynature 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.
- "Who's Quicker?"
- "Who's Mightier?"
- "Who Has Better Hair?"
- "Who's Hungrier?"
- "Who's the Better Babysitter?"
- "Who's Cuter?"
- "Who's Sillier?"
- "Who's Louder?"
- "Who's Brainier?"
- "Who'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 on Disney Junior. In Southeast Asia, Return of the Roar premiered on March 20, 2016, on Disney Channel (April 11, 2016, on Disney Junior) and the series premiered on April 17, 2016, on Disney Junior block in Disney Channel. It aired in TVNZ in New Zealand and 7flix in Australia.
Home media
DVD releases
Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.
Soundtracks
There is a new soundtrack release untitled The Lion Guard: Disney Junior Music that is digital only that came out September 1, 2017
References
External links
- Official website
- The Lion Guard official DVD website
- The Lion Guard on IMDb