The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar is part of the Lion King franchise, and the Pilot Movie for the animated series of the same name.
Set before and during the events of The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, the film follows Kion (the youngest child of Simba and Nala) as he assembles the members of the 'Lion Guard', a group of allied animals protecting the Pride Lands and working together to solve problems and accomplish tasks using their unique abilities — and maintaining balance within the Circle of Life, while also introducing viewers to the vast array of animals that populate the prodigious African landscape.
The premier movie provides examples of:
- Actually Pretty Funny: When Kion whines about having "the talk", Simba chuckles and composes himself before explaining that no, it's not that talk.
- Anger Born of Worry: Simba learns that Kion is assembling his Lion Guard from his friends instead of other lions from Pride Rock. Worried that his son isn't taking the role seriously, Simba confronts and scolds his son, making it clear that the Lion Guard isn't a game and that the very Circle of Life itself depends on him picking the right people for his team.
- Animal Stampede: In the climax of the episode, Kiara gets trapped in a gazelle stampede that was started by Janja's hyena clan, and gets saved by Bunga, who drives away the gazelles with his Fartillery.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Kiara certainly views Kion as one.
- Big Bad: Janja, the leader of the hyena clan.
- Big Sister Bully: Kiara is a mild case, mocking Kion about how he doesn't know where his life is going and constantly bragging about being the future queen. She mellows out a bit over the course of the movie.
- Bloodless Carnage: When the Lion Guard arrives at the scene of the hyena attack, they remark in shock that Janja's clan has already felled more than enough gazelle to feed them and yet continue attacking. We are never really shown any evidence of gazelle casualties.
- Bookends: The movie starts with the sun rising and ends with the Lion Guard in front of the sunset.
- Continuity Nod: Kion is well aware of Scar and his role in his grandfather's death, and more that once hopes to not ever become like him.
- Creepy Circus Music: Invoked in "Tonight We Strike," the hyenas' Villain Song. It's set to a demented, bouncy brass tune, contains frequent laughter (including a few bits where they laugh along with the melody), and includes imagery such as the hyenas leaping through the air and running around in a circlenote with either spotlights or harsh, brightly colored lighting, invoking the image of a Circus of Fear as Janja sings about his plan to disrupt order in the Pridelands.
- Damsel in Distress:
- Kiara gets caught in a stampede like her father once did.
- A milder example from earlier on, but one of the lioness cubs, Zuri, gets her claw stuck in a log.
- Disney Acid Sequence: The hyenas' Villain Song "Tonight We Strike
" shows the hyenas blue and contains weird scenes, like the hyena's leaping through the air with spotlights coming from nowhere shining on them. - Evil Brit: Mzingo the vulture.
- Evil Laugh: The hyenas do this of course. "Tonight We Strike" contains a rare musical version of this.
- Exact Words: Simba never explicitly tells Kion that the Lion Guard is supposed to consist only of Lions, assuming it went without saying, so Kion searches out animals in general that best fit the criteria.
- Extremely Short Timespan: The special takes place over the course of one day.
- Fantastic Racism: Simba frankly tells Kion that the team he's assembled (himself, a cheetah cub, a young hippo, a young honey badger and an egret) cannot act as his Lion Guard because "The Lion Guard has always been made of lions." To be fair, he was mostly upset because he thought Kion wasn't taking his new role seriously and was just picking his friends so he could hang out with them; once Simba sees that Kion and his friends are an effective team and can handle their new roles he no longer has a problem with it.
- Fartillery: The plan to save Kiara from the stampede involves Bunga "farting" (in reality, firing off a cloud of musk) to cause the antelope to fan out away from Kiara, showing this show ain't on Disney Junior for nothing.
- Foreshadowing: Whenever Kion lists off the other four Lion Guard personalities (Fastest, Strongest, Bravest, Keenest of Sight), either the camera shows the animal who represents it, or they strike poses to each respective one.
- Among the cave paintings in the Lion Guard's lair, one in particular stands out; Scar appears in the clouds, glaring down at the volcano where the hyenas hide out, possibly hinting at some involvement in their scheme (just as Mufasa does for Kion and his friends).
- When Kion and Bunga continue a journey to assemble a new lion guard, before Kion chooses Bunga to be the pridelands' bravest, Bunga says that the lion guard will fight hyenas, jackals, crocodiles, and vultures, this happens to foreshadow the events in season 2, where they are all united by Scar.
- For the Evulz: Why the hyenas are so keen on causing chaos in the Pridelands. Their former motivation of being hungry and eager to hunt there no longer holds water, since they're apparently free to take as many animals as they need to feed themselves.
- "Gaining Confidence" Song: "Kion's Lament", in which Kion has second thoughts about his duty as leader of the Lion Guard after Simba rejects his friends due to being non-lion, but after some assurance from his late grandfather Mufasa, the song gains a sense of determination and optimism as Kion fully embraces his destiny and it is indeed time for him to take the lead.
