This movie is definitely aimed towards a younger audience – I suppose the Disney Junior should have been a big hint but I was still hopeful. Many things are different and inaccurate compared to the first 2 films and the characters are irritating and flat.First off, the movie is incredible short. Which is probably a good thing because it was incredibly bad but maybe a longer film could have given it some redeeming qualities.By far my biggest issue is with how they presented Kiara. Maybe I watched a completely different Lion King 2 but she was always striving to be more than just a princess and discover who she was. I always saw her as the opposite of younger Simba – who just couldn't wait to be king – where she wanted to be everything but a princess and be more than just a princess. Within the first minute she's smug about training to be queen where before I feel like she would have been more whiny and sulky about it. At some point in the middle Simba states "Kion you need to take your responsibilities seriously as Kiara takes hers" and I'm just no. Kiara doesn't want to be a freakin' princess. I related to her character a lot when the movie just came out and Lion King 2 will always hold a special place in my heart and I hate that they messed with her character so much.Another big thing for me was Mufasa popping out of the clouds for a little chit chat. I always took his appearances after his death to be more metaphorical and the characters remembering what was said to them previously. But maybe I'm wrong and maybe Cloud Mufasa is lonely and just wants to chat with his grandson.Next up: messing with Scar's story. I thought him being such a prick was just usual sibling rivalry (plus maybe some mental health issues SINCE HIS PARENTS NAMED HIM SCAR) and jealousy over his brother getting to rule the pride lands. I'm sure there could be much more to this back story and maybe it's covered in countless books already. I've read a few reviews where people have said Scar would be banished from the Pride Lands entirely for the act he did when he was leader of the Lion Guard but since he lost his power for using it for evil I feel like Mufasa would have been smug and confident enough to see that Scar was no longer a threat and probably even rub it in from time to time and just let him stay.While we are talking about Scar let's talk about the hyenas. They have been recreated somewhat into looking more cutesy I feel – rounder, funnier looking. They are dumber than anything and not as conniving as their predecessors. Scar's hyenas were at least a little bit intimidating and scary at times but these guys were just lame. I have some thoughts about them still being banned from the pride lands and that they're starving and such but we don't really need to go into Lion King Politics.There's a new Hakuna Matata – Zuka Zuuma or something like that. I believe it translates to "YOLO" as the irritating honey badger shouts it every time he does something that may get him killed. He is by far the most irritating character but he is designed for small children and I guess acts like one to. Kiara had a really snooty friend who flipped over breaking a claw and I'm glad she was only around for one scene.The songs are kind of cute but that's about it.Just don't watch this. I regret buying it and I should have just assumed it would be as bad as Lion King 1 ½. This movie is so problematic with everything set up in the first two films it's just not worth it (plus Rob Lowe as Simba was a terrible choice oh my god why).

The Lion King is one of the best Disney films ever, and the sequels aren't that bad. I was excited when I heard about this movie and the upcoming TV show coming out on January 15, 2016, and I really loved it. While it contradicts some stuff, I can look past it since it still stands on it pretty well. The movie follows Kion, the son of Simba and Nala and the younger daughter of Kiara, as he assembles the Lion Guard to protect the Pridelands. The stuff that's contradicted is fairly minor, and the film is otherwise faithful to the source material. I really like Kion in that he's slightly mischievous, but still well meaning. We also some spotlight for the other characters. I really like the themes presented on being a leader and being a good person, and it's tied together with Disney charm. I highly recommend this one.

I am still going to rate this t.v series a 10 because it is on Disney Junior and is geared towards younger viewers which it has done. My 3 and 2 year old ask me all day long to watch "Lion Guard". However I feel they are to young to understand anything really going on. On the other hand I myself was not to happy watching the movie. Kiara seems to be spoiled or snobby. This is not how she was in the second movie. She was sweet, caring and understanding. Simba also seemed a little snobby and not as protective of his cubs. Don't you remember in the second movie Kiara was like fully grown and finally going on her first hunt that was the first time Simba let her out of his sight? Then why did she have to wait for Simba to come? Not to mention in the second movie when Kiara was a cub the outlands where filled with lions that still believed in Scar and that where angry with Simba and they stated that the hyenas all left. I keep asking what is that roar supposed to really do? I don't like the fact they made it like a magical gift, wish they kept it like natural like the original movies. I really do want a Lion King 4 but I would like to see what happens to Kovu and Kiara where the 2nd movie left off at. Really the only thing that I was really happy with was the fact that the original voice of Mufasa was in the movie. I also like Kion's song, and zukka zamma, but I don't really like Bunga.Again this cartoon is geared towards young children and I still give it a 10/10 because my kids love this show.

