Mufasa: The Lion King is the newest in the live action Disney film canon and arguably the most risky despite the many elements that have been brought together. Despite not being totally successful, the film does manage to conjure up some simple pleasures that will help pass the time.
Mufasa: The Lion King tells the tale of the iconic character from his humble beginnings to his rise to being king. Swept away in a flash flood, Mufasa is almost done for when he’s rescued by Taka and his mother. The boys quickly form a bond, despite Taka’s father not being Mufasa’s biggest fan and longing for Taka to become king. When an outsider pack of vicious lions attacks, the two boys set out to find
While I, and much of the world, questioned why Barry Jenkins would take on the task of the sequel to The Lion King, it’s not hard to see just how impactful a filmmaker like him could be on a story like this. With his usual DP James Laxton, the pair manage to wring just about all of the potential visual panache you can from a blockbuster enterprise like this. From the constantly swooping camera movements to the GoPro style close up footage, they do their best to make us feel anything other than just nostalgia. And our film experience is all the better for it and the work Barry Jenkins and his work with the VFX team of finally figuring out how to make these lions emote in a way that blows the first one out of the water.
The voice work in the film is admirable, especially when taking into consideration that Aaron Pierre, a British actor, voices Mufasa with an American accent and Kelvin Harrison Jr., an American actor, voices Taka with a British accent. It’s a kind of delight to listen to them both attempt this and brings a lightness and playfulness to the film that helps sell in the brotherly dynamic. The vocal MVP of the film is Tiffany Boone, who plays Sarabi, instantly giving the film a much needed jolt of character and becoming an anchoring presence.
The film doesn’t seem always up to the task of those actors though. There’s certainly worthy ground to tread on for a prequel about Mufasa but it seems at ever turn, it wants to remind you just how Mufasa met his end in the original. By the third time Mufasa fell off some ledge or had claws go into his hands, I was over it. There’s only so many times you can go back to the well or what made another movie successful before you have to try and make yours stand alone.
The script is very uneven. For every interesting element, particularly as it relates to Mufasa’s upbringing and gender roles (I know, I know), there’s some cloying fourth wall breaking commentary that was giving Deadpool a run for its money.
Perhaps most distressing in this film however is the songs. Written by mega talented composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, there is not a single memorable tune in the film. To make matters worse, most of the songs feel so sonically similar to his best work in In the Heights and Hamilton that I found myself longing to listen to those. It’s a tough burden to follow the original film’s Oscar winning tunes (and even his own stirling work in Moana) but unfortunately, they weigh the film down and despite Barry’s best efforts Mufasa does suffer for it.
Even though my many misgivings have been outlined above, there is some Disney magic that will be recognizably familiar to most audiences and though it ultimately didn’t add up for me, I have no doubt the film will find the audience it is supposed to have.