Disney’s remake of The Lion King didn’t have an easy time of it in 2019. As a live-action hybrid of one of the most popular Disney classics, it drew an audience of millions to the cinemas, which left over $1.65 billion in box office worldwide. On the other hand, the film was received with mixed feelings by critics and audiences, which was mainly due to the remake character and the controversial photorealistic animation of the film.
With Mufasa: The Lion King, a sequel is now starting in cinemas, which simultaneously acts as a sequel and a prequel to The Lion King. Because that’s what’s being told here Prehistory of Simba’s father Mufasa as a lesson for Simba’s daughter, Kiara, known from The Lion King 2. Moonlight director Barry Jenkins replaced Jon Fraveau in the director’s chair and once again gathered great voices around Beyoncé and Donald Glover, with new additions such as Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Mads Mikkelsen. But is it worth going to the cinema to see the adventure of the king of all animals?
Mufasa: The Lion King can tell its own story – but it plays it too safe
Little Mufasa and his parents are looking for the paradise of Milele, where they will lack for nothing. However, on the way they get caught in a terrible flood and Mufasa is separated from his parents. He is washed up on the shore of a steppe, where the little lion and heir to the throne Taka finds him finds and takes him back to his pack. His father doesn’t believe in outsiders, but Taka has always wanted a brother – so Mufasa is finally allowed to stay.
Instead of sleeping with the male lions, he is supposed to grow up with the lionesses around Taka’s mother Ash. This turns out to be a blessing for Mufasa because of Ash he learns to use his senses and huntwhile Taka learns from his conceited father to cowardly withdraw and let others do the work.
When the pride is attacked by a group of white lions, Taka and Mufasa are sent away by the king so that Taka can safely maintain the royal bloodline. On the run they meet the lioness Sarabi as well as Sazu and Rafiki, with whom they will now search for the paradise of Milele.
Check out the trailer for Disney’s Mufasa here:
Mufasa: The Lion King – Trailer 2 (German) HD
When little Kiara is briefly left behind by her parents Simba and Nala and cowers in the King’s Rock with Rafiki, Timon and Pumba during a storm, she is told the story of her heroic grandfather Mufasa for the first time. The film spends a lot of time with the familiar faces from The Lion King before getting to the actual story of the animated film. This is already unfolding one of Mufasa’s big problems: The Lion King, which above all in the structure of the story knock down.
While the film, unlike The Lion King, is allowed to stand on its own and doesn’t have a beloved animated classic behind it, this new story has to keep up with that of the great original. In order to take as little risk as possible here, immense bridges are repeatedly built with Part 1, which in the something forced-seeming framework plot around Kiara and Co. and continue to unfold in Mufasa’s set prehistory.
Mufasa’s backstory is also the backstory of his brother, whom we first get to know as Taka. He later turns out to be someone we also know from The Lion King: Scar, who will one day plunge Mufasa to his death. While the brotherly relationship between the two the clear heart of the film is an exciting and expanding aspect, unfortunately the easy way is chosen, with the story focusing more on Mufasa than on the much more interesting Taka/Scar focused.
Especially when Sarabi joins the story, Taka/Scar becomes more and more out of focus and his increasingly vile actions become less understandable. While we already learned in a subordinate clause in The Lion King that love once drove a wedge between the brothers, in Mufasa this aspect is heavily exploited, but then not multi-sided enough – and ultimately leads to their downfall.
The story is designed as a liberation for outsiders In the end, it ignores one of its most tragic representatives. Almost fitting if you think about it.
Mufasa: The Lion King is a first-class animation spectacle
As much as there are always problems with the story, Mufasa still comes up with impressive visuals took animation cinema to a completely new level lift and also leave part 1 far behind.
Luckily, the animators took the major criticism of The Lion King to heart and slightly changed the faces of the animals more emotionality given. Of course, you shouldn’t expect the facial expressions of the cartoon animals from the Disney classic here – only in a few moments would you know what’s really going on behind the mane without the vocal addition. The change is still bearing great fruit here.
When the search for Milele Mufasa, Taka, Rafiki and Sarabi leads into a snowy mountain range, the true art of animation finally emerges, beautifully contrasting the lions in this unexpected landscape every snowflake glitters in their manes lets. When Mufasa writhes in the water in the big finale, you can’t help but sit there with your mouth open.
The adventure is accompanied by the sounds of Hamilton star Lin-Manuel Mirandawho contributed songs for Mufasa in place of Elton John. Even if this isn’t an instant classic like Can It Really Be Love? is included, the songs are catchy and a lot of fun – here are especially I always wanted a brother and That’s you. Watching almost realistic-looking lions sing will still never feel entirely natural.
In the end, Mufasa: The Lion King is a Animation spectacle in a class of its ownwhich knows how to captivate in the cinema despite its story weaknesses. Whether that justifies the existence of this sequel-prequel remains to be seen. It will undoubtedly make the box office ring again.