My Review of Mufasa: The Lion King (2024)

 

Written by Jeff Nathanson 

Directed by Barry Jenkins 

Taka: "You stole my destiny!"

I can't believe I'm about to say this but after the rather underwhelming photorealistic version of The Lion King from 2019, I'm genuinely surprised that a prequel I had written off as a desperate cash grab managed to be surprisingly entertaining. I'm shocked.

Serving as both a prequel to and a sort of sequel to the 2019 movie it spawned from, we open with Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter) being looked after by Pumbaa (Seth Rogan) and Timon (Billy Eichner) while Simba (Donald Glover) and Nala (Beyonce Knowles-Carter) are elsewhere. Kiara's worried for her parents but at least Rafiki (John Kani) has a story to entertain her for most of the movie's runtime.

The story of being about her grandfather, Mufasa (Aaron Pierre/Braelyn and Brielle Rankins) and it's a bit of a doozy. Yup, at a young age and involving a flood, Mufasa ended up losing his parents, Masego (Keith David) and Afia (Anika Noni Rose) but fortunately for Mufasa, he also fell into a new pride who mostly accepted him.

The pride consisting of ineffectual king Obasi (Lennie James), Eshe (Thandiwe Newton) and their son, Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr/Theo Somolu). Obasi didn't particularly care for Mufasa but Eshe and Taka did with the latter forming quite the brotherly bond with Mufasa. Actually, it's rather sweet in spite of knowing that it was eventually going to revolve as a relationship.

The arrival of the white lions led by Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen) gave the movie some genuinely nasty antagonists. Kiros was such a vicious character, he had no problem getting his own sisters to kill pride members who failed him. However the death of his son had him going up against Obasi's pride and in particular, Mufasa and Taka.

Add in the introductions of characters like Sarabi (Tiffany Boone) and Zazu (Preston Nyman) and this prequel felt completed. A love triangle between Mufasa, Sarabi and Taka had the latter betray everyone to Kiros before another flood took out the villainous lion and Taka then became known as Scar. Yes, we got an origin story for his name.

The rest of the movie then reunited Mufasa with his biological mother, paired him with Sarabi while in the present for Kiara, she learned that she now had a baby brother. It's a nice ending that also felt like a potential lead into another movie of sorts.

- James Earl Jones sadly passed away before the movie's release. Archive recordings of his Mufasa are heard at the start and the movie was dedicated to him.

- Milele, which was frequently mentioned in the movie became Pride Rock towards the end.

- Standout music: I Always Wanted A Brother, We Go Together and Tell Me It's You.

- Chronology: Not long from where the events of The Lion King took place. Pumbaa and Timon mentioned knowing Simba for six years.

I didn't have high hopes for Mufasa: The Lion King but I was pleasantly surprised with it. It's not quite as awesome (or contradictory) a prequel as Cruella turned out to be but I liked it more than it's 2019 predecessor and that I didn't see coming.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of The Lion King (2019)

 

Written by Jeff Nathanson

Directed by Jon Favreau

Simba: "My father once told me: protect everything the light touches, if I don't fight for it who will?"

Earlier this month, I wrote a long overdue review for the animated movie and with Mufasa: The Lion King coming out this week, it was finally time to actually watch this live action taken on the iconic 1994 movie.

I got to be honest, part of the reason why I held off watching this was down to the fact that it looked so bland and almost colourless from thr trailers. Gone was the vibrancy of the animated movie for this version.

As a movie, it's a bit too dull and muted and especially during scenes where the colour needed to pop. Like most live action adaptations, it largely stuck to what the original movie with a little bit of character expansion here and there.

Once again, Simba (Donald Glover/JD McCrary) was destined to succeed his father, Mufasa (James Earl Jones) and once again, Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor) enlisted the help of hyenas Shenzi (Florence Kasumba), Kamari (Keegan-Michael Key) and Azizi (Eric Andre) to usurp both Mufasa and Simba as King of Pride Rock.

