The Lion King References in The Lion Guard

This page contains a list of all known references made to The Lion King films in The Lion Guard.

The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar

 * The beginning sunrise is almost identical to the very beginning of The Lion King.
 * Simba and Kiara observing the sunrise from the peak of Pride Rock and their discussion mirrors the scene in the first film featuring young Simba and his father, Mufasa.
 * As Bunga holds up the baobab fruit, he is standing in the exact spot where Rafiki stood when he presented Simba to the Pride Landers.
 * The way Cheezi nods his head rapidly mirrors the way Ed the hyena nods in The Lion King.
 * The way Janja is perched on the top on the volcano with his clan is similar to the way Scar sat on the peak of the mountain with his hyena army in The Lion King in the song Be Prepared.
 * When Kion sees that Simba wants to talk to him he states "We already had that talk. Can you feel the love tonight..." which is a reference to the "Can You Feel The Love Tonight?" song from the original movie.
 * The way Rafiki raises his staff and cheers mirrors his actions in The Lion King when Simba returns to the Pride Lands.

The Rise of Makuu

 * When Kion consults his family after Makuu challenges Pua to a Mashindano, Nala reminds her son that his father, Simba, had fought Scar in order to reclaim the throne of the Pride Lands.

Never Judge a Hyena by Its Spots

 * As Kion tries to leave the Outlands, he falls down a hill and into a thorn bush, mirroring what a young Simba did when trying to escape Banzai, Shenzi and Ed.

Bunga the Wise

 * The way Timon and Pumbaa swing from other animals is similar to the way they swung from vines during "Hakuna Matata" in The Lion King.
 * The way Rafiki meditates on a rock mirrors what he did in The Lion King.

Can't Wait to be Queen

 * The title of the episode is a reference to the song "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" from the original movie.
 * Kiara getting ambushed by Janja's clan mirrors when Simba, Nala, and Zazu get cornered by the hyenas Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed in The Lion King.

Eye Of The Beholder

 * When Kion notices a wildebeest charging towards him, his expression is similar to the one his father made after seeing the wildebeest stampede when he was a cub.
 * The way Janja, Cheezi, and Chungu appeared during "Outta the Way" mirrors when Shenzi, Banzai and Ed did the same thing during "Be Prepared".

The Kupatana Celebration

 * The way Kion lunges onto Janja to save Dogo is similar to when Simba lunges onto Nala to protect Timon and Pumbaa in The Lion King. In addition, Janja's expression when he sees Kion jumping towards him is very similar to Nala's when she saw Simba. Also, the way they tumble down the hill and Kion ends up pinning Janja is very similar to when Nala and Simba rolled down a hill and Nala ended up pinning Simba in the end.

Fuli's New Family

 * During the buffalo stampede, the way a buffalo falls and slides toward the camera references the moment during the stampede scene in The Lion King when a wildebeest falls to the ground and slides closer to the screen. [1]
 * When Bunga feigns death and grabs a flower, he lies similar to how his uncle Timon did in The Lion King 1½. [2]
 * Bunga relaxing on a steam vent is the same as what Timon did while finding his new home in The Lion King 1'½.

The Search for Utamu

 * Timon makes a reference to the original The Lion King film before he and Pumbaa adopted Bunga. Timon mentions that they already raised a lion, referring to how they had raised Simba.
 * When Mzingo and the vultures surround and attack Fuli while she lays tired on the ground, it mirrors the moment in The Lion King when some vultures fly around an unconscious young Simba in the desert and are about to feast on him until Timon and Pumbaa rescue him.

The Call of the Drongo

 * The scene where Janja, Cheezi, and Chungu watch the impalas from underneath a rock formation, as well as the scene of them overlooking the escaping impalas, is likely a reference to the original Lion King movie.
 * The way the impalas run into the gorge is almost identical to the stampede scene in The Lion King.

