The Lion Guard

The Lion Guard is an American animated television series that premiered with a one-hour movie, The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar, on November 22, 2015 which was followed by a television series on Disney Junior on January 15, 2016. It features Kion, the son of Simba and Nala.

On March 4, 2016, Season 2 was announced by Disney Junior. It is expected to air around early 2017.

Premise
"Set in the African Savanna, The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar follows Kion as he assembles the members of the Lion Guard," a news release for the show reads. "Throughout the movie and the series, the diverse team of young animals will learn how to utilize each of their unique abilities to solve problems and accomplish tasks to maintain balance within the Circle of Life, while also introducing young viewers to the vast array of animals that populate the prodigious African landscape."

Characters

 * Kion (Max Charles) - the young son of Simba and Nala who assembles a group of animals to protect the Pride Lands. He is the leader and the fiercest member of the Lion Guard.
 * Simba (Rob Lowe) - the King of the Pride Lands, and the father of Kion and Kiara.
 * Nala (Gabrielle Union) - the Queen of the Pride Lands, and the mother of Kion and Kiara.
 * Kiara (Eden Riegel) - the future queen of the Pride Lands, and the older sister of Kion.
 * Rafiki (Khary Payton) - the shaman of the Pride Lands.
 * Zazu (Jeff Bennett) - the majordomo of the Pride Lands.
 * Timon (Kevin Schon) - a meerkat who is the childhood friend of Simba, and the adoptive uncle of Bunga.
 * Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella) - a warthog who is the childhood friend of Simba, and the adoptive uncle of Bunga.
 * Mufasa (James Earl Jones in Return of the Roar; Gary Anthony Williams in the series) - the father of Simba who died in the original film. He appears as a spiritual guide to Kion.
 * Bunga (Joshua Rush) - a honey badger who is part of the Lion Guard and the adoptive nephew of Timon and Pumbaa. He is the bravest member of the Lion Guard.
 * Fuli (Diamond White) - a cheetah who is part of the Lion Guard. She is the fastest member of the Lion Guard.
 * Beshte (Dusan Brown) - a hippopotamus who is part of the Lion Guard. He is the strongest member of the Lion Guard.
 * Ono (Atticus Shaffer) - an egret who is part of the Lion Guard. He is the Lion Guard's keenest of sight.
 * Mzingo (Johnny Rees) - a Rüppell's griffon vulture and Janja's majordomo.
 * Zuri (Madison Pettis) - a female lioness cub and friend of Kiara.
 * Tiifu (Sarah Hyland) - another female lioness cub and friend of Kiara.
 * Janja (Andrew Kishino) - The leader of his clan. He and his hyenas are descended from Scar's Hyena Clan.
 * Cheezi (Vargus Mason) - One of Janja's minions.
 * Chungu (Kevin Schon) - One of Janja's minions.
 * Makuu (Blair Underwood) - The leader of the crocodiles.
 * Pua (Gerald C. Rivers) - a crocodile who is the former leader of the crocodiles.
 * Basi (Kevin Michael Richardson) - Beshte's father who is the leader of the hippos.
 * Reirei (Ana Gasteyer) - a clever and scheming jackal who wreaks havoc in the Pride Lands.
 * Jasiri (Maia Mitchell) - a friendly and kindhearted spotted hyena that is allies with Kion.
 * Ushari (Christian Slater) - a snake that holds an unexplained dislike for Bunga.
 * Kovu (Jason Marsden) - Scar's chosen heir and Nuka and Vitani's younger brother.
 * Nuka (Andy Dick) - Kovu and Vitani's older brother.
 * Vitani (Lacey Chabert) - Nuka's younger sister and Kovu's older sister.
 * Ma Tembo (Lynette Dupree) - An elephant that is close to Simba's family.
 * Mbuni (Kari Wahlgren) - A kindhearted ostrich.
 * Muhimu (Kari Wahlgren) - Muhimu is a zebra. She is the leader of her herd.
 * Ajabu (Ron Funches) - Ajabu is an okapi. He befriends Beshte and becomes a resident of the Pride Lands.
 * Vuruga Vuruga (Virginia Watson) - Vuruga Vuruga is a cape buffalo. She's close to the monarchy.

Development
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 20th 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.

At least five book titles based on the series were released in January 2016: Kion, Pride of the Pridelands, Can't Wait To Be Queen, Bunga's Big Adventure, Meet the New Guard and Kion's Animal Alphabet.

Spin-Off
In January 2016, a spin-off series called It's UnBungalievable! was released and features Bunga and Ono.

Trivia

 * This is the second TV series to be based on The Lion King, followed by the Timon &amp; Pumbaa TV series.
 * As revealed by Ford Riley in an interview 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..
 * This is the first Lion King production that does not include any cartoon sound effects.