“Mufasa: The Lion King” recounts the story of how Mufasa (voiced by Aaron Pierre) and Scar (voiced by Kelvin Harrison Jr.) met and the journey they embarked on to lead them to Pride Rock. With many highs and lows, the plot of the movie is strong, while some other aspects fall flat.
Although this is considered a live-action movie, it was fully done with Computer Generated Imagery. The animal CGI felt a little off-putting, and at times, it made me wish I was watching an animated movie instead. However, the CGI thrives when the scenery and landscape is the focus of the scene, allowing for vibrant colors and very realistic images. Additionally, many interesting camera angles were used throughout the movie, such as from the point of view of Mufasa during an intense fight scene, which made the movie interesting and dynamic to watch.
Another high point of the movie was the proper inclusion of the beloved characters from the original “The Lion King” (1994). The premise of the movie is a story about Mufasa’s past being told by Rafiki (voiced by John Kani), Timon (voiced by Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa (voiced by Seth Rogen). The many moments of their storytelling throughout the movie provide a lot of comedic moments and help ground the story to the events of “The Lion King.”
I really enjoyed the soundtrack of the film because the songs amplified the emotion and intensity of important scenes. My two favorite songs were “Miele,” as it provided amazing vocals and visuals of beautiful terrain in a dream sequence and “I Always Wanted a Brother,” a fun song showing the relationship between young Mufasa and Taka (voiced by Braelyn Rankins and Theo Somolu). The strong backing vocals in these songs made them more impactful.
“Bye Bye,” which is supposed to be the villain’s intimidating song, definitely came across as silly and childish. It did not succeed at being intimidating, but instead, it made me audibly laugh in the theater. The other songs were pretty forgettable, which is unfortunate because Lin-Manuel Miranda, the songwriter, typically makes iconic tracks for Disney. The original “The Lion King” soundtrack had so many classic hits, so it’s unsurprising that these new songs couldn’t live up to this high standard.
The movie’s plot is what really drew me in, as it offered a very interesting backstory to Scar as a villain, and it changed my perception of him in the original movie. Although it didn’t completely justify his actions, it made me sympathize with how he was treated. In general, the relationship built between Mufasa and Taka/Scar is a highlight of the movie. Starting from when they were younger, the movie shows Taka and Mufasa getting into mischief together, but as they grow older, their brotherly bond changes as Taka starts to become more jealous of Mufasa.
There are also many parallels to “The Lion King,” with so many scenes and character interactions being direct callbacks to the original movie, such as Mufasa being saved by his parents during an intense moment right at the beginning of the movie in the same way Simba was. These scenes were very emotionally dense, which made the parallels even more engaging and emotional.
The voice acting really drew me into the movie as well. The voice of Scar, Kelvin Harrison Jr., did a great job sounding progressively similar to how the original Scar did as the movie went on, effectively showing Scar’s development as a villain. Blue Ivy Carter stood out as the voice of Kiara, the daughter of Simba (voiced by Donald Glover) and Nala (voiced by Beyoncé), as her voice perfectly matched the adorable little lion cub. The fact she is Beyoncé’s daughter in real life made it even more special.
This movie’s biggest challenge was living up to the original “The Lion King,” which is an impossible task. However, it’s still an enjoyable movie worth a watch for the interesting plot and fun visuals, and it was a nostalgic experience for those who grew up with the original.
