The Lion Guard: Return of The Roar Review

The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar  is a great edition to The Lion King family!

The movie stars Simba and Nala's second born cub, Kion, the younger brother of Kiara. While playing baobab ball with his friend Bunga, they run into some hyenas. Bunga is almost made lunch, but Kion saves him with a powerful roar. Kion is ready to lead The Lion Guard, and has to assemble the bravest,keenest of sight,fastest, and strongest, while Kion himself if the fiercest. He chooses Bunga,Ono,Fuli and Beshte. Simba is mad Kion was recruited non lions. Learning of the new Lion Guard, Janja the hyena leader plans an attack on all the Pride Land animals to offset The Circle of Life. Kion doesn't feel ready but is reassured by the spirit of his grandfather Mufasa. Bunga tells Kion the hyenas are attacking. Kion gathers his friends and they scare off the hyenas, and save Kiara who's caught in a gazelle stampede. Simba realizes Kion has a great Guard.


This movie gives us a bunch of fun new characters: Kion, Bunga,Beshte,Ono,Fuli,Tiifu, and Zuri.

The movie's full of catchy new songs as well:

The Lion Guard: Return of The Roar  is a great film and the start to what will be a great series!

Lion Guard Countdown Day 22 of 22 (It premieres today!)

Day 22 of 22

It premieres tonight, remember to watch it on Disney Channel!

News
It's premiering today!

But besides that we got the theme song and it's super catchy!

I'm even planning on making a music video of Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja (My favorite show of all time) with this song.

Picture of the Day

Since today's the premiere and this blog has a very heavy Kiara bias, we're gonna dedicate today's picture to the titular team: The Lion Guard!  Kion the fiercest, Bunga the Bravest, Fuli the fastest, Beshte the strongest, and Ono the keenest of sight. I'm super excited to see these new characters in action! So far I think my favorite member is Bunga. He's just such a fun character! In fact all of them are so fun! I've wanted a new Lion King for so long, and now it is time! Now we'll have tons of new characters to play around with in fanon works as well.

Things to Ponder

"Will it be good?"

As we wrap up the count down, we ask a serious question. I wish I could give a direct answer, but we won't know until it airs in a few hours. I get the feeling it will be epic. In fact I'm listening to "Here comes The Lion Guard" on repeat to hype me up more. Sorry for repeating this, but it's such an epic song!

From the clips we've seen, I've got a good feeling about this film, and I hope you do too.

What I'm doing Today

Watching The Lion Guard

Posting my review of it

Posting about Kiara's role in The Lion Guard

Lion Guard Countdown Day 21 of 22 (Animation Director Interview)

Day 21 of 22

Just one more day!

News

I haven't had a chance to watch it yet, but there's an interview with Christian Larocque an animation director on The Lion Guard

Picture of the Day

  Here we have Tiifu and Kiara on a log, reacting to Timon and Pumbaa eating bugs. Maybe the two of them stopped helping Zuri get freed from the log for a snack, and the lions are reacting to that? Maybe they're just grossed out.

Things to Ponder

"Could Kion's guard have been present during One of Us?"


This is another theory that's just for fun. Besides Bunga (and Kion himself) the members of the guard are common Pride Land animals. Maybe they were some of the animals present during Kovu's exile?

Fuli

Beshte

Ono

Kion and Bunga could easily be watching somewhere off screen.


What I'm doing Today

Watching all three Lion Kings, Watership Down, and George of the Jungle with my friend

Nathan Lane gets married!

Nathan Lane, the voice of Timon in The Lion King films (Including The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride) has gotten married to Devlin Elliot.

After being in a relationship for 18 years they got married in New York City on Tuesday in city hall.

                             
                             
They've also have written a children's book together called "Naughty Mabel" based on their own French Bulldog.

                               Amazon.com














Sources
http://www.people.com/article/nathan-lane-is-married
http://www.etonline.com/news/176476_nathan_lane_weds_longtime_partner_devlin_elliott/

Lion Guard Countdown day 20 of 22

Day 20 of 22

Two more days!

