The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar

[sailorstitch]

Just finished watching it, it was pretty good. A little odd how the first nearly half was without songs, then suddenly the 2nd half was MUSICAL NUMBERS. Not bad, not overly catchy, but okay I guess. Animation was good, I noticed it was trying to look a bit classic with pencil like line work. Voice acting was pretty cute, love how they got James Earl Jones to reprise his role as Mufasa.  Only thing that bugs me a bit is that it's a "in between" series, since it's placed between LK1 and LK2... so it's gonna make LK2 well... not so canon.. unless Kion just winds up with a totally unhappy ending and vanishes at the end? Seems a bit of an odd choice, but overall, a good start to the series, I look forward to more.

Also, I was surprised they openly addressed death, admitting to the hyenas killing the gazelles. Good on them for that instead of trying to do the "everyone is friends" route.

But TLK2 was just... awful! It's one of only a few Disney movies that I can't watch. I don't mind them erasing TLK2 from the storyline. I was surprised (and happy) that Kiara is in the new show. I was sure that they were going to swap Kiara out for Kion.



Post Merge: November 24, 2015, 01:53:27 PM

I watched it and it was pretty good.  Nice animation.  I feel like Kiara has lost a lot of her character compared to TLK2, though.  Also, is it just me or did they change her from being golden to being young-Nala colored?

I'm curious to know if they're ever going to address where the other two female cubs came from or if it's going to be one of those "lol pls don't think about it" things.  In a real lion pride they'd be Kiara and Kion's half-siblings, but I'm pretty sure "Disney lions" are supposedly monogamous.

Yup, they changed Kiara's color.

And I am positive that "Disney lions" are monogamous... even though you NEVER seen other male lions. I mean, who's Nala's father? If there aren't any other males then it has to be Mufasa or Scar.

I really, really, REALLY like the show! I loved getting some backstory on Scar. I hope in the future they tell us how he got his scar. I'm also questioning why they had to create Kion. Why couldn't Kiara lead The Lion Guard? What's wrong with a girl being the leader?

I am also impatiently waiting for the TOYS this new show will bring. I want my Kion plushie NOW!!! Sadly, with  new Disney Jr shows it takes 6 months to a year before anything shows up. I can understand that with the other shows.... But I don't understand it with The Lion Guard. They're making a new show for characters that already have a VERY LARGE fan base. There's no reason why they couldn't have had at least a few things released through the Disney Store at the same time.

sailorstitch

[NoPonySpecial]

But TLK2 was just... awful! It's one of only a few Disney movies that I can't watch. I don't mind them erasing TLK2 from the storyline. I was surprised (and happy) that Kiara is in the new show. I was sure that they were going to swap Kiara out for Kion.

I actually enjoyed LK2, but in such a way that, yeah, I have zero qualms about them ignoring it or picking & choosing what they want from it.

I appreciate Kiara as a somewhat insufferable character. I predict that Kion might have to face a situation similar to Scar's resentment of his brother and have to overcome that. So far, though, I don't why she is so exasperated with Kion. So far he's acted very mature and thoughtful, and wasn't really established as a troublemaker or lackadaisical as she (and Simba!) think he is. I can a=only assume he was worse as a young cub, so it was harder for the two of them to recognize he had matured and was "ready."

I don't like Kion's name. It's like Eragon... just take a relevant word, take the first letter, replace it with one of the adjacent letters, and voila! A creative name! (...."Kion" is gong to turn out to be something Swahili now that I've said that, isn't it?)

I already forget the honey badger's name, but anyway, I found him annoying at first, but he endeared himself to me by the end of the episode. In the hands of a writer who has trouble writing hyperactive characters, though... hope we don't have aother G4 Pinkie Pie on our hands.

Timon and Puumba as the badger's worried parents is dang cute. (No, nothing like that is explicitly stated, but it is clear that they raised him.) I wonder if they might have learned their lesson that treating Simba as a friend and not as a child might not have been good for him overall.

I would like to see more characterization (Edit, I forgot the rest of the sentence!) of the rest of the lion guard, but I'm sure that's coming!

