Bunga (The Lion Guard)



Bunga is the adoptive nephew of Timon and Pumbaa, the best friend of Kion and one of the main characters in the 2015 TV film The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar and it's 2016 follow-up series The Lion Guard, both based on the 1994 film The Lion King. He is a honey badger who along with Kion and their friends Fuli, Ono and Beshte, form The Lion Guard to protect The Pride Lands from threats such as hyenas.

He will be voiced by Joshua Rush.

The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar
Bunga first appears in the film when he and Kion play Baobab Ball on Pride Rock and end up disrupting Kion's father Simba who is teaching Kion's older sister Kiara about being future Queen and so go out into The Pride Lands to continue their game, but the Baobab fruit ends up falling into The Outlands. Kion is unwilling to go into The Oulands (due to being forbidden to go there), but Bunga goes in and ends up being captured by two hyenas named Cheezi and Chungu, who plan to give him to their leader Janja. However, Kion saves his friend by letting out a mighty roar (which is in fact The Roar of the Elders) that causes Chungu to drop Bunga in shock, giving Bunga the chance to climb to safety.

Bunga and Kion return to Pride Rock where they see Simba talking with Rafiki and Kion asks what the two are talking about to which Simba replies that he and Kion need to talk. Bunga goes with Kion when Simba and Rafiki take him to a part of Pride Rock called The Lair of The Lion Guard where Simba tells Kion that he is the leader of the new Lion Guard and sends him to find members. Kion chooses Bunga to be the bravest member as he is the bravest animal he knows. Bunga later tells Kiara, Tiifu, Zuri, Timon and Pumbaa about Kion being made leader of The Lion Guard and how he had been picked for the team and sings "Zuka Zama".

Later after Kion chooses Beshte, Fuli and Ono for the team, Bunga convinces Kion to demonstrate The Roar of the Elders to them, but when Kion attempts to do so, the roar only comes out as a squeak, to the confusion of Bunga, Beshte and Ono and the amusement of Fuli. Bunga and the others then witness Simba scolding Kion for not putting other lions in The Lion Guard and treating his role as leader as a game for him and his friends to play.

Afterwards, Bunga alerts Kion of Janja and his clan attacking a herd of gazelles in which Kiara gets trapped in. Bunga, Kion and the rest of The Lion Guard come to the rescue and drive the hyenas away and Bunga lets out a fart that makes the gazelles move away from Kiara. After Kiara is delivered to safety, Simba congratulates Kion and accepts Bunga and the others in The Lion Guard.

The Lion Guard
Bunga is set to reappear in the 2016 TV series The Lion Guard which will take place after Return of the Roar.