News

No Lion Guard news today, but Disney has been spoiling us this whole week with new clips and such, so we musn't be too greedy! Maybe they've shown us all they need to before Lion Guard's premiere on Sunday. However they could also release something later today or tomorrow.


Picture of The Day

   This is Kiara's reaction to Bunga telling everyone Kion's The new Lion Guard. Kiara is puzzled, and after this picture she asks Kion what the Lion Guard is. This means Simba was hiding it from him. He was scared about Kion leading the guard at such a young age, maybe he didn't intend to tell him until he was an adult.

Things to Ponder

"If Kion has to take the throne, who will be The Lion Guard?"

As much as we love Kiara around here. sometimes we put her in harm's way in these things to ponder. What if something happened to her and Kion had to take the throne? Who would run the Lion Guard?

I have some theories:

1. The guard is disbanded. It will come back if has two cubs.

2. It becomes a dual responsibility: He'd be king and Lion Guard.

3. His guard would take over.

As we know from Lion King 2 though, Kiara will get her happy ending and become queen with her love, Kovu, as her king. Unless this situation happened post Lion King 2....


What I'm doing Today

Watching American Greed, The Soup, and Mock the Week with my friends

Another new clip

Looks like we've gotten another clip today! This clip has Simba scolding Kion for choosing non lions in his Lion Guard.

Two times Kiara is mentioned by Simba:


"Kion, Kiara tells me you've asked Bunga to join The Lion Guard."

"I need you to take your new responsibility seriously, just as seriously as Kiara takes hers."

This brings up some questions: In what way did Kiara tell this to her father? Was she trying to get Kion in trouble? Was she excited? Was she asking Simba about the guard? Or did is casually come up in conversation?

Zuka Zama takes place a bit before this clip would talk place. During that she seemed to be having fun with her little brother, Bunga,Timon,Pumbaa,Tiifu, and Zuri. So maybe she wasn't saying it spite, maybe she said it innocently without intending her father to have a harsh reaction.

We'll have to wait and see, this Sunday!

Lion Guard Countdown Day 19 of 22 (New clip!)

Day 19 of 22


News

We have another new clip!

In this clip, Bunga and Kion tell Kiara, Tiifu, Zuri,Timon and Pumbaa, about The Lion Guard. Kiara has never heard of it, and scoffs at the idea of her little brother and his best friend protecting The Pride Lands.

Timon and Pumbaa aren't sure about letting Bunga join, due to it being dangerous (and as Timon adds, it being work.) Bunga tells him it's not Hakuna Matata to work, but it's Zuka Zama. This implies Zuka Zama directly follows this scene.

Picture of the Day

Here we have Kiara's cave painting from the family tree video. It has a nice simplistic style, and she has beautiful drawings around her. There's a nice simplistic Pride Rock with a sunrise, and some flowers. Kiara and flowers were a common combination in 1998:

Although not as common as Kiara and Butterflies:

Things to Ponder

"Does Kion know about The Outsiders?"

We know Simba is still protective of his cubs. He's worried that Kion isn't ready to lead The Lion Guard since he's just a cub.

Kion even tells Bunga he's not allowed in The Elephant Graveyard Outlands, because his dad said it was dangerous. Bunga tells Kion that Simba's just a fraidy cat when it comes to The Outlands.

Simba has also warned Kiara about the dangers of a (different) place called The Outlands. 

He's bound to have told Kion at some point, right? How much does his know though? Does he know how of a threat Zira is? Has Kiara told him about Kovu? Or does Simba think it's not important, since they haven't attacked recently? Has it also come up to not go to The Outlands? 

What I'm doing Today

Watching Chaotic and Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja with my friend. (Randy Cunningham is a great show, and we're still hoping for a season 3. You should check it out)

Another behind the Scenes clip

This couldn't wait until tomorrow, we've got yet another behind the scenes clip that shows us some more Kiara scenes!

The clip has her and Tiifu on the prowl, tracking gazelles.

