Lion King herd marks November return in Disney TV movie

“Return of the Roar” follows Kion as he assembles the members of the Lion Guard“, Disney Junior explains in the release. In the film, Kion leaves to become the new leader of the Lion Guard, a special team that protects the Pride Lands from dangers. The movie, as well as TV episodes that are scheduled to follow, will find the Guard learning to solve problems.

James Earl Jones and Ernie Sabella will reprise their roles from the hit 1994 animated film as Mufasa and Pumbaa, respectively. Meanwhile, Lowe has been tapped to voice Simba, Union will voice Nala and Payton will voice Rafiki.

Simba’s son Kion will lead The Lion Guard on Disney Channel.

Disney is working hard to recreate the feel of the original movie, and has even brought back some of the artists who worked on The Lion King. “I think people will be sort of amazed at just how handsome it really looks”, she said. You can expect the film to air on the Disney Channel this November, and the actual TV series will air in 2016. Max Charles, Atticus Shaffer and Sarah Hyland will also voice characters in the new flick.

The Education and Science experts at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park serve as consultants, advising on the characteristics, behaviors and habitats of the African animal species featured and inspiring original stories based on their first hand experiences. Diamond White will play Fuli, a confident cheetah.

“We’ve gotten very positive responses” via social media, Kanter said. She will get a chance to test her prediction on August 16, when Disney offers a preview of the movie at its D23 Expo in Anaheim, Calif.