But a Jape

“Prey will never be free until the last lion is strangled with the entrails of the last mandrill.”

– Denis I-Couldn’t-Think-of-a-Gazelle-Pun Diderot

I did some Disney Wiki research on the The Lion King expanded universe to see if they ever got into what the duties of the King of the Pride Lands actually were. Other than, you know, oppressing hyenas and devouring their subjects. Granted, I didn’t go too deep, but what I did find is that one episode of The Lion Guard has Simba deliver a eulogy to a dead elephant. I’m assuming he wasn’t the cause of death, but I wonder if he would still do so if he was. Also, the titular “Lion Guard” is apparently charged with defending the Circle of Life, and the reason the hyenas are pariahs is because they refuse to abide by its rules. Also, the second child of the King is the head of the Lion Guard and wields the Roar of the Elders, which is a legit magical power that can, like, control the weather?!  And Scar was the previous wielder of this magic roar until he killed the rest of the guards and lost it?!

This kind of lore almost tempted me into checking out more of The Lion Guard, but the fact that it ended in 2019 and I have heard nothing about a dedicated Lion Guard fandom suggests they don’t live up to the potential of this ridiculous worldbuilding. Or maybe they do, and this is a hidden gem of a series that was not appreciated in its time.

– James