I wonder Zuri is. Maybe she got separated, or decided tracking would get her fur dirty.

Eden Riegel is not in the video, but many other voice actors are, including Tiifu's voice actress, Sarah Hyland (Who voices Theresa Fowler on my favorite show of all time Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja.) She tells us she was little when The Lion King came out, but she loves it and is excited to be part of it!

In other Lion Guard news, there's a clip of Kion signing his song, "It is Time" All the songs so far are pretty catchy.

Lion Guard Countdown Day 18 of 22 (Mufasa clip)

Day 18 of 22

We're at the halfway point to Lion Guard! Zuka Zama!

News
Nothing in terms of Kiara, but we do have a new clip that features Mufasa! His spirit reassures Kion about his role as Lion Guard and tells him he'll always be there for Kion. It's a beautiful clip and really gets your emotions going.

There's one line that Kion that might vaguely have something to do with Kiara:

"And I....I don't wanna end up like Scar!"

Scar used his roar to kill his guard who refused to attack Mufasa. Perhaps Kion might think he'll get power hungry and kill Kiara to take her place, or he's just worried he'll abuse the roar in some other way.

Kion hasn't shown an interest in the throne thus far.

There's also an interview with Atticus Shaffer the voice of Ono.
 Picture of the Day

I love how adorable Kiara is here, showing her playful side, kinda like her Lion King 2 self. Simba doesn't look two amused, perhaps thinking she'll scare off the gazelles.

As much as we love Kiara around here, we know she's not the best hunter:

Things to Ponder

"Could The Lion Guard re surge popularity in Lion King 2?"

This one is not a theory of the film and upcoming show itself, but rather a possible result. Kiara is a character who seems will be shown prominently through out the show, even with an episode planned about her (Can't Wait to be Queen.) Despite the first clip we've seen of her where she's rather rude to Kion, it seems from the other videos she's a character that grows into a likable one. (In terms of Lion Guard. Lion King 2 Kiara was always likable.)

Lionguard.wikia.com

Since Kiara is going to be in The Lion Guard, is it possible that the movie she originally came from could become popular with a new generation of Lion King fans? In 1998 there was tons of merchandising to promote the film that went into about the early 2000s before stopping. Could we see some Lion King 2 merch again if it does become popular again?

We can only hope.

What I'm doing Today


Watching Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja (My favorite show of all time) and Generator Rex with a Friend

Listening to that Atticus Shaffer interview

Lion Guard Countdown Day 17 of 22 (Another new clip!)

Day 17 of 22

News

Wow Disney is really spoiling us, perhaps to get us even more pumped for the premiere on Sunday. It's a clip to promote the Disney Conservation Fund, but it features some new clips, some involving Kiara!

We have Kion telling Kiara his role as Lion Guard

As well as Bunga leaping into action to help Kiara

In non Kiara related news there's an interview with Gabrielle Union, as well as a video of Nala. In it she explains she's putting her own spin on the character.


Picture of the Day

  I love everyone's face here. Bunga is just so happy, but Zuri looks scared, and Kiara and Tiifu look confused. Maybe they're trying to handle Bunga's "UnBungalivable" pun. Maybe Tiifu and Kiara hate puns, and Zuri is scared of them.


Things to Ponder

"Could Kiara meeting Kovu be on a day Tiifu and Zuri couldn't play?"

This theory is contrast to the theory where The Lion Guard takes place between Kiara meeting Kovu and Kiara's first hunt, which I believe.

Simba lets Kiara go gazelle tracking with Zuri and Tiifu, but in Lion King 2 he sent Timon and Pumbaa to follow Kiara.

 Maybe he doesn't want Kiara off on her own? Kiara could've just intended to play alone since her friends were busy, and ended up making a new friend.

What I'm doing Today

Watching The Muppets

Adding the new stuff to my Kiara in The Lion Guard Website

Lion Guard Countdown day 16 of 22 (Four new clips!)

Day 16 of 22

Whooooo! We're in the home stretch, this Sunday is the premiere of Return of the Roar!

