In constructive criticism, it is recommended that one starts with good feedback about a show, followed by negative feedback. With a show like The Lion Guard, I'm afraid that good list is minimal to say the least.
The animation style is colourful with vast different landscapes and characters given decent characteristic details keeping the world of the original Pride Lands. The soundtrack is alright, especially with the use of Swahili language, keeping The Lion King's ethnic strength that made the film a unique success.
That's about it, really.
What's sad about this show is aired on Disney Junior, unbeknownst to the fact that it encourages barriers between different "races" of animals. The reptiles are villains unless you pose no a threat like a turtle or a gecko. The hyenas are given bad credit despite being starved to death thanks to the lions without resolving their characters' dilemmas. Whoever is writing the scripts for this show gives poor credit to the original screenplay written by Linda Woolverton, Irene Mecchi and Jonathan Roberts. Familiar characters such as Simba and Chiara are underdeveloped; they've lost their charm and character development that they possessed in their original movies. I was appalled to read the production team's intentions when creating this show on Wikipedia who stated that they wanted to "hold the essence of The Lion King". Whilst the essence is visually there, the plot and originality isn't. Kion is a spoilt child who sets up a biased crew based on the production crew's "choices of what strength is". Contrarily, realisation of weakness is what builds into strength. The honey badger, Bunga, is an annoying creature that is loud, empty and big-headed and his catchphrases are unnerving. Cheesy jokes with farts and silly catchphrases is understandable for bringing a child to chuckle. However, I'm sure that serious adults (and parents) watching this series won't help but wonder: how much of this is entertaining?
***SPOILER ALERT*** The return of Scar, for instance, is well animated and brings back the ominous look of the character. Yet, the script and tone of his words are a letdown to his villainous prowess Lion King fans are familiar with.
I only hope that young children are wise enough to ask their parents to watch the original Lion King or get the opportunity to watch the musical to truly learn something of value. The Lion Guard may succeed in being pretty, but it fails to deliver the essence of storytelling and the lack of emotional characters leaves little to taste one's empathy for the cast.
The animation style is colourful with vast different landscapes and characters given decent characteristic details keeping the world of the original Pride Lands. The soundtrack is alright, especially with the use of Swahili language, keeping The Lion King's ethnic strength that made the film a unique success.
That's about it, really.
What's sad about this show is aired on Disney Junior, unbeknownst to the fact that it encourages barriers between different "races" of animals. The reptiles are villains unless you pose no a threat like a turtle or a gecko. The hyenas are given bad credit despite being starved to death thanks to the lions without resolving their characters' dilemmas. Whoever is writing the scripts for this show gives poor credit to the original screenplay written by Linda Woolverton, Irene Mecchi and Jonathan Roberts. Familiar characters such as Simba and Chiara are underdeveloped; they've lost their charm and character development that they possessed in their original movies. I was appalled to read the production team's intentions when creating this show on Wikipedia who stated that they wanted to "hold the essence of The Lion King". Whilst the essence is visually there, the plot and originality isn't. Kion is a spoilt child who sets up a biased crew based on the production crew's "choices of what strength is". Contrarily, realisation of weakness is what builds into strength. The honey badger, Bunga, is an annoying creature that is loud, empty and big-headed and his catchphrases are unnerving. Cheesy jokes with farts and silly catchphrases is understandable for bringing a child to chuckle. However, I'm sure that serious adults (and parents) watching this series won't help but wonder: how much of this is entertaining?
***SPOILER ALERT*** The return of Scar, for instance, is well animated and brings back the ominous look of the character. Yet, the script and tone of his words are a letdown to his villainous prowess Lion King fans are familiar with.
I only hope that young children are wise enough to ask their parents to watch the original Lion King or get the opportunity to watch the musical to truly learn something of value. The Lion Guard may succeed in being pretty, but it fails to deliver the essence of storytelling and the lack of emotional characters leaves little to taste one's empathy for the cast.