The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar

As I said in my previous entry, this is going to be my 400th entry and I'm really grateful to all of you for reading this much so far and I really hope you all enjoy this. And in here I'm going to do a review for the TV movie, The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar. This was actually created before the show. This was made and that's why the show was made and how the origin of this whole Lion Guard thing started. I've already said I love the Lion Guard and I also really love this first movie. And I'll be talking about the full story in case your wondering. Although the thing itself isn't very long. It's only 42 minutes long. But I still like to watch it. In fact, it's on DVD and I have it and I like to watch it. Anyway, let's get started. What's the story? It opens up with the same opening as the first Lion King movie. With the first shot being the sun over the horizon and it shows Simba telling Kiara the same thing Mufasa told him at the beginning of the first movie, which is kinda cool. But then they're interrupted by Kion and Bunga who are playing with a fruit as a ball. They go somewhere else but it drops into the Outlands. Bunga goes to get it but then 2 Hyenas named Chungu and Chezze who work for Janja and they're about to bring Bunga back to Janja to eat him but then Kion uses something called the Roar of the Elders and Bunga escapes. In turns out Simba, Nala and Rafiki heard it too and Kion and Bunga get back. And we even get a funny scene where Simba says that he needs to talk to Kion and Kion thinks he talking about something else. And what that other thing he thinking about is he thinks he's talking about Can You Feel the Love Tonight. That was a song from the first movie. I always find that hilarious. And then Kion says "I know all about that mushy stuff." It's so funny to me. Rafiki explains what the roar is and that when he uses it, the great lions of the Pride Lands past roar with him. They then show him and Bunga a cave in the side of Pride Rock and Simba explains that it's the Lion Guard lair and the backstory of the last Lion Guard. Apparently Scar was once the leader of the Guard but after 1 day when he used the roar against the other members and killed them after they refused to help him take down Mufasa so he could be king. Simba then instructs Kion to find the new 4 members of the Lion Guard by finding who he thinks is the fastest, strongest, bravest and keenest of sight. But he forgets to mention that they have to be lions so Kion runs off to find them. Bunga goes too and Kion recruits him as the bravest for the Guard. The 2 of them then meet up with Kiara and her friends along with Timon and Pumbaa. They go off but it turns out Mzingo has been listening. Mzingo is a vulture who also works for Janja. He tells Janja and the other hyenas about this and they decide to attack the Pride Lands before the Guard is ready. They head out. Kion and Bunga then recruit the others like Ono, Beshte and Fuli. He tries to use the roar again but it doesn't work this time. Simba and Kiara find Kion again and Kiara leaves so Simba can talk to Kion alone. He tells him that the Lion Guard has always been made of lions and he wants him to pick actual lions. Kion walks off sad and as Kiara and her friend, Tifu, are tracking some Gazelles, they spot Janja and the other Hyenas about to attack. Kion is walking through a field wondering why Simba didn't approve his friends for the Guard but then Mufasa talks to him like he did with Simba in the first movie. And with that, Kion goes to talk to them. But then Bunga tells him about the Hyenas. Kion properly recruits the Guard with the friends he picked and they go after the Hyenas. Simba, Nala, Rafiki, Kiara and her friends show up and see as Kion and the rest beat them and Kion uses the roar against them. And the ending is Simba actually accepting Kion's new Guard. And yeah, that's it, again, if you're wondering why it isn't very long, it's because this movie isn't very long. As I said, it's only 42 minutes long. Firstly, I really like the story in this. It shows a really interesting new side of the Lion King story that was never really explored before. It also has really great characters in my opinion. Kion is my favourite. Both in this movie and the show. And the casting is practically perfect. In case you didn't see it in my top 10 Lion Guard episode, I said that the main 5 Guard character castings is amazing. I said Max Charles as Kion is my favourite and I still stand by that and Kion is my favourite character. This movie also has absolutely amazing animation. Maybe some of the best hand-drawn animation I've ever seen. It also does a really good job at showing how a fun kid like Kion would do this kind of thing. It's also a lot of fun to see the returning characters back again after a long time. I also prefer this version of Kiara better than in the 2nd movie, as I said in my 22 Disney sequels ranked list. It also has a lot of funny moments as well. Timon and Pumbaa are of course great but the new comic relief they bring in like Bunga and couple others are great too. And as I said before, I love the songs here too. Listen.

My favourite song in the movie is Kion's Lament. Now, as far as negatives I have, there's only a few things. A lot of the writing's good but a couple of times the plot can get kinda predictable. But it is for kids so that's understandable. There also isn't a ton of action in this. It's really at the end in the field with the Guard vs. the Hyenas. But I do understand again because they don't want to make it too violent. And my last and biggest problem with the movie is that I feel like Simba is way too harsh on Kion for not picking lions for the Guard. He really lays it on him and I know he's worried about him and all that but for me, it feels a little too harsh. But honestly, those aren't huge problems. Overall, I love this movie and I love that it started off the show which, again, I love. And I would recommend it. And so everyone, that's my review of The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar and hopefully this won't be the last time I talk about the Lion Guard because I love to talk about it and I can't wait for the new TV DVD that'll coming out on the 3rd of October. Thank you all for reading and I just want to say thank you all for reading this far because, as I said, this is my 400th entry and I am so grateful to everyone for reading and I can't wait to write even more stuff in the future. Please comment down below and thank you all again.