News
Yesterday's lack of news is made up ten fold with FOUR new clips!

 This one features some Kiara clips, and even mentions her by name!

We got some cute moments of her too:

The second clip is a basic run down of The Lion King's plot. It mentions how Simba and Nala had 2 cubs and that Kiara is destined to lead.

Our third clip is a music video for Bunga's song Zuka Zuma.

It's basically Bunga's Hakuna Matata. Also we see Kiara a few times through out having fun with everyone!

The last clip is a call out to some Lion King references in the film.

And we even get to see some more Kiara!

Also here's some pictures from the premiere!

Picture of The Day

I chose a picture from one of the new clips. Here we have Kiara nuzzling Simba's leg, no doubt having just escaped the gazelles. It may be blurry, but Nala is also nuzzling Kiara as well. It's an adorable image and sure to be a heart warming moment.

Things to Ponder

"Did Kion scare the hyenas off?"

Yesterday I said this would be the next theory, so here it goes.

In The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride when Nuka and Vitani are in The Elephant Graveyard, Nuka comments "This place is even creepier since the hyenas ran off..."

Given that the hyenas are Kion's main foe, they had to have ran off sometime after The Lion Guard. Is it possible that an older Kion and his guard scared them off? Scared them to the point they even abandoned their Elephant Graveyard home?  Perhaps. Kion does have a powerful roar, maybe it grows stronger as he grows.

What I'm doing Today

Possibly watching shows with my friend

Watching Good Mythical Morning

Gathering reference pictures for a project

Lion Guard Countdown Day 15 of 22

Day 15 of 22

We're exactly one week away! Whooooooo!

News

No news regarding The Lion Guard, but I do have news about my site where I will use to track appearances of Kiara throughout The Lion Guard. After thinking about what The Lion Guard considers The Outlands, I think they meant it as The Elephant Graveyard. Thus I'll revamp my website to solely focus on Kiara and other Simba's Pride elements.


Picture of The Day

   Here we have a smug little Kiara, telling her little brother Kion how she's training to be queen, before he interrupts her, and says he knows already. Despite her attitude towards him in the first clip, I think after The Guard saves her, Kiara will be proud of her little brother.


Things to Ponder

"Was Kovu being trained by Zira at this time?"

This may have been something I've briefly touched on before, however here I'll go into more detail.

It's becoming a common theory that The Lion Guard takes place some time after Kiara has met Kovu, and that she's a bit older than in the beginning of Lion King 2 (Which explains why she's embracing being future queen.)

There have been questions about where Kovu or the other Outsiders are during the course of The Lion Guard. Simple: The Pride is focused on training to overthrow Simba. After Kovu and Kiara meet, Zira hatches a plan for Kovu to get close to Kiara, so he can get to Simba and kill him.

By the time the plan is set, Kovu and Kiara are adults.

This means The Lion Guard could be taking place during that gap from Kovu and Kiara's meeting to Kiara's first hunt.

Since they're busy training to overthrow a king, we'd need a new antagonist in the meantime. So why not go back to the basics of Lion King villains and use some hyenas?

In The Lion King 2, Nuka and Vitani go to The Elephant Graveyard, Nuka said this, "This place is even creepier since the hyenas ran off."  Who scared them off? Well...I discuss my theory for that tomorrow.

What I'm doing Today

Watching shows with my friends

Working more on my Kiara in The Lion Guard website

Help with The Lion Guard Wikia

Lion Guard Countdown Day 14 of 22 (Ford Riley Interview)

Day 14 of 22

News

Ford Riley has been interviewed by TVKids on how he came up with the idea for The Lion Guard as well as what it will be about.

He mentioned Kiara one time as well, which I thought was pretty cool:

"It’s the background of the Lion Guard and how it ties into the relationship of Mufasa and Scar and how in the new series it will affect the relationship between Kiara, who we met in The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride, and [her brother] Kion, the lead character in The Lion Guard."


