Mufasa: The Lion King is a 2024 musical action-adventure film directed by Barry Jenkins. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures, it is both a prequel and sequel to The Lion King released in 2019. The cast includes Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, John Kani, and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, who reprise their roles from the remake. New actors such as Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Tiffany Boone, Mads Mikkelsen, and Thandiwe Newton join the film. It is dedicated to James Earl Jones, who passed away on September 9, 2024. James was the original voice for Mufasa. Amid Jay-Z’s Rape Lawsuit, Beyoncé Celebrates Blue Ivy Carter’s Voice Role in Disney’s ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’. 

The Guardian: In turning the circle of life anti-clockwise to tell us this tale from the past, Mufasa: The Lion King duplicates ideas and personae from the earlier films – perhaps inevitably, as part of its ethos is that all lions are existential restatements of their ancestors. (However, the horrible – and for some, problematic – hyenas of the first film have vanished.) Mufasa gives no hint of the famous “great chain of being” speech that he gives to young Simba in the original film, in which he claims that eating antelopes is OK, because when lions die they become grass which is eaten by antelopes – notoriously passing over the fact that this grass will not feel fear and pain in the same way. But all the lesser animals will of course end up bowing, herbivores and carnivores, prey and predator alike. All in all, this is not a bad tale from the Disneyfied continent of talking animals, but a minor cousin to the first film’s movie-royalty.

IGN: Moonlight’s Barry Jenkins makes the leap to big budget, popcorn entertainment – and just like the CGI stars of Mufasa, he lands on his feet. This origin story stands alone by pitting familiar characters against new villains, resulting in a photorealistic film that’s driven as much by its storytelling as by its technology. The ungainly structure and self-aware winks at the audience can sometimes distract from Mufasa’s powerful mythmaking. But Jenkins’ knack for eliciting deep emotion and visual wonder remains sharp, especially when bolstered by Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr.’s delightful voice work.

Cinemablend: It takes Mufasa: The Lion King 40 minutes to get through all of what I described above, and it’s a languorous 40 minutes. It gets off on the wrong foot by heavy-handedly working to echo its predecessor – from the opening that sees all varieties of animal species gather around Pride Rock to a dramatic zoom into a young Mufasa’s face (a la young Simba in the stampede) as he finds himself caught in the flash flood that washes him away from home – but what’s more significant is how laboriously it lays the groundwork for the main story. ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ Hindi Version: Shah Rukh Khan Praises Son AbRam’s Dedication to Memorising Lines for His Voice Role as Young Mufasa (Watch Video).

Mufasa: The Lion King Trailer

Collider: Mufasa: The Lion King really did have the amazing opportunity to expand on two iconic characters. Barry Jenkins makes an admirable effort to genuinely improve on a movie that simply had no reason to exist. Still, while Mufasa might have decent visuals and catchy enough songs, its story is where it and the numerous remakes that preceded it struggle. It's another prime example that good effects, good acting, and good music aren't enough when the narrative foundation isn't strong enough. However, even through all its faults, Mufasa: The Lion King does feel like a slight shift in the right direction for Disney remakes. The film at least tries to expand upon the source material, which is what the other upcoming remakes really need to do. It's not enough to have some recognizable characters and some familiar imagery, as it's the stories behind these films that made them classics to begin with. Fans of the franchise and younger generations will find a lot to like about Mufasa: The Lion King, but it's hard to imagine it will have a legacy comparable to the original animated classic that started it all.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 18, 2024 01:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).