Hakuna Matata. This prequel is better than the last time.
30 years have passed and Disney’s 1994 animated musical “The Lion King” is still roaring strong with fans. And the loss of James Earl Jones (the original voice of Mufasa) is sad, but his legacy still lives on. 5 years ago, we had to get a live action remake, which may have been a global box office hit, but a good portion of us felt it failed to laugh in the face of danger. I think you get my pun there.
“Mufasa: The Lion King” qualifies itself as a prequel, because it focuses on how Mufasa met his brother Scar, and they weren’t even brothers by blood according to this film. And it would also be a little bit of a sequel considering that the mandrill Rafiki tells Simba and Nala’s daughter Kiara their story.
I was one of those critics who disliked the 2019 remake, because the way the dialogue was handled was inferior to how it was handled in the animated classic and how it was indulging its Disney fan base. But “Mufasa: The Lion King” is an improvement with the young actors handling Mufasa and Scar’s voices without trying so hard and it does have its moments of liveliness and energy.
Here’s the all-star cast.
The returning voice actors consist of Donald Glover as Simba, Beyoncé as Nala, Billy Eichner as Timon, Seth Rogen as Pumba, and John Kani as Rafiki.
The new voice cast now consists of Aaron Pierre as Mufasa, Kelvin Harrison, Jr. as Scar who is known here as Taka, Tiffany Boone as Mufasa’s later mate Sarabi, Preston Nyman as the hornbill Zazu, Blue Ivy Carter (daughter of Jay Z and Beyoncé) as Kiara, Mads Mikkelsen as the evil white lion Kiros, Kagiso Lediga as young Rafiki, Thandiwe Newton and Lennie James as Taka’s parents, and there’s even a “Princess and the Frog” reunion between Anika Noni Rose and Keith David as Mufasa’s parents.
“Mufasa: The Lion King” was directed by Barry Jenkins of “Moonlight” fame, who has just written the sports drama “The Fire Inside.” His latest feature doesn’t compare to his instant classics, because the segments with Timon & Pumbaa complaining that they aren’t in the story get really exhausting. I like to look at those scenes the way Roger Ebert disliked the celebrity monologues in “Fantasia 2000.” But they end up being overshadowed by Pierre and Harrison Jr’s voices and a different aspect to their stories. I was concerned considering that we all know that Scar is Mufasa’s younger brother, but somehow I was able to get into their story. And I like the way the title lion struggles to adapt with Rafiki’s words of wisdom.
The visuals can be silly, and they can also be amazing. It all depends on the scenes, and how they’re animated and directed. And I really admire the snow and water used here.
This movie is also the reason why Lin-Manuel Miranda couldn’t write the songs for the currently successful “Moana 2.” That and also he knew it originally planned as a Disney+ series. Not all the songs are classics, but some of them have “a little bounce” in them, as animated Scar would say.
I get it, people. Disney remakes are indulging, it’s hard to completely determine if the film is all live-action if all the animals are CGI, and we should keep animated classics as they are. I’ve praised “Cinderella” (2015), The Jungle Book” (2016), and even “The Little Mermaid” (2023). And I didn’t care for “The Lion King” (2019), “Lady and the Tramp” (2019), or “Pinocchio” (2022). But on its own terms, I did like “Mufasa: The Lion King.” And I think it does laugh in the face of danger.