Question: were the songs intended to be remixes of already known song? The opening song had parts that sounded exactly out of "It's always a good time," which I figured was a coincidence, but "Zuka Zama" sounded like "Born to Hand Jive" Probably coincidences, but I thought maybe I was missing something.

I like the voices they got for everyone, both the original actors, the new, and their sound-alikes.

I like the animation. (Is it hand-drawn?? When they zoomed in on some of the cells, they looked like pencil, but I'm sure a computer could emulate that.

I love that kid who plays the little white bird. Man, his voice is changing fast, though! I hope the showmakers are okay with that.

I liked Scar's backstory, as it explains why he is pretty much a pariah in the movie, and also why there are no other male lions around. (Because at this point, I doubt they are going to be scientifically accurate anyway, and I've seen people be uncomfortable with applying a lion's sex life to Simba.)

If you go into this special hoping for it to be everything you've ever wanted to see in a Lion King series, they you will be disappointed. But if you take it for what it is, it's a pretty cool little show.

[Nightbow]

Meh, this is about what I expected. I think I would have liked it as a kifd. The characters' head-to-body ratio feels off. I could swear the changed the mark design.

[Bekuno]

I don't like Kion's name. It's like Eragon... just take a relevant word, take the first letter, replace it with one of the adjacent letters, and voila! A creative name! (...."Kion" is gong to turn out to be something Swahili now that I've said that, isn't it?)

I could have sworn that I heard that it was somewhere, but I did some searching and Kion doesn't seem to be Swahili. Looks like just a weird name. (I'm doing to sound dumb, but I never realized the Eragon - Dragon thing  )

I did find an article on the Disney blog about the use of Swahili or 'swahilish' (a combination of Swahili and English) they are using.
Some translations they included were:
Hevi kabisa! "Totally intense!"

Zuka Zama! "Pop up, dive in!" (Did they actually say this in the song? I don't remember hearing it..)

Meh, this is about what I expected. I think I would have liked it as a kifd. The characters' head-to-body ratio feels off. I could swear the changed the mark design.

Yes, I remember it being a paw? Something like this?

Spoiler

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If you look through older fan art from when it was first being teased there's art of Kion with a paw rather than the roaring lion.

--

My thoughts: As someone who loves cartoons for any age, even some stuff thats on Disney junior already, I'm pretty happy with this. I'm annoyed with all the plot holes it creates in TLK Canon but I'm more than willing to keep up with the series and see where it leads as it develops. I adore the lion king, I really do, and while I understand why some fans are blowing their lids over it I personally think they're doing a pretty decent job with this (odd changes aside). Kinda wish Kiara hadn't been changed and they had brought in Kopa (whoops yeah I'm kind of a bitter fan too) instead of Kion but hey, we can't call the shots here. I think the new characters are cute, especially the freckled face lion cub and the smug cheetah! The hippo and egret need more development, I feel they weren't touched on enough. I really want an explanation of Timon and Pumba raising a Honey Badger though.
It'll be a good show for the kids, I'm happy to have some Lion King back in my life 
(Gonna impatiently wait for plushies now...)

[Tilas]

Just finished watching it, it was pretty good. A little odd how the first nearly half was without songs, then suddenly the 2nd half was MUSICAL NUMBERS. Not bad, not overly catchy, but okay I guess. Animation was good, I noticed it was trying to look a bit classic with pencil like line work. Voice acting was pretty cute, love how they got James Earl Jones to reprise his role as Mufasa.  Only thing that bugs me a bit is that it's a "in between" series, since it's placed between LK1 and LK2... so it's gonna make LK2 well... not so canon.. unless Kion just winds up with a totally unhappy ending and vanishes at the end? Seems a bit of an odd choice, but overall, a good start to the series, I look forward to more.

Also, I was surprised they openly addressed death, admitting to the hyenas killing the gazelles. Good on them for that instead of trying to do the "everyone is friends" route.

But TLK2 was just... awful! It's one of only a few Disney movies that I can't watch. I don't mind them erasing TLK2 from the storyline. I was surprised (and happy) that Kiara is in the new show. I was sure that they were going to swap Kiara out for Kion.

Funny, I didn't mind it too much. I just think it's odd to do mid movie series, that's all.  It's like, we know the ending so whats the point? Unless Disney is trying to make TLK2 non canon...

