2024 marks 30 years since 'The Lion King' first graced our screens. The pinnacle of 90s Disney and remains the highest-grossing hand-drawn animated film of all time. I do not need to tell you how incredible of a film it is, and like many of you it is so tied to my DNA; it is just such a huge constant in my life. When Disney began their recent trend of live-action remakes, 'The Lion King' felt like something untouchable. There are no human characters, so how could they possibly make this "live-action"? Well, as we know, in 2019 Disney released a "CGI photorealistic" film that though wasn't well received went on to gross US$1.6 billion at the global box office. So, of course, another film in this style was inevitable - but what would it be? An adaption of the direct-to-DVD film 'The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride', or dare I say a prequel with colourful commentary from Timon and Pumbaa like 'The Lion King 1½'? Well, it's both!
'Mufasa: The Lion King' tells the untold story of Mufasa (Aaron Pierre, 'Old'), an orphaned lion cub who gets adopted by Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr, 'Elvis', 'Chevalier'), who will later become Scar, and his family. The story is told by Rafiki (John Kani, 'Black Panther'), who also meets the brothers as teenagers, to Simba (Donald Glover, 'Magic Mike XXL', 'Solo: A Star Wars Story') and Nala's (Beyoncé, 2006's 'The Pink Panther', 'Dreamgirls') daughter Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter, in her film debut) while Timon (Billy Eichner, 'Bros', 'Bad Neighbours 2') and Pumbaa (Seth Rogen, 'Dumb Money', 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem') are adding their commentary. Mufasa and Taka travel across the Pride Lands as they have been kicked out of their home by Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen, 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny', 'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore'', the leader of the white lions who want to rule over all. They also meet Sarabi (Tiffany Boone, 'Beautiful Creatures') and Zazu (Preston Nyman, 'Crooked House') on their journey to a safe haven.
SWITCH: 'MUFASA: THE LION KING' TRAILER 2
If you had told me between 'Moana 2', a sequel to a movie I loved and 'Mufasa: The Lion King', a prequel to one of my least favourite movies to have the Disney logo slapped on it, that the photorealistic CGI lions would be my favourite Disney movie of the year, I would have simply laughed. When the foundation for this film is one of the most soulless things of the last decade and out of it comes this movie that is somewhat delightful to watch, shocked is an understatement.
What works in 'Mufasa: The Lion King's' favour is that it's a new story. Yes, while it does borrow ideas from other pieces of these characters' backstories, it hasn't been presented in this way before. This makes the film feel incredibly fresh and while you might have a general idea of where this story is going to end, you are still engaged with the journey to get there. I don't like every decision they make for this, mainly tied to Sarabi and her (be it indirect) involvement in the brothers being divided, but this still was a very enjoyable watch.
'Moonlight' director Barry Jenkins is at the helm here and injects so much life into this. With Jon Favreau and the 2019 remake, you feel his interest was only from a technical standpoint, but Jenkins has really put characters and story first. They have done some slight tweaks with the animation and these animals emote a lot more than previously. They have also turned up the brightness and colours, making this a much more visually appealing overall. I do still question if it really needs to be this photorealistic style and not just traditionally animated, but I'll take this style over we got originally. The cinematography is also extremely creative; I really loved the way they used close-ups and how the camera follows really naturally in the environment.
What works in 'Mufasa: The Lion King's' favour is that it's a new story. Yes, while it does borrow ideas from other pieces of these characters' backstories, it hasn't been presented in this way before.
The biggest standout is my main man, Lin-Manuel Miranda once again penning really catchy songs. While there are only six songs performed by the characters, they perfectly compliment the soundtrack to the original film. They are not going to overtake those classic songs by any means, but again compared to how the music sounded in the 2019 film Miranda has done another great job. 'I Always Wanted a Brother' is the standout and will be in my head for the coming months.
There are some negatives. Timon and Pumbaa are Team Way-Too-Much, adding one too many pop culture references and fourth wall breaks. There is one about how Timon saw the musical and was offended he was a sock puppet... taking this joke on a literal level does imply some interesting rules for this universe, but it's just such a cheap laugh. They are in the film much less than the original story, but I would have liked a lot less. There are some references to the original that I go back and forth on how I feel, but overall this film does a much better job at being a part of 'The Lion King' legacy than the remake.
'Mufasa: The Lion King' may be the surprise of the year. It could be partly because of the low expectations, but Jenkins has crafted something quite beautiful out of something soulless. From the great songs to the huge step up in animation, this is one film that I'll allow to take a brief place on Pride Rock!