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[personal profile] thistlechaser
When Disney first announced The Lion Guard, no one thought it would be good. People billed it as The Avengers in the Pridelands (which, considering that statement now, wouldn't that be a good thing?). People said it would ruin Lion King. People said it would be awful and not worth watching.

They were all wrong.

Though aimed at preschoolers, I've very much enjoyed all 13 episodes of the show's first season. While a couple fell a little flat for me, even then I still more enjoyed the episode than not, and there were many more episodes that I loved than didn't work for me.

The show wasn't 100% perfect for an adult viewer -- how could it be, when the target audience are preschool kids? But I was surprised at how much enjoyable-to-adults stuff Disney was able to include. Also, I liked all of the characters except one (I bet that one was the most popular with preschool kids).

Everything about the show was believable as happening in the Lion King world.

Every episode had at least one song, and most of them were a big addition to the episode, only twice did I wish they had not included the chosen song.

My favorite song was We're the Same (Sisi ni Sawa), which also happens to come from my favorite episode, one that told us that in the Lion King world, not all hyenas are evil. The song:



In the beginning of the series, I really disliked the new hyena design. I assume they changed them to make them less scary for the young viewers. However, by the end of the season, I didn't even notice it anymore.

One thing that I didn't like and only grew worse as the season went on, was that each animal character had a catchphrase, but it was in some African language. Catchphrases never work for me in general.

There was an odd thing about the show's canon -- the non-main character animals were sometimes just "dumb animals" and other times could speak/were as intelligent as the main characters. So in one episode the zebras grazing in the background might act like normal animals, and in the next episode they'd talk between themselves and to the main characters. In one episode, there was a big plot about antelope migrating, and all of them spoke and had opinions through the whole event, then the next episode some antelope were stuck in a mudhole and never spoke and couldn't seem to help themselves escape, the main characters had to physically pull them out and yell at them to try to direct them.

Unfortunately the last episode was all about the character I disliked (and now hate). Bunga, the honey badger. He's one of those "so stupid he's (supposedly) funny" characters. Incredibly annoying, though I suspect little kids like him best. I'd like to run him over with a lawnmower. Add in that Timon and Pumbaa were guest stars in the episode, and it was by far my least favorite of them all. Sad note to end the season on for me, but as I'm in the minority opinion on Timon and Pumbaa, other people might think it's ending on a high note.

All in all, I really enjoyed this show, and I can't wait for season two!

If you don't get the Disney Junior channel, or would rather watch it online, you can view the whole thing here.

Date: 2020-07-13 03:15 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jeane nevarez (from livejournal.com)
We borrowed a library dvd to watch it. So far I'm finding it more enjoyable than I expected! The honey badger personality doesn't bother me (I figured kids need some comic relief) as much as his stance does- why is he the only animal walking around in human posture on two legs (aside from Timone sometimes). Annoying.

Did you watch seasons 2-4 also? how was that?

Date: 2020-07-13 04:05 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thistle-chaser.livejournal.com
It's been a while since I watched it last (I think we got to the end of season 4 before new eps stopped). Very surprisingly, the characters grow through the season. Physically grow. The storylines also progress from story-of-the-week to a storyline that crosses seasons. The show is handled better than I would expect a cartoon aimed towards adults, let alone one for preschoolers.

I can't remember the details of most of the storylines, but I believe there weren't any that I was unsatisfied with (except a couple story-of-the-week minor ones).

Hmm I wonder if the honey badger stands on two legs so kids will identify with him even more?

Date: 2020-07-13 11:58 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jeane nevarez (from livejournal.com)
Maybe- about the honey badger. I do think they sometimes stand up that way IRL to spy around, like the meerkats do? so probably the producers made the honey badger walk around like that to make him more personable. Just weird that none of the other animals do so (as far as I've seen).

I like the idea that the characters continue growing! So many programs for kids characters just stay static

Date: 2020-07-14 12:07 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thistle-chaser.livejournal.com
It's pretty rare for shows, especially cartoons, to have their characters grow and changed. I was really impressed that this one did! (But a tad worried, too. Will the show end once they're adults?)

Okay, wow. Apparently I never watched the last ep (and maybe the one before that). I was trying to see if there was going to be a season four or not. (Couldn't find an answer to that.)

Edit: Wow, apparently I missed the whole second half of season three. Well, lots of new eps to watch at least!
Edited Date: 2020-07-14 12:19 am (UTC)

Date: 2020-07-18 10:23 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jeane nevarez (from livejournal.com)
I just finished watching season- two I guess? on dvd. Season one was actually just a full-length movie? or are there four episode seasons after that, I don't get it. Anyway, I had one dvd of "Return of the Roar" which was like a movie, and then three dvds of tv seasons. I like it so far, especially how it's got nice lessons for kids (some people just like being alone!) and also teaches about animal behavior (honey badgers really are immune to venom, but I think they collapse for a while and recover slowly actually). I had to fast forward thru some of the songs, they got annoying, but I'm still looking forward to watching the rest when I need some chill time.

Date: 2020-07-18 10:55 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thistle-chaser.livejournal.com
Yep! A movie + 3 TV seasons, so sounds like you have them all.

I wish I had had the option of fast forwarding though the songs. Sometimes they were important to the plot (rare), sometimes I didn't mind listening to them (even more rare) but most of the time it was just filler I tuned out.

I'm glad you're enjoying it so far!

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