[rearing_palomino164]

I'm anxious to see the toys and stuff they come out with for it!

[Princess Lala]

LK2 is one of my favorite Disney movies!!! I LOVE the watch it in German!!! Especially when Kiara sings! The messages of that movie is important to me!

I also thought the songs sounded similar to songs that already existed! They were still cute though!

Isn't there another movie or tv series coming out simply called the Lion Guard? I want toys.

[LadyMoondancer]

I wish they'd placed this series after TLK2 and had Kiara be the grown up big sister of Kion.  Little kids often idolize much older siblings, but also feel they can't match up to them, so they could have explored that angle.  It's just awkward the way we now have to assume Kiara had a sibling all this time during TLK2 who was never mentioned or seen.

I have to admit, I think they should have named the new cub Kopa.  It would be throwing a nice bone to hardcore TLK fans and since Kion doesn't mean anything--why not?

I still think the premise of the show is interesting, though.  I really, really, REALLY hope Sarabi shows up or is at least mentioned.

[Princess Lala]

^ I agree! I read the books when I was younger, I'm surprised they didn't use the name Kopa!

[Koudoawaia]

No, Kiara's still the same orangish color she is in Simba's Pride. I got to watch Return of the Roar Monday night after very happily finding it on Amazon Prime and for only $3 too. I've been so excited about this show since we first found out about it last year as a die-hard Lion King fan since the first one came out. I really really enjoyed Return of the Roar. Kiara is much less annoying now though the role of whiny and annoying seems to have gone to Zuri instead which is a shame because I really like her design. At least Tiifu is more levelheaded like Kiara is now. I really like Tiifu's design as well. I think Bunga is pretty annoying for the most part and weird for a honey badger. Kion is a great character and I like the extra back story on Scar.

Can't wait for more in January. =)

[sailorstitch]

Interview with Pumbaa
http://blogs.disney.com/insider/2015/11/18/exclusive-watch-a-brand-new-clip-from-the-lion-guard-and-read-our-interview-with-ernie-sabella/?cmp=emc|insider|natural|disney-insider|2015-11-24|insider|box1

I compared the cast lists between TLK movie and TLG last night. The only characters that are voiced by the same people in both are Mufasa and Pumbaa.

sailorstitch

[Lorelei Redfern]

was wtaching it agian.. lol and  Zuka zambais my fav song from that show  but yeah it does sound a LOT like born to handjiive lol its denftly upbeat.

[Twilight Pink]

I watched The Lion Guard the night it preimered....it was alright :s the badger is annoying as all heck though

And Kion is just a really lame name. Its just "lion" but with a "K" :/
Can't believe Timon and Simba aren't voiced by the same people... seriously, what is Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick doing?  Disney, y u know bug them?!

That "cheetah" is an absolute disgrace IMO...I was utterly confused when I saw it. "The fastest in the land"...but she doesn't have SPOTS.
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Her coat was close to a leopard's  if anything :/
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 and leopards are not nearly as fast and agile as a cheetah...

Unless, Disney's intention was that the cheetah was supposed to be a KING cheetah
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 which has more of a mackeral tabby markings then the usual spotted coat.
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They shoulda stuck to this (if this was their idea)
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An ACTUAL cheetah...

And those "Lion guard" marks were completely unnecessary...Like why? O.o we know who's within the Guard group..so what's they reason?

Am I being harsh, yes. But I was just overall disappointed in the new Lion King thing

[LadyMoondancer]

The cheetah also looks more cartoony compared to the other animals, IMO.  Especially whenever you see her with Kion because they're both big cats, so why don't they have the same "level" of animation, you know?  At least give her pupils in her eyes??

Here's another really cute fan art for her:

http://www.deviantart.com/art/The-Lion-Guard-506635530

If nothing else, I wish they'd given her dark "tear streaks". 

[Sora]

Pretty sure 'Kion' is a shortened version of 'Kiongozi', which means leader in Swahili

I've changed the topic title to better reflect what this thread has become

I managed to watch it in the end. I really enjoyed it! Like others have said though, I wish they'd drawn Fuli a bit closer to her actual species, especially when Swifty from one of the Lion King comics looked so great!