In 1994, Disney Animation Studios introduced the world to a lion cub named Simba (Johnathan Taylor Thomas; Home Improvement/Matthew Broderick; Ferris Bueller's Day Off). Through Simba, we meet Nala (Moira Kelly; One Tree Hill), the female cub who would become his wife, Scar (Jeremy Irons; Assassin's Creed), his treacherous uncle, Rafiki (Robert Guillaume; Sports Night), the Madrill who is a trusted advisor to Mufasa, and his father, Mufasa (James Earl Jones; Field of Dreams), The Lion King. The film opened to critical acclaim and was a box office success, prompting two direct-to-video movies, two television series, and most recently, a live-action version. In a new twist, this week's release, Mufasa: The Lion King, tells the backstory of Simba's father.
Mufasa (Aaron Pierre; The Underground Railroad) gets separated from his parents in a flash flood and ends up in a foreign land, where he comes across Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.; Waves), the son of the King. Not willing to accept an outsider, Taka's father allows Mufasa to stay with the pride but only the females. Once grown, Marisa and Taka are best friends/brothers who must suddenly flee as another group of lions comes to rule Taka's family's land.
When they both come across Sarabi (Tiffany Boone; The Following) and fall in love with her, Mufasa lets Taka have her until she admits she likes Mufasa instead. Hurt, Taka double-crosses Mufasa, who must then fight the King from the invading pride. Uniting the animals, Mufasa defeats the other pride and is awarded by becoming their Lion King, even though Taka is the rightful heir.
After the terrible response to the live-action version of The Lion King in 2019, it was fair to say people would be skeptical of Mufasa: The Lion King. Luckily, Disney fixed the CGI issues they had five years earlier, so there is a higher quality of special effects than previously. The feathers on Zazu (Preston Nyman; Crooked House) and the fur on the lions are more realistic, and the water sequences are excellent. More importantly, the animals speaking look much more natural than they did before.
The vocal talent is very good, with many of the actors reprising their roles from 2019. Pierre gives a strong performance as the lion who was afraid and alone as a cub but who grew into a strong and confident lion despite growing up as an outcast in his adopted pride. Harrison Jr. does a very good job as the future king who is unsure of his footing more often than not. The rest of the cast complements these two nicely.
The biggest question about this prequel is why? Literally, Why did we need this story? The answer is we didn't, and perhaps we would have been better off without it. The story is generic and slow-paced and doesn't help us to understand Simba's father anymore. While the scenery is beautiful and seeing the majesty of real lions is a great thing, the story is just not good, and dare I say, boring.
Then there is the question of the music. The extremely talented Lin Manuel Miranda (Moana) has had a string of successful musicals, using songs to create emotions, but Mufasa: The Lion King just isn't it. His music falls flat in an already fairly dismal film, and while there are moments that speak to his musical genius, they are few and far between this time around.
If you want to take the family to a movie this winter break, there are better choices than Mufasa: The Lion King.
Grade: C
