Barry Jenkins’ “Mufasa: The Lion King” is a visually stunning but overly familiar sequel and, mostly, a prequel to the 2019 CGI motion-capture film from director Jon Favreau.
I’m not fond of any of the photorealistic remakes but I still find the original 1994 animation captivating. There’s a lot of nostalgia in Mufusa, which essentially tells a near-identical plot and is elevated to the highest level when playing the same musical notes as the first film.
For most of this new movie, I just wanted to go home and watch the old “Lion King” movie from 1994.
The events of Favreau’s 2019 remake are summed up in a fun segment in which Timon and Pumbaa (again played by the imperfect comedic dream team of Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner) narrate a version of the climax of the previous film as they act out the story. The real heroes.
Then we move on to the prequel proper, in which young Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) is separated from his parents and must maintain his own pride.
Mufasa’s best friend is another lion cub named Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) – the two form a close bond that is tested by the turbulent relationship Taka has with his father and Mufasa’s insistence on finding a magical land far beyond their own. Meanwhile, an evil lion named Kyros (Mads Mikkelsen) aims to destroy everyone in his path.
Jenkins manages to sneak in a few moments that mirror the brilliant opening of his film Moonlight (2016). There are also some weird bits, like the moment when the camera aims to replicate what it would look like if Mufasa was jogging with a GoPro. However, I wish there were more of these moments here, as most of them feel like pixels and clicking on laptop keyboards doing their job.
I’ve had the pleasure of watching a lot of Jenkins’ films, but I rarely felt or cared about anything.
One thing that really caught my attention was one of the final moments in the film, where the meager growl of the lion cub in the present is juxtaposed with the powerful roar of the older lion in the past. Otherwise, the experience of just looking at beautiful images has its appeal, but I found myself more moved and emotionally engaged just looking out the window of a commercial flight.
Mikkelsen makes the biggest impression as the central villain, although his appearance is predictable. Considering how Mikkelern, a versatile actor, managed to be not only convincing but also authentic in his role as Hannibal Lecter (in the fantastic “Hannibal” series) and leave strong impressions in the later parts of “Indiana Jones” and “ Fantastic Beasts”, his work here is effective but very safe.
It’s like how Christopher Walken has become a recurring, always entertaining but obvious choice for the bad guy in too many flicks. I hope Mikkelsen doesn’t become the next Mark Strong.
Donald Glover and Beyoncé Knowles give vocal performances that must take at most five minutes to record. James Earl Jones, one of the greatest voices (if not actors) in cinema, receives a brief acclaim at first.
None of the actors enhance this the way Jones and Jeremy Irons made the original thrilling.
The frequent interruptions from Timon and Pumbaa contain some amusing and unnecessary asides, such as a reference to the Broadway play “The Lion King.” The most telling thing our comedy duo has to offer is to note the amount of screen time Rafiki spends in the second act.
In fact, it’s a great observation – why doesn’t the entire movie revolve around Rafiki, as his story is supposed to be more interesting and less formulaic than what we have here.
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s new songs are all useless, the least of which is a stupidly evil anthem called “Bye Bye,” among the weakest songs on the Disney movie jukebox. The score only goes up when Hans Zimmer’s great themes from the original are played back and returning vocalist Lebo M is used on some tracks.
Otherwise, the songs could and should have been cut, which is the last thing I thought I’d ever written about the cinematic offspring of “The Lion King.”
Exclusive look: Behind the scenes #Mufasa: The Lion King with Beyoncé and Blue Ivy ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ghcYMibhA8
– Good Morning America (@GMA) December 10, 2024
When it was over, the plot summary I had to give to someone who asked me was: “They walk, they sing, they run, they walk, they sing, they run…”
We’re now 30 years away from Disney’s powerful remake, Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book” (1994), and 10 years from 2014’s gritty “Maleficent” (one of my favorite films of that year), charming and respectable. “Cinderella” (2015).
In between were two entertaining but unnecessary Cruella Deville films (the one featuring Glenn Close, not Emma Stone) and Tim Burton’s limp Alice in Wonderland (2010). Subsequent live-action remakes include Aladdin (2019), Pinocchio (2022), Dumbo (2019), The Little Mermaid (2023), and Beauty and the Beast ( 2017). The worst films of the early 21st century.
I’m not going to make an obvious joke about upcoming live-action Disney remakes of “Snow White,” “Lilo and Stitch” and “Moana” that we don’t need and didn’t ask for either. I’ll just lower my expectations, and hope that the Mouse House somehow nails “Tron: Ares” and inserts my favorite Elton John/Tim Rice/Hans Zimmer soundtrack CD, in order to permanently erase “Bye Bye” from memory.
2 stars