The Mbali Fields Migration

 * The way Janja, Chungu and Cheezi run down the hill after the zebras mirrors what Shenzi, Banzai and Ed did when they we're chasing young Simba.

Bunga and the King

 * The scene where Simba falls into the sinkhole is very similar to how his father plummets into the stampede in The Lion King.
 * The song "Hakuna Matata" is a throwback to the original song from The Lion King.
 * The way Simba sings "Hakuna Matata" with Bunga mirrors the way he does it with Timon and Pumbaa.

Janja's New Crew

 * The scene where Janja, Cheezi and Chungu slide down a hill and bump one after another references when Shenzi, Banzai and Ed do this same thing when chasing young Simba, after which Banzai falls into the thorns.
 * The way Janja falls back first references the way Mufasa falls back first to his demise.
 * As the Guard see Janja, Cheezi and Chungu run towards the Outlands from a cliff bears a similarity to Shenzi, Banzai and Ed looking over a cliff as they see Simba flee as a cub.

Lions of the Outlands

 * The way Zira fiddles with a jerboa as she sings Lions Over All is similar to Scar's behavior with a mouse in The Lion King.[1]
 * The way Zira watches the cockroaches crawl across the rock and then swats them off is similar to what she did to termites in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride.[2]
 * Kion getting surrounded by the Outsiders is similar to what happened to happened to Simba and Kovu in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride.

Never Roar Again

 * Fuli getting almost eaten by Makuu is similar to the Lion King 2: Simba's Pride when Kovu as a cub got almost eaten by the crocodile he was standing on.

The Trail to Udugu

 * At the beginning of the episode, Kiara pins Kion to the ground in the same way that Nala pinned Simba to the ground when they were cubs in The Lion King.[1]
 * The end of the episode shares similarities to the ending of the Lion King 2: Simba's Pride, in which the camera zooms away from Pride Rock with four characters on the peak.[2]
 * The way Simba was hanging in the vines was the same way he was hanging in The Lion King 1½ during the song Sunrise, Sunset.
 * Simba and Bunga relaxing in a jacuzzi during the song (When You're) Running with the King, looks similar to the scene in The Lion King 1½, where Simba, Timon and Pumbaa do the same thing.

The Savannah Summit

 * Mbeya sitting on Zazu is similar to how the hornbill was squashed by a rhinoceros at the end of the "Can't Wait to be King" sequence in The Lion King.

The Lion Guard: The Rise of Scar

 * Kion and Simba running through the Pride Lands during the song The Path of Honor is similar to what Simba and Kiara did during "We Are One" in The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride.
 * When Janja talks to Ushari about Scar's death, the hyena reminds him of how Scar died in the original The Lion King. However, he mistakenly says that Scar died in the fire of Pride Rock, whereas he was actually eaten alive by his hyenas henchmen as revenge for betraying them.

Rafiki's New Neighbors

 * As he paints, Rafiki recites his renowned chant, asante sana, squash banana, wewe nugu mimi apana.

The Ukumbusho Tradition

 * The way the Lion Guard dress up as adult lions is a reference to how Simba dressed up as an adult during "Can't Wait to be King".

The Morning Report

 * During the song "I Do Have a Great Deal to Say" when Zazu mentions that  "The king once wore leaves for a mane. And yes, there are times I have seen him standing out on Pride Rock in the rain" resemblances where Simba was singing about how he "Just Can't Wait to be King", even showing him popping his head our and shaking his head, and the 'in the rain' moment resembles where Simba roars to take his place as King of the Pridelands after reclaiming his kingdom from Scar in The Lion King.


 * When Zazu is caught by the hyenas he is put in a rib cage similar to the one during Scar's reign in The Lion King.

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Divide and Conquer

 * The way Rafiki fights Janja and his hyenas is very similar to the way he fights Scar's hyenas in the original Lion King film. He actually refers to this by saying, "its been a long time since he embraced his inner warrior".