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Home Mufasa: The Lion King

Mufasa: The Lion King (U)

Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Thandiwe Newton, Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen, Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr
Genre: Musical
Author(s): Jeff Nathanson
Director: Barry Jenkins
Release Date: 20/12/2024
Running Time: 118mins
Country: US
Year: 2024

Young lion cub Kiara is the daughter of Simba and Nala and she learns to know more about the mighty Mufasa. Rafiki joins forces with Timon and Pumbaa to recount the origin story in flashback, beginning with Mufasa as an orphaned cub who befriends sympathetic lion named Taka, the heir to a royal bloodline.

LondonNet Film Review

Mufasa: The Lion King (U) Film Review from LondonNet

Disney’s 2019 photorealistic remake of The Lion King traded heavily on technical excellence to justify a leisurely second prowl on the sun-baked savanna with a script that borrowed heavily from the animated original and new orchestrations of Elton John and Tim Rice’s paw-tapping songbook. Moonlight director Barry Jenkins is an unusual choice to helm a visually arresting sequel that traces the origins of Simba’s father through original songs composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda of Hamilton, Moana and Encanto fame…

Dedicated to the memory of James Earl Jones, who voiced the leonine leader of the Pride Lands in previous film and TV incarnations, Mufasa: The Lion King lightly expands back stories of pivotal characters and lays the foundations of the sibling rivalry that leads to cold-blooded murder during a wildebeest stampede. Rafiki, Timon and Pumbaa provide light relief via pointedly self-referential dialogue. When the flatulent warthog mentions the stage version of The Lion King, his meerkat buddy shrieks, “Please don’t mention the play. I’m nothing but a sock puppet!” Another ribald outburst gives Timon pause for thought. “We’ll get letters from legal,” he notes.

Apart from these broad skits, Jeff Nathanson’s script is serious in tone. Seven new original songs are forgettable – I struggled to find a single earworm between them – and the sequel’s standout musical interlude is a raucous, tongue-in-cheek rendition of Hakuna Mufasa.

A simple framing device introduces us to curious lion cub Kiara (voiced by Blue Ivy Carter), daughter of Simba (Donald Glover) and Nala (Beyonce Knowles-Carter), and heir to everything the light touches around Pride Rock. Kiara fears she will never emulate the strength and courage of her father so Rafiki (John Kani) recounts the origin story of her noble grandfather Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) with frequent interjections from Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa (Seth Rogen).

The inquisitive cub learns that Mother Nature cruelly separated Mufasa from his parents and he was eventually rescued from a watery grave by sympathetic lion cub Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr). Taka’s father Obasi (Lennie James) counsels his son to sever ties to Mufasa because, “one day he will betray you, it’s what strays do”. Regardless, Taka and Mufasa become inseparable, surrogate brothers destined to torment hornbill Zazu (Preston Nyman) and stand shoulder-to-shoulder against the territorial challenge of power-hungry white lion Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen) and his acolytes.

Mufasa: The Lion King slinks through the motions, heavily telegraphing feline betrayal between chosen family. Solid vocal performances tug heartstrings but Mikkelsen’s vengeful chief antagonist is a mild-mannered surrogate for Scar from the original without any of the lip-smacking campness. Visuals are impeccable, most notably in pulse-quickening sequences set around fast-flowing water. Unfortunate big cats make a big splash. Jenkins’ picture creates small ripples.

– Jo Planter

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