It's a nice interview and you should read it, especially if you're excited for The Lion Guard, which is almost only a week away!


Picture of the Day

  I'm so happy to have some new Kiara pictures to use here! For one, I'm kinda doubting "The Outlands" actually being The Outlands, and two I adore Kiara if you couldn't tell. Here Simba is teaching Kiara "Everything the light touches is part of our kingdom." Kiara is taking this seriously and listening to her father's every word, showing that now perhaps she has matured and accepts her place as queen. If she'd met Kovu at this point, he's probably the furthest from her mind, but...as much as she is listening to her father, I doubt after that experience she'd ever truly hate The Outsiders. 



Things to Ponder

"Could Tiifu and Zuri still be Kiara's friends as adults?"


Unlike the other ponderings this one is just for fun. I was thinking what if some of the lionesses Kiara interacts with as an adult are Tiifu and Zuri?  For example:

The two could be keeping their cubhood friend away from an Outsider they deem dangerous. Kiara could be in shock that two lions she thought she could trust would do this. 

A more likely example could be that they are two of the lionesses giving Kiara "Good Luck" before her first hunt.

Neither of these situations actually involve them, however it might be something that's fun to pretend.



What I'm Doing Today

Watching Lion King 2 and Chappie with my friend

Working on my Disney Tumblr

Lion Guard Countdown day 13 of 22 (Kiara's hurt!)

Day 13 of 22

News

Today we got a behind the scenes of the voice actors video, that features a part with Kiara.

As we already know, Kiara gets trapped behind a rock during a gazelle stampede. However, today we find out she wasn't only trapped, she was hurt too!

   Ono is seeking her out hence the weird "filter" on the picture. From the looks of it, Kiara has hurt her paw or leg and is elevating it on the rock. The look of terror on her face though tells all.



Picture of The Day

   We finally have some more Kiara pictures to use for Pictures of the Day, In this picture, Kion is telling Kiara he already knows about her role as queen. Kiara meanwhile is giving him a "Really?" glare.


Things to Ponder

"How would Kion feel about Kovu?"

Kion is now part of The Lion King's mythos, and given his and Kiara's age in The Lion Guard, he'd exist during the second half of Lion King 2.

I think it would be a fight between morals for him.

First, the loyalty to his father. Simba hates Kovu because he's an Outsider, so it's likely Kion would hate him for the same reasons.

It's possible over time he'd grow to accept Kovu due to his sister's happiness....

until Kovu's exile, where he'll probably blame Kovu for attacking his father.

However, during the "We are One" speech, he'd probably side with Kiara and Kovu.

We are One brings us to our second possibility: That he could accept Kovu right away. Kion himself defied tradition by making his guard entirely out of non lions,

   Then there's a confirmed book where Kion befriends a hyena. This probably means he already understands We are One, and wouldn't be so hostile towards Kovu.


That I'm doing Today

Possibly going to a festival

Watching American Greed, The Soup, and Mock the Week with my friends

Lion Guard Countdown day 12 of 22

Day 12 of 22

News

Not much in terms of news, but there's a slightly extended version of the clip from yesterday here.

Picture of the Day

   Here we have another look at The Elephant Graveya- I mean Outlands. Here we have Chungu flying in, most likely to report the news of the new Lion Guard being formed. Again this place is lovely, and I adore all the details. The dead trees, the rocks, the dark clouds and that fire, all mesh together to bring us such an evil place.

Things to Ponder

"Will Kion and Kiara's relationship become better at the end of the film?"

As shown the preview clip Kion and Kiara seem to have some intense sibling rivalry going on (Although nothing close to Scar and Mufasa.)

However in a trailer it's shown Kiara is stuck in a gazelle stampede. The same trailer also shows The Lion Guard fighting off hyenas. Is it possible after this Kiara would have respect for her little brother? "What are you going to grow up to be little brother?" could turn into, "Wow! You're going to be The Lion Guard!"?

What I'm doing Today

Getting new glasses

Captioning YouTube videos

Contributing to Lion Guard Wikia