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Sneak Peek: New Lion King Movie Coming Soon from Disney
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Submitted by S.J. Mitchell on Tue, 08/18/2015 - 09:44
With an award winning sountrack and a voice cast that included Jeremy Irons, Mathew Broderick, Whoopi Goldberg and the legendary James Earl Jones, THE LION KING is still considered one of Disney's greatest animated movies. And one of the last that was classically animated, with a mix of CG.
With several sequels having been made to minimal fanfare, Disney is taking one more swipe at the franchise by releasing a new movie: THE LION GUARD: Return of the Roar.
THE LION KING II: SIMBA'S PRIDE focused on Simba and Nala's daughter, Kiara, as she discovers that Scar's son and heir, Kovu has been living in the Badlands. LION KING 1 1/2 was a re-telling of the original movie, through the eyes of Timon and Pumba. The two lovable friends of Simba also had a TV series of their own which lasted four years.
With THE LION GUARD, Disney looks to add to Simba's legacy by introducing his son, Kion, to the Pridelands. In the clip released to their YouTube channel, we see Kion and his friend Bunga. Bunga, is a spirited honey badger with no fear, because the honey badger don't give a darn. We meet a few other friends as they frolic through the Pridelands, until they find themselves confronted with a few Hyenas in the Badlands.
Bunga is this generation's version of Scrappy-Doo. He isn't afraid to get into a fight, but always seems to avoid actually having to. As he threatens the Hyenas, Kion pleads for them to let Bunga go. When he's left with no choice, he lets out a roar that summons the great kings of the past; scaring off the Hyenas. The preview ends with some mysticism as Kion appears to be branded, on his left shoulder, from the heavens.
There has been no mention (yet) as to whether or not we will see Kovu, however Kiara is listed as one of the characters to maintain continuity.
The animation is very well done and there are a lot of visual parallels to the movie's predecessors. A close-up of Kion's eyes drums up memories of his fierce Grandfather, Mufasa. Watching Bunga and Kion play around is reminiscent of Simba's 'Can't Wait to be King' sequence. The rolling clouds take the shape of several lions as they did when Simba sought guidance from his father, before meeting up with Rafiki.
The hour-long movie will birth a new series coming in January of 2016 that will continue Kion's tale. Rob Lowe will replace Broderick as the voice of Simba, and Gabrielle Union will debut as Nala. Fans will be pleased to hear that James Earl Jones will reprise his role as the mighty Mufasa. Disney has already brought Jones back for Darth Vader, so its no wonder they were able to reign him in for THE LION GUARD as well.
Described as 'Lion King meets the Avengers', THE LION GUARD: Return of the Roar will recount Kion's efforts to maintain peace in the Pridelands by assembling a team of animals to assist him. The movie debuts this November.
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