The Lion King/The Lion Guard
Disney’s The Lion King is amazing. It is a romantic tragedy that has amazing moments. The music, the animation, the story. (I am talking about the 1994 version).
“A young lion prince is cast out of his pride by his cruel uncle, who claims he killed his father. While the uncle rules with an iron paw, the prince grows up beyond the Savannah, living by a philosophy: No worries for the rest of your days. But when his past comes to haunt him, the young prince must decide his fate: Will he remain an outcast or face his demons and become what he needs to be?” (femaledragon1234)
I love the story of The Lion King, the way that the hand drawn animation blends together. There are three movies (soon to be four) Lion King 1, Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride and then Lion King 1 1/2. Each one has its own story that connects to the main movie. There is a TV series that also goes with it (there are two actually). The first one is Timon & Pumbaa released in 1955. This show follows the lovable Meerkat and Warthog Timon and Pumbaa as they navigate the world, the show is created much like Looney Tunes (1930-1969) where there are new stories and the characters are in different issues each episode and new settings. I have seen a few episodes but it I am not a fan of it.
The second show is amazing coming out in 2015-2019 The Lion Guard. This show follows Kion a lion cub and his four friends that serve to protect the Pride Lands. I LOVE it. The way that the animation happens. It is all CGI, but it is created in puppeteer style. What I mean by that is the characters are controlled like a bunch of puppets. The animation style works, there are errors but it makes the show just a little bit better (like Kion will sometimes have two Mark of the Guard markings)
It is a lot of fun to sit and watch these characters bounce around the show. Kion (the son of Simba and Nala (Second born, his older sister Kiara is first, there is lore there too)) is the fiercest, Bunga a honey badger who is the bravest, Fuli a cheetah who is the fastest, Beshte a strong hippo, and Ono an egret that the keenest of sight.
Each one of the characters has a meaning in their native language Swahili. Kion: (full name Kiongozi) Leader, Bunga: Foolish person, Fuli: Very Fast/Speedy, Beshte: Buddy, and Ono: See/Good/Passion. All the characters are good at what they do. Kion possesses the roar of the elders an OP roar that can do anything. It can create storms, moves objects with ease, and more. His friends are with him and support his decision and will support him when he has done something wrong.
It came out the same year Phineas and Ferb ended. All its songs are catchy and have meanings and teach you some Swahili, I have found myself saying Ono’s catch phrase Hapana (which means oh no). Along with some of the other phrases (Hevi Kabisa, from Kion meaning totally intense) when something didn’t go right.
I do recommend watching the show. I came across it when I was sick one day, I turned on the first episode and fell in love with it. I have watched the entire series and will go back every so often and rewatch an episode. If you are looking for a show that ties into The Lion King this is for you. It is streaming on Disney + (and yes, it is a Disney Jr show)
There is more that goes with this series, some I will be uncovering part by part. There is so much to uncover. When The Lion King: Mufasa comes out I will talk about it.