Hevi kabisa! Zuka Zama! Huwezi! These are just a few of the catchphrases that your children – and you! – will be saying once you watch The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar which premieres on the Disney Channel this Sunday, November 22nd at 7pm/6pm CST.
I was 10 years old when The Lion King was released and it’s still one of my favorite movies. I watched it all the time and knew all of the songs by heart. We recently introduced the movie to my kids (7 and 2.5) and they fell in love with it too. They are constantly asking to watch it. The reason we showed them the movie? Because The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar will be premiering on the Disney channel this weekend and then will be a regular series starting in January!
I got a chance to watch The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar a few days ago and it definitely did not disappoint. The movie takes place between The Lion King and The Lion King II which focuses on Kiara who is Simba’s daughter. The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar is all about Kiara’s little brother Kion, a fun-loving lion who’s more than happy that his sister Kiara is the one destined to rule the Pride Lands. Yet Kion soon learns he has a destiny of his own. As the Lion King’s second-born, it’s his duty to lead The Lion Guard, the team that protects the Pride Lands and defends the Circle of Life. As the leader, Kion has been given the Roar of the Elders, an amazing power that makes him the fiercest in all the Pride Lands. To complete the Guard, Kion assembles a team of the bravest, strongest, fastest, and keenest of sight in the Pride Lands: Bunga the honey badger, Beshte the hippo, Fuli the cheetah, and Ono the egret.
’Til the Pride Lands’ end, Lion Guard defend!”
In addition to having the chance to watch the movie, we also were able to chat with Ford Riley, the creator and executive producer of The Lion Guard, composer Christopher Willis, singer/songwriter Beau Black, Author and Swahili expert Sarah Mirza and Dr. Jill Mellen from Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Ford Riley {who is also the creator of Special Agent Oso} shared with us that when he was approached by Disney Junior to expand on the world of “The Lion King,” he was in his kitchen and was chatting with his son about The Lion King. He later caught his son in his room playing with different animals that he called The Lion Guard. The concept of a group of heroes with different traits and qualities who share a common mission to protect others resonated with Riley and became the inspiration for Kion and the other members of the Lion Guard.
Beau Black is a singer/songwriter for The Lion Guard and he shared with us that there will be a song in every episode. I love this because music was such a huge part of The Lion King and they wanted to continue that with The Lion Guard. But Beau also shared that he wanted the “music to stand along for this particular series. I did want there to be a sort of feeling that it was influenced by it. The main factor in all this is the music is supposed to be as fun as possible. It’s more modern but still has that African influence.”
Christopher Willis, the composer for The Lion Guard shared that they had used an African choir to help with a lot of the songs in the movie. I absolutely loved the music that we heard in The Lion Guard and I know you will too. I look forward to hearing more once the series starts in January, too!
Keeping it true and authentic {well, except for the fact that animals don’t really talk, of course!], author and Swahili expert Sarah Mirza is the language and cultural adviser for The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar. I love that the characters in The Lion Guard share Swahili phrases and I know your kids will be speaking them too!
We also had the chance to video chat with Dr. Jill Mellen, who works for Disney’s Animal Kingdom. I love that the team behind The Lion Guard wants to stay true and they have these consultants to make sure that they are. A fun story she shared was that after The Lion King, funding and research into hyenas really went down. So when she saw that once again the hyenas were the “bad guys” in The Lion Guard, she asked if there could be at least one good hyena. There are two hyenas at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and they are really sweet! So, spoiler alert – we may actually be meeting a GOOD hyena on The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar!
Watch the Trailer for The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar!
Check out all of these fun The Lion Guard activities, too!
The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar which premieres on the Disney Channel this Sunday, November 22nd at 7pm/6pm CST.
Disclosure: Disney provided an all expenses paid trip to Los Angeles including travel, accommodations and activities. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I’m putting this on our ‘must see’ list! Thanks for sharing!