- Generation Xerox:
- Kion is basically a Simba (or possibly Mufasa) clone with an added mane tuft, right down to his carefree attitude at the start of the movie. He matures quickly once he learns he is destined to be the leader of the Lion Guard, showing he has the potential to be as wise and just as his grandfather Mufasa.
- It's revealed that Scar led the Lion Guard under Mufasa's regime. Thus, Kion fears becoming like his murderous great-uncle by failing with the Lion Guard.
- Kiara is eager to be ruler of The Pride Lands and gets caught in a stampede caused by hyenas. Like father, like daughter.
- Heroic BSoD: Kion falls into one after Simba informs him that the Lion Guard should only be made up of lions, and accuses Kion of not taking his role seriously.
- I Broke a Nail: Zuri, when Bunga accidentally screws up Timon and Pumbaa's attempt to gently free her claws from the log.
- "I Want" Song: Kion laments over what he should do as the Lion Guard leader after Simba refuses to let his friends join.
- Mark of the Supernatural: Kion gets his after using the Roar for the first time, before it quickly fades. He later gets it permanently after believing he is the true leader, and he gives each of his friends the said mark while inducting them.
- Never Say "Die": Scar "destroyed" the other members of the Lion Guard when he was younger. The special plays this Trope straight and averts it as the scenes see fit. Notably averted towards the end, where Kion makes clear that Janja and his clan wouldn't stop until the entire gazelle herd was dead. Earlier, Janja also comments that the entire (previous) Lion Guard had "died out".
- The Power of Hate: When Scar used the Roar to destroy his Guard, he is stripped of the Roar permanently due to using the power for evil.
- Powers in the First Episode: Kion receives the Roar of the Elders and becomes the Lion Guard's leader.
- Recruitment by Rescue: Kion and the rest of the fledgling Lion Guard rescue Fuli from a pack of pissed-off baboons before making the recruitment pitch.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: The Lion Guard is traditionally made up of lions only, and Kion assembles a guard with himself as the only lion. Simba chews him out for this, assuming that Kion isn't taking it seriously, but Kion later says that it doesn't matter that his friends aren't lions; what matters is that they protect the Pridelands together.
- Shout-Out: Several scenes allude to the original film:
- The special begins the same way the first movie began: the sun rising over the Savannah as African music plays (particularly Mufasa's theme from said film).
- Simba gives Kiara a similar lecture on the top of Pride Rock, like his father's. He even says to her, "Everything the light touches is our kingdom."
- Bunga holds up the baobab fruit high on the edge, the same way Rafiki held Simba and Kiara up at their presentations.
- During "Zuka Zama", Bunga plays a xylophone out of animal bones, like what Ed did in "Be Prepared".
- Shortly before Mufasa's entrance, Kion looks at his reflection in a pool just like how Simba did.
- Mufasa and Kion's conversation completely mirrors the first film's exact scene.
- The Talk: Kion has apparently been given at least part of this, given his reaction to his father saying "We need to talk."
- Villain Song: "Tonight We Strike", by the hyenas.
- Waxing Lyrical:Simba: Son, we need to talk.Kion: Oh, no...Dad, we already had that talk! "Can you feel the love tonight..." I know all about that mushy stuff!
- What the Hell, Hero?: Simba is outright furious with Kion when he assembles a Lion Guard with him as the only lion.Kion: Dad! Am I glad to see you! I'm not sure why, but when I tried to...
Simba: Kion, Kiara tells me you've asked Bunga to join the Lion Guard.
Bunga: Hey...
Simba: Is this true?
Kion: Well, yeah. I was just talking to all my friends about it.
Simba: Your friends? Kion, I asked you to assemble the new Lion Guard! Instead you're just playing with your friends?!
Kion: I'm not playing, Dad! My friends are the new Lion Guard! Fuli is the fastest; Beshte is the strongest; Ono is the keenest of sight; And the bravest? It's Bunga!
Simba: Kion! The Lion Guard has always been made of lions! Do you really think a Lion Guard with only one lion can protect the Pride Lands?!?
Kion: Well, actually —
Simba: Son, listen! The Lion Guard isn't a game you play with your friends, it's real! The Circle of Life, and your life, will depend on who's on your team! Please, Kion. There are plenty of good lions for the Guard; I need you to take your new responsibility seriously, just as seriously as Kiara takes hers.
Kion: But I do take it seriously!... (runs away in sadness) - What Measure Is a Non-Cute?: The vultures are portrayed as scheming minions to the hyenas, eager to help them kill indiscriminately and unconcerned with the "circle of life." In reality, vultures are extremely important members of the ecosystem who help prevent the spread of diseases such as cholera, rabies, and anthrax, and are the most social (and thus friendliest) of the birds of prey. They're also in very real danger of dying out.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Mufasa's message to Kion when he doubts being a leader and using the Roar.
- Youthful Freckles: Tiifu has these. Bunga's cheek stripes seem to serve as a species specific variant.
