Mufasa: The Lion King

Mufasa: The Lion King is a prequel that no one asked for. Although it was completely unnecessary, it was surprisingly entertaining. However, it is also very forgettable.

When Simba (Donald Glover) and Nala (Beyoncé) leave their cub, Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter), in the care of Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa (voiced by Seth Rogen), Rafiki (John Kani) steps in to soothe her fears. He shares stories about her grandfather, Mufasa (Aaron Pierre), to help comfort Kiara.

The story follows Mufasa, who becomes separated from his family and is taken in by a new one. In this new territory, he gains a brother named Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), and we can probably guess what Taka will eventually become. When their new family is threatened by outsiders, Mufasa and Taka must flee and search for a new home.

Mufasa: The Lion King has a decent premise for a prequel. While I didn’t necessarily want or care to see how all the characters met, I still appreciated it. However, some moments felt forced. For example, the way Rafiki obtained his staff and especially how Scar got his name. (Spoiler alert: It’s because he has a gasp scar!) Despite this, it possesses a great deal of heart and a nostalgic essence intertwined.

One of the issues with the story was its pacing. While it was enjoyable to see Timon and Pumbaa at the beginning, the frequent cuts back to them became repetitive and disrupted the flow of the narrative. Each time the story returned to their scenes, it brought everything to a halt and threw off the overall pace.

This “live-action” movie is actually animated but designed to look like it’s live-action. And the animation in this is downright gorgeous. While everything looks and feels realistic, Mufasa does remedy what was missing from the live-action Lion King. The issue with its predecessor was that the expressive qualities that made the original Lion King so lovable were lost in trying to make the lions so realistic. The big, doe-eyed expressions and wide-toothed grins that had everyone falling in love with Simba were replaced by a lion that lacked endearing features. Mufasa retains some of that expressiveness, especially when we see the lion cubs. Everything is a bit more expressive and, for lack of a better word, cute. And it works.

What I found surprisingly underwhelming was the music. I had high hopes because Lin-Manuel Miranda was involved, but I honestly can’t remember a single song from the film. While Nicholas Britell’s score is pleasant, the moments when the original Hans Zimmer melody appears really give you butterflies. The new music is nice, but the original is simply unforgettable.

Mufasa: The Lion King is enjoyable. While you won’t be disappointed watching it, you might forget everything about it as you leave the theater. The songs are decent, and the story is solid but lacks memorability.