Bunga
| Bunga | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Meaning | Fool |
| Species | Honey Badger |
| Close Relations | Timon and Pumbaa (Adoptive Uncles) Simba (adoptive brother) Nala (adoptive sister-in-law) Kiara (adoptive niece) Kion (adoptive nephew) |
| Information | |
| Appearances | The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar, The Lion Guard |
| Voice Actor(s) | Joshua Rush |
Bunga is the adoptive nephew of Timon and Pumbaa, the adoptive brother of Simba, the best friend and adoptive uncle of Kion, the bravest member of The Lion Guard and one of the main characters in the television film The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar and it's follow-up series The Lion Guard.
Appearance
Bunga has blue-grey fur with white hair from the top of his head down to his tail. He also has black eyes, a red nose and bucked teeth. After becoming a member of the Lion Guard, Bunga gains a Mark of the Guard on his left shoulder.
Background
According to the episode "The Search for Utamu", Bunga was born to an unknown male and female honey badger some point before the events of the series. Some short time after his birth, Bunga's parents either died, abandoned him or got separated from him as he has no memory of them.
After spending sometime on his own, Bunga met Timon and Pumbaa and took a liking to them. Pumbaa wished to adopt the young honey badger, but Timon did not wish to raise another animal having already raised Simba, however he did eventually warm up to him.
The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar
Bunga is first seen playing Baobab Ball with Kion on Pride Rock. After unintentionally disrupting Simba teaching Kiara how to be Queen, the two leave to continue their game elsewhere. During their game (where they encounter a crocodile named Makuu and a cobra named Ushari), the baobab fruit ends up in the Outlands. Kion refuses to go into the Outlands as Simba had forbidden him to, but Bunga goes in to fetch it. However, he is spotted by a hyena named Janja, who sends his henchmen Cheezi and Chungu to bring Bunga to him as food. Bunga is captured by the two hyenas, but is saved by Kion, who lets out a loud roar where lions in the sky appear roaring with him, much to the shock of the hyenas, giving Bunga time to escape to safety.
Bunga returns to Pride Rock with Kion and comes upon Simba and Rafiki (who heard Kion's roar). Rafiki reveals that Kion used the Roar of the Elders, before he and Simba take Bunga and Kion to an area of Pride Rock called The Lair of the Lion Guard where they talk of the previous Lion Guard, which was led by Kion's great-uncle Scar, who lost his Roar of the Elders after he used it to kill his fellow Lion Guard members after they refused to help him overthrow his older brother Mufasa as King. Simba tells Kion that he is now the leader and fiercest member of the new Lion Guard and sends him out to get members to be the bravest, fastest, strongest and keenest of sight. As he goes around the Pride Lands, Kion invites Bunga to become the bravest member as he is the bravest animal he knows, to which an excited Bunga agrees. Soon after, the two hear a distress call from Kiara's friend Zuri (whose claws are stuck in a log) and go to help. After Zuri is freed, Bunga reveals to her, Kiara, Tiifu along with Timon and Pumbaa about Simba making Kion the leader of the Lion Guard and he is the first member. At first Timon and Pumbaa don't wish for Bunga to join as they consider it work, but via singing "Zuka Zama", Bunga is able to convince otherwise.
Afterwards, Bunga goes with Kion to find three more members for the Lion Guard. They pick a cheetah named Fuli to be the fastest, a hippopotamus named Beshte to be the strongest and an egret named Ono to be the keenest of sight. However soon after, Simba arrives and is disappointed with Kion's choices as the Lion Guard has always been made of lions and berates his son for treating his new role as a game. After Simba leaves, Kion goes to have alone time as Bunga watches on sadly. Shortly after, Janja and his clan attack a gazelle herd and cause a stampede. Bunga warns Kion, who gives him along with Fuli, Beshte and Ono a Mark of the Guard on their shoulders before the group set out to deal with the hyenas. Upon noticing that Kiara is trapped in the stampede, Kion sends Bunga and Fuli out to help her. Bunga is able to get the gazelles away from Kiara by letting out a fart. Kiara thanks Bunga for saving her.
Bunga and Fuli rejoin the others and watch Kion use the Roar of the Elders to blast Janja and his clan back to the Outlands.
