One of Disney's most successful movies from the Disney Renaissance was "The Lion King (1994)" It has made $987.4 million in its releases and re-releases, most recently adding to its totals in a 2011 3D re-release. It also had:

• a top-selling soundtrack (14 million units sold)
• a Tony Award-winning musical spinoff that is still, 17 years after its premiere, on Broadway (the highest grossing Broadway show of any kind in history)
• a well-received sequel, "Lion King 2: Simba's Pride"
• an Emmy Award-winning spinoff tv series, "The Lion King's Timon and Pumbaa"
• popular attracts at Disney World and other Disney parks.  

The list of accomplishments of "The Lion King" goes on and on. Now, Disney has another project in the works that also should be popular.

"The Lion Guard" continues the story of "The Lion King." This is a series for children 2-7 and their families. It is coming in the Fall of 2015 with a television movie, then become a regular weekly series in early 2016 on Disney Junior and Disney Channel.

In "The Lion Guard," Kion, the second-born cub of Simba and Nala, becomes the leader of The Lion Guard. This is a group of hand-selected lions charged with protecting the Pride Lands. Kion, though, goes against tradition and, instead of choosing other lions to save the forest, he goes with his trusted friends instead:

• Bunga, a fearless honey badger; 
• Fuli, a confident cheetah; 
• Beshte, a happy-go-lucky hippo; 
• Ono, an intellectual egret.

One wonders, if they're not all lions, why exactly it will be called "The Lion Guard," but maybe that's being a touch too cynical.

“It is kind of like ‘The Lion King’ meets ‘The Avengers,’” said Disney Junior general manager Nancy Kanter in a Wall Street Journal article.

Also appearing will be old friends Mufasa, Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki, Zazu and Kion's older sister, Kiara, the future Queen of the Pride Lands (Kiara was in "The Lion King: Simba's Pride").

The executive producer is Ford Riley, Howy Parkins is the director, and Christopher Willis will compose the soundtrack. No voice actors have been announced.

2020