Welcome back to the blog readers. At this point, I feel it necessary to tell you that with the year winding down and only a few more films to review, the crunch is on. As you know, I have never been the biggest fan of animated films because they are more geared towards children. But this has been the best year in animation I have ever seen with three incredible films. Would we be adding a fourth to the list? Stick around to find out.
Mufasa: The Lion King was directed by Barry Jenkins from a screenplay by Jeff Nathanson, based on The Lion King (1994) by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. The film features the voices of Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Tiffany Boone, Donald Glover, Mads Mikkelsen, Thandiwe Newton, Lennie James, Anika Noni Rose, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, and Blue Ivy Carter in her film debut. In the film, set before and after the events of The Lion King (2019), Rafiki the mandril tells Simba and Nala's daughter Kiara the story of her grandfather Mufasa and how he became the King of Pride Rock, as well as his relationship with the lion that would later become Scar. Timon and Pumbaa also provide color commentary in between.
Not seeing the original animated film, I went into the 2019 Lion King partially blind and I found myself having a good time. I did not think a prequel was all too necessary but Barry Jenkins directing and Lin-Manuel Miranda doing the music gave me a bit of optimism that this film would be good. But here is the main issue with this film: I was right to assume it was unnecessary. Does that mean it was bad? Not by a long shot. Disappointing is the word I think I would use. The music was very distracting and served no real purpose to the story and the story itself was derivative of another film that released this year (more on that later), although I did like the voice performances of Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr..
I do want to start by talking about the voice performances, and the first one that I want to talk about is that of Aaron Pierre as the young Mufasa. What a breakout year this guys has had. From his acclaimed performance in Rebel Ridge (2024) to the news he was going to be the DCU's John Stewart in Lanterns (TBD) and beyond, I did not expect him to pop up in a film like this. And he definitely classed up the joint by taking over the role that the late (and obviously great) James Earl Jones originated. And he did it with just about as much grace as you could expect. In spots, it felt like a young Jones was being embodied. And Pierre definitely brings the spirit of Jones to this role as his deep voice is perfectly suited for the role. I am absolutely thrilled to see this guy succeed and hopefully be one of the pallbearers of this new DCU.
Next up is the voice performance of Kelvin Harrison Jr. as the young Taka/Scar (I don't think you need a PhD to know that Taka becomes Scar so that is why I did not tag a spoiler warning). I cannot say I have seen a whole lot of Harrison's work, but his minor roles in The Birth of a Nation (2016), The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) and Elvis (2022) really made him stand out. And he plays Taka/Scar to almost perfection. He takes on a more English accent to better align the character to Chiwetel Ejiofor's performance in the 2019 Lion King and it sounds uncanny as hell. He absolutely has the voice hands-down and he makes you feel for this character when other aspects probably don't as well. I cannot wait to see what this guy has up his sleeve next.
I do also want to say that while I do very much like all of the vocal performances, mainly Tiffany Boone and the real MVPs of this film: Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen as Timon and Pumbaa, the main attraction of this film has to be the visuals of the film. Remember when we all raved about how the 2019 Lion King looked amazing and how that technology was groundbreaking? Well in this film, not only does it look and feel better, it virtually is better. With the benefit of hindsight, it is virtually solid to say that this is one of the best-looking films of the year. It really makes you feel like you're actually in Africa (or wherever those snow-capped mountains were) with these talking and singing animals. If we somehow get more installments in this franchise, expect them to look as good, if not better, than the visuals of this film. Maybe we are in line for a Best Visual Effects nomination in a few weeks? We shall see.
Unfortunately though, this is where the positives end for me. Now I want to preface this by saying that I did not hate this film at all. It is just that I was disappointed in it. So what I am going to say involves disappointment and not hate. With that being said, I do only partially like the story of this film. You might be asking yourself why I used the word partially. It is because although I like when stories are told that involve the devolution of a friendship or a relationship, I've already seen an animated film like that this exact year. Any guesses on which film that is? No? It was Transformers One (2024). That film had the exact same story but done much more effectively because it also expressed themes of grief and pain affecting people in different ways. In this film, the driving force behind the entire film (and all of the characters' decisions) is jealousy. And jealousy being a major theme in a film is never done right in my opinion.
And finally (because there actually is a finally, I am not going to spend more time criticizing this film than I have to), I do want to talk about the music (not the score because the score was great). As you know, Lin-Manuel Miranda has shaped not only Broadway but film over the last 15 or so years. Just look at the music of In the Heights, Hamilton, Encanto (2021), and Moana (2016). These soundtracks are beloved, as is the original Tim Rice-Elton John music from the original and remade Lion King films. Just look at the bangers: "Hakuna Matata," "Be Prepared," "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," and "Circle of Life." In this film, however, the music is by far the weakest aspect of the film. Not only are the songs a bit of a letdown, their existence at all is unnecessary. It almost feels like the same issue that Joker: Folie à Deux (2024) had. I expected so much from Lin.
In conclusion, Mufasa: The Lion King is a disappointing follow-up to a beloved film that is not treated with the same respect and care that the other films were. Thank you for reading, and I will see you for the next post.
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