Disney has a way with being epic.
From the ending of “Tarzan” to the ballroom scene in “Beauty and the Beast," Disney always tries to outdo the competition with their dazzling visuals, gripping narrative, and admittedly catchy songs.
One of Disney’s most popular movies is the “Lion King." Released in 1994, this movie was released at the height of Disney’s animation renaissance and arguably the last of that era. The movie opens up with the glorious and iconic song, “The Circle of Life” and immediately sets the tone of the movie: grand. Everything about the “Lion King” is huge right from the get-go. We see the entirety of the Pride Lands attend Simba’s ceremony, we see hundreds of wildebeest trample Mufasa and watch as Pride Rock burns under the rule of Scar. The project was ambitious, but that’s what made it amazing. We had never seen an animated film thus far be this huge in scale, especially on the big screen. In addition to the large scale of the movie, it also had lovable characters, a heartwarming story, and fantastic songs that kids and adults were singing for years to come.
Now after nearly 10 years an addition has been added to “The Lion King” lore: The “Lion Guard." Compared to the original: it sucks. Like it really sucks.
Let’s start with the premise, shall we?
The story of “The Lion Guard” looks at Simba’s son, Kion, and his role in an elite group of defenders called the lion guard. This guard is made up of members who are the strongest, fastest, bravest, and the keenest of sight in the pride lands. Why are we just hearing about this guard now? Why didn’t it exist in the last three instalments? Well, because the guard was dissembled after its last leader, Scar, betrayed his friends (and his brother, Mufasa) by trying to take control of the pride lands and lost the power of the “roar." The power of the “roar” is granted to the leader of the group and serves as a deus ex machina for any situation that involves fighting for the group. When he lost the roar, the lion guard as a group just ended I guess? So after saving his friend, Bunga with the magical roar, it is revealed that Kion will be the new leader. He decides that the guard will be made up of his closest friends (Bunga the honey badger, Fuli the Cheetah, Ono the cattle egret, and Beshte the Hippo).
If it isn’t abundantly clear, I am not a fan of the premise. It was never set up in the first movie nor is it ever mentioned until now. It feels like an awkward fanfiction, putting old characters in positions that were never established and children of those characters that are written with minimal personality into the same world as “The Lion King." Why does the lion guard really need to exist? Their goal is to protect the circle of life, the main theme from all of the lion king material. But isn’t that what the king is for? In the original “Lion King," Mufasa patrolled the pride lands and was in tune with the animals that lived in them. To be fair there was no lion guard then, but even so, what would be the point of a king if there was a guard? Are they like the king’s knights? No, because they work on their own accord with no direction from the king and follow their own leader.
There literally is no point for the lion guard to exist in “The Lion King” lore.
The characters themselves are underwritten. They are one note and boring to watch. Ono is the smart guy, Fuli is the token love interest, etc. None of the new characters have any depth and thus I can’t get invested in them. Even Simba, the main character in the past movies, has been shoved to the background.
Kion, the new main character, is just Simba rewritten with little to no traits that stand out as his own. He’s loyal and adventureous, making him just a carbon copy of Simba: Watching him makes me just want to watch the old Simba again. His close friend, Bunga, on the other hand, is dynamic and loud in a very unendearing way. In fact, he is so annoying that I mute the screen whenever he appears. Everything that comes out of his mouth is either something childish or his catch phrase. He is every annoying trait about young kids smashed into one character without any of the cute moments.
“The Lion Guard” sucks, but I can’t stop watching it.
I am a very hopeful person. Even when things look terrible, I usually try to look at the bright side. I like to look for the good in everything and everyone and tend to be over trusting because of this. I like to hope that even the worst shows have something worthwhile to them. Luckily, “The Lion Guard” shows some promise that keeps me watching it every week.
The show looks amazing. The mixture of 2D and 3D animation is very appealing and its style stays very true to the original movie. The landscape is breathtaking and the models are detailed for a weekly T.V. show. The animation can get wonky at times, but I can forgive those small moments for the bigger picture.
The music is also something that I love. It seems like every episode will have some sort of original song, whether that be a short tune or a two-minute musical style song. Save for the songs from the opening movie, I have loved every song that “The Lion Guard” has produced. My personal favorites are “Sisi ni Sawa” and “My Own Way." This is particularly amazing since this is a weekly show where the budget is smaller and the time constraints are larger than a full-length feature film. Even so, most of the songs are comparable to those you hear in full musicals.
Finally, what really keeps me watching, is the potential for this show to be educational about Africa and African animals. The original movie had a few words of Swahili and very few facts on the animals that were on screen. The movie was never really meant to be educational in the traditional sense, but it did try to teach us a few things about Africa. This show has gone much farther in the culture and ecology of sub-Saharan Africa. In the 11 episodes that have aired, the audience has learned a few new Swahili words and phrases including kupatana (harmony) and sisi ni sawa (we’re the same). We have also learned about the hunting style of cheetahs, how jackals steal food, and how lions learn to hunt on their own. I think this is amazing for young children to learn. There are very few shows for children on television now that address scientific themes along with life lessons.
I can’t stop watching “The Lion Guard”. The premise is awful and the characters are boring, but I need to see what happens. I need to see if things get better because of all of the promising points of the show. Those points are just little details that helps the show get better, especially the educational aspect. I think the story and characters are paramount and if those continue to fail and stick to the status quo, this show will end up being a failed promise. If they get better, this show might actually be redeemed.
