By Keith Walther | Rose Law Group Reporter
Disney strikes again with another shameless cash grab, continuing to bank off the success of their animated classic from 1994. “Mufasa: The Lion King” is a CGI prequel to “The Lion King,” featuring new songs from the legendary Lin-Manuel Miranda. Like the story, however, these new songs fall flat, leaving viewers of all ages bored and despondent.
After a tough childhood without his parents, Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) was forced to live as an outsider among a pride of lions that were not his own. Luckily, he had Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), the prince of the pride who instantly thought of Mufasa as his own brother. When a much larger pride led by the fearsome Kiros (Mads Mikkelson) claims the land as his own, the best friends narrowly escape.
Struggling to survive, staying one step ahead of the pursuing Kiros, Mufasa and Taka pick up other outcasts along the way like the mandrill Rafiki (Kagiso Lediga), the lioness Sarabi (Tiffany Boone), and her trusted scout Zazu (Preston Nyman). With only each other to rely upon and trust, the band of misfits set off on a journey to discover their destiny.
Barry Jenkins, best known for writing/directing “Moonlight” in 2016 for which he won an Oscar, helms this Disney prequel. Even though “Mufasa: The Lion King” is referred to as live action like the 2019 remake of the animated movie, it is pure CGI animation. This is something Jenkins has never had experience working with before, and his reported frustrations at not being able to incorporate his unique filmmaking style exhibit the lack of creativity he was able to infuse in the production. At times the graphics are beautiful, capturing the unending landscape of the African savannah, but at other times, especially during action sequences, there are noticeable flaws in the animation that distract viewers.
The story itself is very ordinary and predictable with a similar setup to “Transformers One,” another animated origin story from earlier this year that shows the two main characters as best friends before they eventually become mortal enemies. While Jenkins does a decent job of tying the lore of all the franchise’s productions together, he does not do enough to generate interest or entertainment value. Not even the silly antics of the Timon and Pumbaa characters can breathe enough comedic life into the mundanely written script. There are some subtle meta references as well as breaking the fourth wall that are pretty clever that fans of the franchise may appreciate, but this is short-lived amusement. Even the songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda are forgettable at best and horrible at worst, like the song sung by the main antagonist of the film called “Bye Bye,” which is ironically what the audience wants to say upon hearing this dreadfully written song.
All of the performances from the vocal cast are unimpressive and unmemorable, which is mainly a product of the unimaginative dialogue writing. There is a nice tribute to the late James Earl Jones, the original voice of Mufasa, at the beginning of the movie. Unfortunately, Aaron Pierre is unable to fill those massive shoes.
If you’re dying to find out the reason behind Scar’s moniker and facial disfigurement, then you may find this film satisfying enough and worthwhile to watch. Otherwise, “Mufasa: The Lion King” is another mind-numbing blunder from Disney to add to their growing collection. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” may be the better option for a family trip to the theater this holiday season.
This movie earns:
