Mufasa: The Lion King (2024) Review

Have you ever wondered how Simba’s dad, Mufasa, came to be king? Have you ever wondered how he fell out with his brother, Scar? Have you ever wondered how Scar got his name? Have you ever wondered how Rafiki got his stick? Have you ever thought for one second “How did Pride Rock happen? How did all those animals end up there?”

Let’s be honest, you probably haven’t thought any of those things. But, in the small chance that you have, Disney’s latest product is here to answer all of those questions!

From visionary director Barry Jenkins (Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk) and go-to sequel writer Jeff Nathanson (Speed 2: Cruise Control) comes Mufasa: The Lion King. Set just after the events of Jon Faverau’s live-action(ish) remake of the 1994 classic, we’re introduced to Simba and Nala’s cub, Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter). She is being told the origin story of her grandfather by Rafkiki (John Kani), while Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumba (Seth Rogan) do a bunch of comedy in the background. In the story, we see Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) and his brother Prince Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) go on an epic journey across Tanzania as they attempt to evade the evil white lions, led by their king Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen).

The story of Mufasa isn’t anything new, it copies a lot of the same beats from the original Lion King story, however it’s by no means the worst part of this movie. The friendship between Mufasa and Taka is fun, especially during the first half of the movie. I quite liked how the differences in how these two lions were raised played a big part in who they become in the original movie. This was a welcome bit of depth that I was not expecting from Mufasa.

Saying that, this is not a story worthy of a full-length cinematic release and would feel more at home as a Disney+ Original. Between this and the recent Moana 2, it seems that Disney is still unable to produce anything with better quality than what we saw with their direct-to-video sequels from the ‘90s.

The performances here are good. As mentioned, Aaron Pierre does a good job of voicing Mufasa. Thandiwe Newton was a welcome addition as Eshe, Taka’s mother, and was easily one of the stand-out performances. It was great to hear Donald Glover return for a few minutes as Simba, and John Kani always does a good job as Rafiki. On the flip side, although Billy Eichner and Seth Rogan were my two favorite parts of the 2019 remake, they feel out of place here as Timon and Pumba and only harm the overall experience with their constant banter.

It feels like a clichéd criticism to make at this point but the fact that these movies aim for a photo-realistic animation style does anything but elevate the performances. The actors could be pouring their hearts into these big character moments but when paired with a realistic lion face, as impressive as the visual effects are, it still doesn’t get anymore than a shrug out of me.

Another poor element of this movie is the songs, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton, Encanto). While his lyricism can sometimes leave a lot to be desired, it’s usually a sign that a musical will be a fun time when his name is attached to it. His work on the first Moana is excellent, his most recent Warriors musical concept album is great, so I was expecting to like at least a few of the original songs here. Unfortunately, they’re all incredibly phoned in and sound like they came straight out of a Land Before Time sequel. There isn’t a single earworm among them, and none have the emotional depth that every song from the original musical carries.

They also feel out of place when compared to the songs from the 1994 film. These new tracks are written as modern pop songs, which doesn’t mesh tonally or sonically with anything from the original musical. This becomes especially apparent when the score of this movie is mostly just instrumental reprises of the great numbers from that original film. This feels lazy and manipulative, drawing on our memories and nostalgia for The Lion King to elicit a small emotional reaction out of the audience and trick them into thinking Mufasa is hitting those same feelings.

Mufasa: The Lion King is in theatres now, however you’re probably best waiting for this one to hit streaming. While you’re waiting, maybe watch The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride, which works a lot better as a sequel to the story we all love. You can even watch The Lion King 1 ½, which is certainly a lot funnier than any of the comedy on show here.