Spin-Off of The Lion King Aims to Enchant a New Generation of Viewers

Disney Junior, the American television network that is owned by the Walt Disney Co., is launching an animated series called The Lion Guard based on the 1994 classic children’s movie The Lion King.

The series — which will debut in November 2015 on both the Disney Junior Channel and the Disney Channel — will follow Kion, the son of King Simba, as he and his coterie, the Lion Guard, defend the jungle from usurpers like the hyenas. The Lion Guard will begin with an hour-long movie in November 2015 followed by episodes in January 2016.

“It’s kind of like The Lion King meets The Avengers,” Disney Junior general manager Nancy Kanter told the Wall Street Journal.

Kanter added that The Lion Guard is only one of Disney Junior’s TV shows that have tapped into the “heritage” of the company. The Lion Guard will join the network with pre-existing shows like Jake and the Never Land Pirates, which is inspired by the 1953 hit Peter Pan. She notes that remakes of classic Disney movies have seen a good deal of success on the network.

A new line of toys by Disney Consumer Products will also be released in 2015 to complement the new series.

[WSJ]