Allow me to preface this review by saying that I'm a huge fan of Lion King. It's the first film I ever saw, and I've clung to it fervently ever since. That said, I hate to write this review, but it must be done.So we start the film with Kion, a shoddily-written O.C. that seems like he could be straight out of a low-quality fan fiction. Then we're introduced to his friend Bunga, who teaches kids (multiple times) that you can leap off of cliffs and suffer no repercussions. I'll touch on him later.Soon enough, they stumble into the Outlands and we're shown that the hyenas are the "irredeemable bad guys" and then Kion does a dragon shout? He then learns that he's the new leader of the Lion Guard, an old group of lions that was designated to protect the Pride Lands. The idea is that Scar was their leader, but his power went to his head and that's the whole reason he wanted to be king. There's bread-crumbs left throughout the first film that hint towards the actual reason (sibling rivalry), which is further bolstered by the various books. Lion Guard unfortunately takes all that canon and ruins it.As far as pros go, the art-style is nice and some of the songs are catchy, but that's about it.As I've already said we've got Bunga, a honey badger who's supposed to be "brave" but comes across as more of a reckless, suicidal maniac that's taking the whole "no worries" a little too far. He is probably the single most annoying character ever, but here's a conspectus: A character that's energetic, does pretty much whatever he wants even if it's potentially fatal to him, is constantly saying his catchphrase "Zuka Zumaaaa!", and is so grating that he even inserts his own name into words. ("UnBungalievable!")So Kion goes around pulling characters out of thin air to join the Lion Guard and they all get their cutie marks. I have always assumed that the reason the hyenas have behaved the way they do is because of the conditions they're constantly subjected to, and while they are a danger to the Pride Lands in large numbers (any predator would be), they don't seem to be allowed there under any circumstances even though every other predator clearly is. The film depicts them as incapable of moderation, but considering the indigent circumstances they have to deal with, it isn't a surprise they would go overboard when presented with an all- you-can-eat buffet. However, despite all this the hyenas of TLK still manage to be lovable in their own way, and they even somewhat redeem themselves at the end by killing Scar. Lion Guard backhand slaps everything and basically makes it "good vs. evil".So the hyenas are in the Pridelands to kill tons of prey, because according to TLG they're "evil". But if you want to think about this realistically, the only reason they're doing this is because the Lion Guard is about to be up in business again. While they had a difficult time getting food before, they know they're going to have a terrible time of it after the Guard is in place. A character even states, quite shockingly, that they could resort to "eating each- other" if it comes down to it; that's how bad it's gotten for the hyenas (not that the lions really care). Kion (I think) makes some statement about "They have more than enough to feed themselves, but they're still killing.", and it's insinuated multiple times through the film that the hyenas are filthy, psychopathic killing machines that live simply to murder everything in sight. Okay, Kion; why do you think they're still killing despite taking enough? Because even if they took just enough, you'd still march down their and kick their tails. Hyenas in this universe are treated horribly. Any time one rears its head in your beloved Pridelands, some lion has to come along and stop it. While the ones we've seen so far have proved to be threatening in large numbers, we can't assume every single hyena is like this--but you'd better believe the film does. It all culminates in Kion prancing up and doing his "fus ro dah!", and then he says, "You and your kind are not welcome here, EVER.". So not only does this show that lions are choosing to suppress and ignore the problem, but also that they're so intolerant towards hyenas that it practically borders on racism.So they scare off the hyenas, and then they find Kiara is trapped behind a rock while the herd of gazelle is stampeding, so the Lion Guard go to save her. Bunga lands on the rock where she's trapped, and he aims his rear end at the oncoming stampede and lets off a fart so loud and humongous that it creates a noxious gas cloud that parts the herd like Moses parting the Red Sea. Really, Disney? Is this what it's come to? I know there was fart humor in the original film, but this is crossing the line. In fact, with the way that the fart instantly resolves the problem of the stampede, you could say that it's not a Deus Ex Machina, but a /Deus Ex Fart/. Let that sink in for a while.There you go! that's my review of the Lion Guard. Overall I give this film absolutely nothing out of ten (in fact, let's say it's negative infinity), but on IMDb one is as low as I can go so that's what I have to do. If you've read this and you're an avid fan of the original film like I am, consider yourself sufficiently warned. Disney is dead to me, and the only way I'd ever re-watch this is if someone strapped me to a chair and kept my eyes pried open.TL;DR It's horrible.