Release on December 20, 2024, Mufasa: the lion king is a photorealistic CGI movie and a sequel and a prequel to the 2019 movie. It has been directed by Barry Jenkins and depicts the life of the revered King of Pride Lands, Orphaned Mufasa, tracing the origins of the latter.
Plot:
Overall, The plot is intertwined with Mufasa’s early life that is narrated through flashbacks Rafiki is telling to Kiara, and Timon and Pumbaa sprinkle their commentary in between. Mufasa was born to Afia and Masego anyways he unfortunately got seperated from his family due to a tragic flood, this ends up changing his life forever, Queen Eshe saves him and he ends up becoming an adoptive brother along with Taka, her son who later turns into scar.
Mufasa alongside Taka manages to build a strong bond, turns out they have to face several obstacles as well. There are a few other white lions who pose a threat to the pride that ultimately sidelines Mufasa from being their leader. The concepts focussing on betrayal, brotherhood and destiny are beautifully amalgamated in the movie showing the events that shaped the future of Mufasa and scar and their complex relationship.
Cast & Crew:
Director: Barry Jenkins who has worked on ‘Moonlight’ and ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ has been well-renowned in the area of cinematography and is expected to give a fresh perspective on the storyline.
Voice Cast:
Aaron Pierre as Mufasa: Pierre’s performance paints a realistic picture of Mufasa the younger and depicts the facet of the character which has yet to unfold.
Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Taka/Scar: Harrison Jr. portrays a role in the evolution of Taka into Scar quite convincingly.
Blue Ivy Carter as Kiara: In her first foray as an actress in a feature film, she voices the daughter of Simba and Nala which certainly adds a plot twist.
John Kani again plays the role of Mandrill Rafiki the wise old sage who tell the story.
Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner reprise their roles of Pumbaa and Timon, the film provides laughter and wittiness through them and serves as the commentary to many events in the story.
Music: The movie is accompanied by an original score written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, famed for His work in Hamilton and Encanto. His addition of afrobeat styles pays tribute to the sound of the original but also adds fresh beats to the story.
Critical reception:
The Mufasa has received fair reviews from critics, however it has also been applauded for its vast improvements in CGI and has been praised for its lifelike animals Matt Zoller Seitz has remarked the film on receipt and puts “RogerEbert” in the article quoting it as a “technological step up” and he feels that the creatures were quite expressive.
In the other hand the opinion on the narrative and the music aspects of it was somewhat fused, While some critics believe that the screenplay does tend to over explain certain aspects of simbas world leading to it losing the enchantment of the original story, The Hollywood Reporter stated that because of the overstuffed narrative the pacing became less coherent and choppier. On the other hand while properly acknowledging Lin Miranda, many of the new songs remixed by the originals were very forgettable; Entertainment weekly said the songs were simply a “disappointment” and said it felt more of a remix collection than a soundtrack.
Box Office:
Even after receiving mixed reviews from critics, “Mufasa: The Lion King” has been able to perform greatly at the box office. By January 8, 2025, the film has accumulated $173.7 million in The United States and Canada and $307.9 million in other countries, summing up to be $481.6 million. The movie did perform the best in terms of revenue in regards to competition, as it was able to secure its number one position in the box office against Sonic the Hedgehog 3, as it did gross about $23.8 million.
Conclusion:
This Mufasa movie allows the audience to explore more of Disney’s best characters, the one and only ‘Mufasa’, and through the journey of discovering ‘Mufasa’ this film expands on the already existing story of Lion King, by allowing us to get to know more of the life of Mufasa. With all that being said, the movie might not appeal as much as the original movie, but it does help expand the heritage and story of ‘Pride Lands and it’s royal family’.
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