As soon as we hear ‘Hakuna Matata’ it strikes a chord and we can immediately relate it to The Lion King story where we see the characters Timon and Pumbaa singing this cheerful song to Simba, the cub. Now we will get to see Simba and Nala’s second-born cub Kion (voiced by Max Charles) on TV screens on Disney Channel.
At the D-23 Expo, Disney showcased a small clipping of the forthcoming Disney Channel TV movie and animated series kick-off The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar. It’s a sequel to the epic musical film The Lion King which came out back in 1994 and is the third highest-grossing animated film of all time.
As opposed to Simba in the The Lion King film, in the clip we can see that Kion has a much mature and fierce look. Kion can be seen as more experienced and brave cub than Simba which makes for a much different dynamic between him and the supporting characters. We can also see Kion receiving the power of the Roar of the Elders (the little lion that shows up on his shoulder) while saving his friend Bunga from the hyenas.
Kion has a whole group of friends including Bunga (voiced by Joshua Rush) who’s a spunky honey badger then there’s the intellectual egret Ono (Atticus Shaffer), confident cheetah Fuli (Diamond White) and friendly hippo Beshte (Dusan Brown).
In addition to the new characters, we will also get to see the old ones like Rafiki (Khary Payton), Timon (Kevin Schon) and Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella). The voicing of Simba and Nate will be done by Rob Lowe and Gabrielle Union with James Earl Jones popping up occasionally as Mufasa, who has interacted with Simba from the afterlife before.The music has been provided by Christopher Willis and Beau Black.
The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar movie debuts on Disney Channel in November, and a full-fledged television series will be seen on Disney Junior in January of 2016.
