The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar

“The Lion King” still is one of the great animated films of all time. So great, in fact, that it had two direct-to-video sequels, a TV spinoff and a Broadway musical, all with unstable degrees of success. Now, Disney is giving an all-new cartoon special that aired at the end of last month, “The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar,” which takes place after the original film and in the middle of its sequel “The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride.” Thankfully, it looks like the series is back on track for a new generation.

In “The Lion Guard,” which will start as a cartoon series in January, we meet Kion (Max Charles), the second-born cub of Simba (Rob Lowe) and Nala (Gabrielle Union). However, while Kion’s older sister Kiara (Eden Riegel) is on the path to become the Queen of Pride Rock, Kion himself has yet to find out who he will grow up to be. That is until he unleashes the power of the Roar, which indicates his leadership of the Lion Guard – sworn protectors of the Pride Lands.

Max Nicholson said in his review, “Perhaps the most enticing part of the special is how it introduces new lore into the Lion King world while also shedding new light on old characters.” As Simba explains to Kion, the previous Lion Guard was led by Scar, who, as it turns out, also had the power of the Roar. However, when the Guard refused to help Scar overthrow Mufasa, Scar used the Roar to destroy them and, in doing so, lost the Roar completely. Basically the Roar is the Force of the Lion King universe. It can be used for both good and evil.

From the start, it’s cool to see the show pay tribute to the original Lion King. In addition to placing Scar and Mufasa into the history of the Lion Guard, the series includes fan-favorite characters like Timon (Kevin Schon), Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella), Rafiki (Khary Payton) and Zazu (Jeff Bennett). Though most of the original voice cast is not back for this special, it does include many A-listers: Rob Lowe, Gabrielle Union and Ernie Sabella. However, the showstopper here is James Earl Jones, who returns to voice the spirit of Mufasa in a small but central role. Nicholson mentioned, “That's not to mention the little references to the movies, like Timon and Pumbaa's bug-eating habits and Kion's mention of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," which he and his family call "the talk."”

As for the new characters, well, they’re definitely targeted at a younger audience, particularly Kion’s honey badger friend Bunga, voiced by Joshua Rush, whose crazy incidents are rasping from the start. Meanwhile, the series’ main villain, a teenage hyena named Janja, voiced by Andrew Kishino, doesn’t come off nearly as the same threat as Scar or Zira. Nicholson said, “Mainly, he just gets laughed out by his henchmen while various insects crawl all over him.”

However, it’s important to say that “The Lion Guard” is an original work from Disney Channel’s sister network Disney Junior, which means the series is mostly targeted towards children. Nicholson said, “Obviously, I can't speak to how much a kid will enjoy The Lion Guard -- I suspect a lot -- but I doubt that most adults will want to tune in week to week.”

Nicholson went on to say, “In terms of the special, though, I'd say The Lion Guard is worth checking out, especially if you're a longtime fan of The Lion King.” For TV, the artwork is beautiful, and the hand-drawn line quality definitely gives a sense of nostalgia to the series (Nicholson noted, “despite the occasional CG element or Flash-looking animation”). The special also has three original songs (composed by Beau Black), which are both catchy and a lot in maintaining with Elton John and Tim Rice’s songs from the original film.

As a followup to “The Lion King,” Disney Junior’s “The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar” is a fun-filled, if younger-targeting, hour of television (unlike the original movie, which was meant for children and adults). All of the favorite characters and locations are here, including some of the original people, and the art direction and music is solid. Nicholson noted, “There's even some interesting history to the eponymous Lion Guard that fleshes out characters like Mufasa and Scar.” That said, some of the new characters don’t quite taunt with the classic look of the 1994 movie, and the special doesn’t have a convincing villain, although small children will still likely enjoy the special.

My family watched this special together and all of us absolutely loved it. Like I have mentioned before in my other posts about “The Lion King” sequels, this one is strong as well. If you missed the special when it aired, you should see it again if it airs again. If not, try and find it somewhere, like On Demand, or somewhere else. You will love it, I promise you. I'm not sure if I will be watching the series yet, but we'll see.

Well, since I misjudged when I was going to post the reviews, for the final day of “Disney Sequel Month” tomorrow, I will be reviewing a couple of shorts that you could say are sequels to the recent movies, even if they are shorts.