There's a bit more time spent on seeing Scar's ruling ruin the Pride Lands with both Sarabi (Alfre Woodard) and Nala (Beyonce Knowles-Carter/Shahadi Wright Joseph) determined to put a stop to Scar. Nala did so by actually reuniting with Simba, albeit she wasn't too thrilled with his friendship with both Pumbaa (Seth Rogan) and Timon (Billy Eichner).

As you can tell, the last act played out the same between Simba and Scar with a side battle of sorts between Nala and Shenzi to fill up the time. Add some choice moments with Zazu (John Oliver) and Rafiki (John Kani) throughout the movie and it's just a race to the finish line for this one.

- Some new characters included a guinea fowl, a bushbaby, an elephant shrew, and an impala but they had little to do.

- James Earl Jones was the only actor from the 1994 movie to reprise his role. Scar was a more scraggly but lighter coloured lion compared to his animated counterpart.

- Standout music: Same as the 1994 but not as good if I'm being honest.

- Chronology: An unspecified time in the Pride Lands of Tanzania.

I didn't hate this version of The Lion King but I'd be lying if I said I loved it. Compared to it's animated counterpart, it feels very bland by comparison, more than I thought it would. I was largely underwhelmed by it.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of The Lion King (1994)

 

Written by Irene Mecchi And Jonathan Roberts And Linda Woolverton

Directed by Roger Allers And Rob Minkoff

Simba: "Oh, I just can't wait to be King."

It's been a good thirty years since the release of this movie. In that time we've had straight to DVD sequels/prequels, a live action reboot (on my list to review this month) and a live action prequel also about to hit cinemas this month. Okay, not a unique situation for a Disney movie.

Anyways, this movie was something I loved as a child and every single often, I find myself coming back to as an adult. The movie itself opened with the birth of Simba (Matthew Broderick/Jonathan Taylor Thomas) with both parents Mufasa (James Earl Jones) and Sarabi (Madge Sinclair) being proud of their new addition.

Of course Simba's a bit of a boisterous cub, causing exasperation to his father's majordomo Zazu (Rowan Atkinson) but also Simba had a friend and future mate with fellow cub Nala (Moira Kelly/Niketa Calame). Yes,Simba had a flair for mischief and an uncle named Scar (Jeremy Irons) who was more than eager to use that to his advantage.

Now we've seen Disney villains being mean and murderous all the time but for some reason, when it's Scar, it felt that bit worse. Recruiting hyenas Shenzi (Whoopi Goldberg), Banzai (Cheech Marin) and Ed (Jim Cummings) to help kill Mufasa along with also trying to get rid of Simba. Yes, Scar felt that tiny bit more evil than other villains when in reality he's about the same.

Of course it does boil down to the performance and the calculated way in which Scar made Simba believe that the latter was responsible for Mufasa's death. Simba's long exile did result in his friendships with Pumbaa (Ernie Sambella) and Timon (Nathan Lane) and those two are the absolute best friends anyone can have in a Disney movie.

Speaking of Scar, that confrontation between him and the adult Simba as the latter reclaims the pride that Scar took over and diminished was the best part of the movie. Scar's comeuppance was suitably dark, even with the movie ending on a brighter note with a new generation born into the pride.

- A character I liked a lot in this movie was Rafiki (Robert Guillaume), the Shaman of the Pride Lands.

- One of the few Disney movies ot based on an adaptation of sorts.

- Standout music: Circle of Life, I Just Can't Wait to Be King, Be Prepared, Hakuna Matata, and Can You Feel the Love Tonight.

- Chronology: An unspecified time in the Pride Lands of Tanzania.

The Lion King would definitely be in my Top 5 of all time Disney movies. It's just a joy to watch from start to finish with a sympathetic young lead, a fantastically camp and menacing villain, great supporting characters and memorable songs. What more could you want?

Rating: 9 out of 10