Mufasa: The Lion King is a triumphant return to one of Disney’s greatest stories ever told thanks to the exceptionally storytelling of Barry Jenkins who finds a beautiful prequel story to be told that deepens the mythology of the world, brought to life by a great voice cast, sensational photorealistic animation and some solid new songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda that makes for the holiday movie event for the entire family.

 

For years, The Lion King has been heralded as one of the greatest Disney movies ever made, and for good reason. The masterful adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet set on the African savanna caught the attention of the world with its beautiful animation, emotionally charged story and the masterful music of Elton John and Hans Zimmer, making for one of Disney’s most valuable properties that has spawned sequels, a Broadway musical, theme park attractions, and a photorealistic animated remake back in 2019. Quickly after the remake made almost two billion dollars at the box office, a prequel was announced with Academy Award winner Barry Jenkins directing it. A big budget, fully CGI animated film is a drastic deviation from Jenkins grounded arthouse films, but after seeing the final product, it's evident why Jenkins was drawn to this story. Not only does the story capture the heart of the original animated classic with a meaningful tale to be told, it's done so with great care and astonishing animation that surpasses that of the 2019 remake, making Mufasa: The Lion King a great film that is full of that signature Disney heart and magic that has defined the legendary studio for over a century.

 

The story of Mufasa ends in betrayal and tragedy, one that has scarred a generation of children for life, but even knowing this, the adventure that Jenkins and screenwriter Jeff Nathanson take viewers on in Mufasa: The Lion King is a truly moving story. Built on themes of family and destiny, the film tells the story of a young Mufasa and his adoptive brother Taka, who audiences know is destined to become Scar and kill his brother, and the events that led to the great divide between these two characters. Much like its predecessor, though not based on Shakespeare itself, the beautiful friendship plays out as a Shakespearean tragedy as the loving relationship and bond between these two characters is built up, only for it to be torn to pieces by the film’s third act. While there is no doubt that the transformation of Taka into the villainous Scar happens to quickly in the matter of two single scenes, which could have been further developed to make Taka’s arc truly payoff, Nathanson does everything he is required to do to setup the dynamic between Mufasa and Scar for the animated classic. The story itself is told by Rafiki to Simba and Nala’s daughter Kiara, making her live action debut after being the central character in the direct to home video sequel The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride, in the present with the comedic banter of Timon and Pumbaa providing some great comedic relief to the emotionally charged story. It echoes great sequel-prequel combinations like The Godfather Part II and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again! even if this film is firmly rooted in the past and does not offer much of a continuation of the iconic Disney classic. Instead, the film dives into the mythology Mufasa and Scar, making the infamous betrayal even more tragic and heartbreaking seeing how close these two characters used to be, that with lots of nostalgic references to the animated classic and callbacks to its most traumatic moments, produces one worthy follow-up that will have true Disney fans reaching for their tissues by the time the film’s powerful and beautiful ending hits them like an emotional freight train.

If there is one element of The Lion King that audiences will never forget, it was the iconic music of John and Zimmer, which won each of these legendary artists their first Academy Award. Taking over the reins from John is Lin-Manuel Miranda, and he does a good job with the songs, having to live up to the legacy of some of the best songs ever written for a movie. Incorporating African instruments and sounds into his signature style of music, he delivers toe tapping numbers that more than do the job, with “I Always Wanted A Brother” and “We Go Together” being the standouts of the film, though none of them reach the heights of John’s songs. The musical score, once again featuring Lebo M from Dave Metzger and Nicholas Britell, pays homage to Zimmer’s iconic score, bringing back many of Zimmer’s themes. While it’s a little copy and paste at times of Zimmer’s work, it captures the feeling of the original film and is great to hear on a theatrical sound system again, certain to energize viewers at all the right moments.