The Lion Guard is the Next Gen Lion King

The Lion Guard is coming to our television soon with the premier happening 20 March, 11am on Disney Channel (Astro Channel 615) in Malaysia.

The trailer had been playing on Disney Channel for a while now and when I initially saw the pic above, I thought that they made a comeback for Simba the Lion King. However, Josiah corrected me and said that is not Simba. That is in fact the next generation lion cub named Kion, who is the the second-born cub of Simba and Nala. How timely I thought, when I watched the Lion King, I was just a kid and now my kids get to watch the kids of Simba! Nice.

In the epic story, Kion assumes the role of leader of the Lion Guard, a team of animals whose jobs are to preserve the Pride Lands. After the first movie, it will lead into The Lion Guard TV Series premiering on 17 April, 8.30am on Disney Channel.

Like all Disney movies, “The Lion Guard” will an all-star voice cast, including stars like James Earl Jones and Ernie Sabella reprising their previous roles from “The Lion King” as Mufasa and Pumbaa, respectively, alongside Rob Lowe as Simba and Gabrielle Union as Nala. Max Charles stars as Kion. The voice cast also includes Joshua Rush as Bunga; Atticus Shaffer as Ono; Diamond White as Fuli; and Dusan Brown as Beshte.

I surely remember these two funny ones, Pumbaa and Timon, I wonder if Timon will make a comeback too…

“The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar” is set in the African Savanna. It will follow Kion the growing cub as he selects his unexpected members for the Lion Guard. In the savanna, usually only the bravest and strongest lions in the Pride Lands make the Lion Guard. Therefore, I love the twist in the story where Kion chose his friends that usually would not have been viewed as brave and strong to make his team.

Some of the new characters selected in Kion’s team are such as his best friend Bunga, a fearless honey badger, Ono, an intellectual egret, Fuli, a confident cheetah, and Beshte, a friendly and good-spirited hippo, and together they form the unlikely heroes of the Lion Guard, yet united in their purpose to protect the Pride Lands. Our kids watching the show will learn from the movie that team work and team spirit is all about utilizing each others’ unique abilities while facing new adventures everyday, upholding the balance within the Circle of Life.

Check out the sneak peak here!

Oh here’s something your child can join to be featured on TV this March 20! The search is on for kids across Southeast Asia to showcase their very best lion roars, no matter how big or small, via the “Show Us Your Roar” campaign on the Disney Channel Asia Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/DisneyChannelAsia). Kids who submit their roars stand a chance to have their video aired on Disney Channel during the premiere of “The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar”! Josiah’s video has already been selected to stay tuned at 11am coming Sunday to watch this fantabulous giant roar!

“The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar” and “The Lion Guard” series will also air on Disney Junior later on in the year.