Film Review - Mufasa The Lion King
A better-than-expected prequel from Moonlight director Barry Jenkins
Of all the recent because-we-can live-action remakes of Disney animated classics, The Lion King (2019) takes the cake as the most utterly superfluous to requirements. It elevates pointlessness into an art form — not only for remaking the 1994 film in the first place but because “live-action”, in this case, merely means photo-realistic digital animation instead of the glorious hand-drawn 2D. It’s a cataclysmic waste of celluloid on both fronts, and there is no reason for its existence other than greed.
Alas, it was a huge success, so we’re all answerable for Disney’s ongoing onslaught of cynical live-action remakes. Perhaps said success is why Barry Jenkins’s prequel has gone the photo-realistic digital route rather than the 2D approach. It’s a shame, as there is far too little 2D animation these days, and I greatly miss it. Moreover, it would have tied the prequel to the classic rather than its soulless doppelganger, keeping a similar style. It’s also a shame because, against the odds, Mufasa The Lion King is not terrible.
For a start, this is at least an original story, albeit one filled with predictable beats. The main plot is bookended by lions Simba (Donald Glover) and Nala (Beyoncé Knowles-Carter), assigning comic relief meerkat and warthog duo, Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa (Seth Rogen), to babysit their female cub, Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter). Shaman mandrill Rafiki (John Kani, with Kagiso Lediga voicing his younger self) soon joins the trio and decides to tell them Mufasa’s backstory during a stormy night. Here, we see how Mufasa (Aaron Pierre, with Braelyn and Brielle Rankins voicing his younger self) is separated from his parents during a flood. Subsequently, royal cub Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr, with Theo Somolu voicing his younger self) saves Mufasa’s life, and Mufasa is taken under Taka’s mother’s wing, Queen Eshe (Thandiwe Newton). Taka’s father, King Obasi (Lenny James), is less keen on having anything to do with Mufasa, preferring to lounge about and offer dubious advice to Taka about deceit being a kingly virtue.
When the pride is threatened by a group of white lions, Musafa and Taka have to flee for their lives. As they are hunted by the vicious white lion king Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen), lots of background for the original story slots into place. No prizes for guessing who Scar turns out to be, for instance. As for the white lions themselves, they are embittered individuals cast out of their own prides for being different. Under Kiros, they have formed themselves into a cruel, vengeful army. I can’t help wondering if Jenkins had contemporary metaphors in mind. Misogynist incels under the sway of Andrew Tate? The MAGA crowd feeling betrayed and ignored by a political party perceived as having abandoned the working class? Read into it if you like, or don’t, but either way, the film makes clear the crucible of hardship has a positive effect on some (like Rafiki) but not on others (Kiros and his army).
It’s a mostly absorbing story, despite predictability and a decided lack of blood (surely there would be a few more injuries resulting from the many lion-on-lion smackdowns). Vocal performances are solid, but the songs (by Lin-Manuel Miranda) are a bit thin in comparison to the Tim Rice/Elton John numbers in the original. Still, Jenkins and screenwriter Jeff Nathanson certainly have their hearts in the right place. Whilst few could have predicted the director of Moonlight (2016) would one day work for Disney, I’m quite glad he did, as this is much better than it could have been.
That said, I wouldn’t call Mufasa The Lion King a must-see. It’s enjoyable to a point, but little more. Unsurprisingly, the film is dedicated to James Earl Jones, who voiced Mufasa in the original and died earlier this year.
(Originally published at Medium.)
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"...there is far too little 2D animation these days, and I greatly miss it." You and me both. Outside of television, it doesn't have a lot of supporters in Hollywood now. Or, at the very least, the 2D advocates are being drowned out by the excessive demands of the Disney BOD.