Published January 27, 2025
BY DANIELA FOLEY
Directed by Barry Jenkins and written by Linda Woolverton, Irene Mecchi and Jonathen Roberts, Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King,” a tale depicting Mufasa’s journey to becoming king, features strong vocal performances, aesthetically pleasing visuals and emotional moments, but has a slow start and simply does not stand out as a strong prequel to “The Lion King.”
“Mufasa” illustrates the origins of Mufasa’s rise to power as King through the recounting of his story by Rafiki to Kiara, the lion king’s granddaughter. As the story continues, the audience learns that after a flood infiltrated Mufasa’s (Aaron Pierre) home, he is separated from his family, eventually meets Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), adopted by his mother Eshe (Thandiwe Newton), but is ostracized by King Obasi (Lennie James). Faced with the threat of enemy lions, Mufasa and Taka are sent away to find a safe haven where they can relocate their families. Throughout the journey, a tale of spiteful revenge, deadly fights and emotionally taxing moments ensues, explaining just how Mufasa comes to power.
The CGI animation in Mufasa is able to effectively display the emotions of the various animals in these lions’ kingdom. (courtesy of WALT DISNEY PICTURES)
Without a doubt, the highlight of the movie is the incorporation of new songs that fit the “Lion King” genre and strong vocal performances throughout. Featuring a variety of music composers, such as Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hans Zimmer, Dave Metzger, Nicholas Britell, Pharrell Williams and Mark Mancina, some tunes are simply addicting. Perhaps most catchy of all, “I Always Wanted a Brother” by Lin-Manuel Miranda is featured multiple times throughout the movie, and is sure to be stuck in your head for days to come. Most importantly, the music featured in this prequel provides a purpose and moves the story forward, rather than being plopped into scenes with no intent.
Though entirely CGI, which can often fall in the uncanny valley, “Mufasa” uses this technique to effectively display the emotions of different animals and provides beautiful landscape views. Whether it be sentimental moments, such as Mufasa reuniting with his mother years later, or moments of betrayal, such as when the audience learns just how the villain Scar came to be, emotions are demonstrated in significant detail, allowing the viewer to follow along with the plot.
Though the CGI effects depict serious emotion, the movie is boring. The scenes feel disjointed in the beginning, and there are too many side-plots occurring simultaneously that don’t make sense. Scenes switch between Mufasa’s point of view, Timon and Pumbaa’s retelling of events and the enemy tiger’s point of view with little flow between scenes. While individually, scenes contain great voice acting, they don’t work together, adding unnecessary complexity.
Riddled with confusion, the question must be asked: Is this movie necessary? With the constant addition of prequels, sequels and remakes of successful movie franchises, these sorts of movies have lost their value in the cinematic world. With a mediocre plot, “Mufasa: The Lion King” is a fun one-time watch, but not one that truly adds importance to the “Lion King” franchise.
6/10
