The Lion Guard (2015 / 2016)

[Yumacub]

Well, this version is made for a younger audience than ourselves. We'll just have to give it a go before we should make judgments. I'm excited beyond belief! It's about time; haha! I do wish they would have been a little more creative with his name, though. His design is pretty cute; we should embrace his uniqueness. Maybe they will update with changes and possibly to appease more fans. The series and TV movie are still quite a ways off. I just can't wait (to be king)!

[SimbasGuard]

BUT then how come in Simbas Pride he couldn't even fight off an older lioness? Zira has to be older than Simba and yet she was stronger than him. Let's be honest he was kind of a fat weenie in Simbas Pride.

To be honest Simba was never really taught how to fight. That stems down to even the first movie as Nala seems to top him every time from cub to adult. The real fact is Simba doesn't know how to fight effectively. This being said it is perfectly valid for him to be bested by an older lioness. It's also not like she is just any old lioness. She was of course a tough, hardened, and not to mention fight starved lioness. She is used to having to fin for herself and fight off others to survive.

How come no one seems to remember that before Zira attacked him Simba had just fought off Six Lionesses, add to that the fact that Simba was on his hind feet and looking in another direction. Zira caught him by surprise. Another thing to consider is that Zira had not been fighting at all. Plus Zira didn't defeat Simba she only knocked him down. They were about to fight when Kovu and Kiara leaped in.

Anyway on to the topic; I do have some concerns for the show. Although that is all they are. Without more information it is hard to speculate anything for the show. It could do something like make Kiara a cub again or even take place well after Simba's Pride.

I doubt that Kiara will be a cub, the articles I've Read state that Kiara is Kion's older sister and that Kion is the second born cub of Simba And Nala. such a statement would not be needed if Kiara and Kion were litter mates. I don't think Lon King 2's cannon status is in danger.

What really excites me about the show is that it actually focuses on a lion cub.

That is an aspect that I like as well. I enjoyed Timon and Pumbaa, but a series starring a Lion will be better.

What concerns me the most is continuity. If they butcher any of the movies at all it throws canon out the door. I really want this story to be canon, and not just a spin off. If it can be considered canon then it opens the door for more to come! Can you imagine a real Lion King 3? You know focusing on Kion, Kiara, and Kovu. I mean it could be anything. Kion could move to start his own pride, Kion could become like Scar, or maybe even Kovu shows his true "colors."

Due to the same reasons that I stated above I think Disney will have this series be cannon. if for no other reason than to give Kion more legitimacy as a character. I would love for this series to be so successful that it sparked an actual Theatrical sequel. that was on the same maturity level of the original. I would like to see Kion as a good Uncle to Kovu and Kiara's cubs. There would of course have to be more of a plot than that. I also know that such a scenario is extreme wishful thinking on my part. However knowing that this series is coming I can at least feel good in hoping for the best

[Nitrol]

Look closer at his paw print mark:

It's glowing! Anyone noticed it before?
Wait a second... a lion cub with some kind of a glowing mark on his fur? I saw it before...

(From the "Simba the King Lion" by MondoTV.)

[SlayerOfLight]

^ Well I did read something about The Lion Guard being a little bit like ''The Avengers''. Much to my distaste, of course it might feature lion cub powers or something like that. Also, It's funny that they claim The Lion Guard will be ''educative'' while there's nothing educational at all about a lion cub with magic.

[Tora]

Look closer at his paw print mark:

It's glowing! Anyone noticed it before?
Wait a second... a lion cub with some kind of a glowing mark on his fur? I saw it before...

(From the "Simba the King Lion" by MondoTV.)

Honestly if you're going to bring that up you first need to look at the name of the main character and also that he is also a Lion (Original much?) not to mention that Bambi looking character to his right before you talk like someone is copying someone...

----

At 800x zoom we can see that there is a slight glow to it, but you know it could be nothing more than an artist showing off or something honestly.

[Nitrol]

not to mention that Bambi looking character

Well... his name is BIMBO. xD

I adjusted gamma level a little bit, so the glow is now more visible:

Notice that his paw-mark glows when he roars, but not when he are creeping. Perhaps it's connected with strong emotions?

[Yumacub]

"the chosen one", as Nuka calls it. ;-D

[Regulus]

What are those marks on the back sides of hus paws? That's new.

[Carl]

I presume they are left over cub spots that have yet to fade. Some lions retain them throughout their entire life.

[ChristianZ]

Speaking of fan ages I am 44. I started Kiara's Sahifa (http://www.lionking.org/~kiara) in 1998 and have maintained it since then and am interested to see there will likely be more Kiara content coming. TLG does seem like it will take place shortly after the events of SP. And it will be very interesting to see if Kiara (and other SP-specific characters) will be rendered in the higher quality style matching the main feature film itself.

From what I gather from the news releases it looks like maybe the introductory TV movie will be of full theatrical feature film quality. The TV episodes that then appear after that may be more like TV quality. The two shots of Kion appear to be of differing production quality. When I saw the first one of him stalking in the grass I thought it was straight from the movie itself; then I realized there was no scene like that in the movie.

I remember when Toy Story of Terror came out for TV last year that I wished they would do something like that for The Lion King: a high quality followup without trying to be a feature length, theatrically released sequel that some people would not want to bother with. It looks like that's what we're getting. Maybe the introductory TV show (likely airing on ABC; and maybe there will be a soundtrack for it like there is for TSoT) will be able to be enjoyed by all ages while the subsequent episodes on Disney Junior really will be more for preschoolers only. I'll certainly be open to them turning out even better than that.

http://codepen.io/WebDevCA/pen/zekGI?editors=110 - The Lion Guard Title Treatment