It has been five years since we got the live-action remake of The Lion King. The film failed to receive high praise and left a significant number of people disappointed. A film so controversial, it had people questioning why we’re receiving live-action remakes of animated movies that are still beautifully crafted to this day. With the release of Mufasa: The Lion King, we receive our first live-action sequel to a remake, telling a (somewhat) original story about how Mufasa became king and how Scar became the villain we grew to hate.
Mufasa: The Lion King takes place after the events of The Lion King (2019) as Rafiki (John Kani) tells the origin story of Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) and Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), to Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter), the granddaughter of Mufasa and daughter of Simba (Donald Glover) and Nala (Beyonce Knowles-Carter).
Attached as director to this film is Barry Jenkins, known for films such as Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk, and he’s able to bring a stylistic and visual flair to Mufasa: The Lion King that was completely absent from the 2019 movie. In this film we don’t only get to see the scenery of the Pride Lands, which is as beautiful as ever and known as Milele in the movie but we get to visit various locations such as a new snow biome.
Everybody knows the story of Mufasa and Scar, and some people might even know about how they came to be brothers, but there’s never been that much detail to the story, and most of it all is speculation. Mufasa: The Lion King provides the necessary information that’s needed to understand the two characters. Taka as a character is written well as he’s met with depth and layers that were unseen before with his character, but evidently, it ruins what was so special about Scar as a villain. Scar was ruthless and willing to kill a kid to earn back his right to the throne, and with all this added backstory about the character, part of that ruthlessness dissipates as we witness what led to him losing that right to the throne.
Taka always wanted a brother, and even when his father, Obasi (Lennie James), neglected Mufasa and refused to look at him as a son, Taka still stood by Mufasa every step of the way, so when Taka feels betrayed by him, it’s a stab in the back, and you’re able to sympathise with him, but once again, it feels like it takes away from what made Scar such a great villain; he’s not a character that the audience is supposed to sympathise with.
Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumba (Seth Rogen) return and surprisingly are the highlight of the film as they add commentary to Rafiki’s story being told. They cut in adding their own little notes and their snarky remarks while also remixing Hakuna Matata so they don’t get any lawsuits. It’s a good time when the film decides to return to them, and although we all can really do without these live-action movies, I’d happily take a film or Disney+ show about Timon and Pumba. Rafiki is a great storyteller and does an amazing job in this film telling the story of Mufasa and Taka, but it’ll never beat the humorous storytelling of Timon and Pumba.
Another strong highlight of Mufasa: The Lion King is the soundtrack. Lin Manuel Miranda brings his talents to the film and delivers with every single track just being as catchy as the last. Lin Manuel Miranda is a talented man and has proven time and time again why he is good at what he does. His absence from Moana 2 showed, and his presence here is evidently felt with a soundtrack you’ll be listening to nonstop once the credits roll.
It’s clear from watching Mufasa: The Lion King that Barry Jenkins has a strong love and understanding for these characters and this world, but the story just doesn’t live up to what’s expected from Mufasa’s legend. We’re later introduced to the villains of the story, Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen), the leader of a pride of white lions. It feels like a joke that has written itself with the villains being a group of white lions, and they’re a set of characters who don’t have as much development compared to Mufasa and Taka. Although Mads Mikkelsen gives an excellent performance as Kiros, fulfilling that villain role well, at times it felt like the movie could’ve done without a typical villain and instead explored more of Mufasa and Taka’s relationship and their individual morals.
The visuals of the film are a spectacle to look at, and the animation for the animals is better than it ever was before, as now they’re able to clearly express emotions with their faces instead of it looking like a National Geographic documentary. The horizons of Tanzania are a beauty to behold, and while this isn’t Barry Jenkins’s forte, his collaboration with cinematographer James Laxton makes this Disney’s most beautiful-looking film to date, and their combined work with the visuals from MPC makes this a film that should be experienced on the biggest screen possible.
Mufasa: The Lion King is a visually beautiful film to behold and is a cinematic spectacle that is a massive improvement from its predecessor. The soundtrack from Lin Manuel Miranda lifts up this film, providing an enjoyable and entertaining experience with vocal performances from Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr. that make you look at Mufasa and Taka in new unimaginable ways. Taka is well developed as a character, and although it feels like this change to the character wasn’t needed, it’s hard to deny that it wasn’t handled with the utmost care. At the end of it all, the overall story wasn’t strong enough for the film and unfortunately stops the film from being this great movie.
Mufasa: The Lion King releases in theatres on December 20.
