The Lion Guard is an American animated spin-off television series inspired by The Lion King, produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It premiered with a one-hour television film on November 22, 2015. The film was followed by a television series on Disney Junior, which released a preview episode on December 14, 2015. The first official episode aired January 15, 2016.[2] It features Kion, the son of Simba and Nala.[3]
In March 2016, the show was renewed for a second season, which premiered on July 7, 2017, and ended on April 22, 2019.[4] In March 2017, it was renewed for a third season, which premiered with the double-length opener "Battle for the Pride Lands" on August 3, 2019, and ended with the series finale "Return to the Pride Lands" on November 3, 2019.[5]
The Lion Guard follows Simba's son, Kion, as he assembles a group of animals to protect the Pride Lands known as the Lion Guard. Disney Junior general manager Nancy Kanter has described the series as being "kind of like The Lion King meets The Avengers."[6][7]
Kion is the main protagonist. He is the son of Simba and Nala, and the younger brother of Kiara. He serves as the leader and fiercest member of the Lion Guard.
The first nine episodes of Season 3 were released on the DisneyNow app on August 3, 2019, while the last ten episodes were released on the DisneyNow app on September 2, 2019.[8] Starting with "The Harmattan", the episodes do not feature an individualized title card.
Following the successful theatrical re-release of The Lion King and its subsequent Blu-Ray release in 2011, Ford Riley was asked by Disney executives to expand the world of the franchise.[9] Having written for The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa, Riley was familiar with the Lion King world.[10]
The inspiration for the series came from Riley's son, Quinn, who was diagnosed with autism during his creation of Special Agent Oso. He found Quinn and his friends playing superhero games every Thursday after coming home. Believing that little boys wanted a team of superhero animals in the Pride Lands, Riley came up with The Lion Guard, which he described as The Avengers meets The Lion King. He pitched the series to his son, who loved the idea and played with plastic animal figures in his room a little later.[10]
The series' announcement came after a meeting between Disney Junior general manager Nancy Kanter and Disney chief executive Robert Iger. Iger suggested to Kanter that Disney Junior should consider producing content to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of The Lion King in 2014. Disney has shown early footage to young test audiences, who were able to make suggestions, such as adjusting the look of the hyenas. Disney Consumer Products is to launch a line of toys to tie into the television series.[3] Many new books inspired by the series were released in late 2015 and throughout 2016 and 2017. A full list can be accessed here.
A sneak peek of the show was given at Disney's D23 Expo from August 14–16, 2015.[11]
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.
Home media
DVD releases
Three DVDs containing 16 episodes of the series have been released in the United States.
The first season was originally to consist of 24 episodes but was extended to 26 episodes instead.[9]
According to an interview Ford Riley did for TV Daily, The Lion Guard takes place in-between Kiara's first encounter with Kovu and her first hunt in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride.[14]
Season 3 serves as a parallel to Simba's Pride, with the final episode serving as a sequel to Simba's Pride.
Unlike any of the previous productions in The Lion King franchise, this TV series does not include many cartoon sound effects, although "Rafiki's New Neighbors" did include a coconut hut sound effect (which temporarily counts as a cartoon sound effect).
