Aaron Pierre

Kelvin Harrison, Jr.

Tiffany Boone

Kagiso Lediga

Preston Nyman

Blue Ivy Carter

John Kani

Mads Mikkelsen

Seth Rogen

Billy Eichner

Thandiwe Newton

Lennie James

Anika Noni Rose

Keith David

Braelyn Rankins

Theo Somolu

Beyoncé

Donald Glover

Folake Olowofoyeku

Joanna Jones

Thuso Mbedu

Sheila Atim

Abdul Salis

Dominique Jennings

Derrick L. McMillon

Maestro Harrell

AJ Beckles

David S. Lee

Brielle Rankins

James Earl Jones

Joi McMillon

Peter M. Tobyansen

Mark Friedberg

Lin-Manuel Miranda

Jeff Nathanson

Lebo M.

Paula Fairfield

Barry Jenkins

Adele Romanski

Mark Ceryak

James Laxton

Dave Metzger

Onnalee Blank

Irene Mecchi

Jonathan Roberts

Linda Woolverton

Francine Maisler

Jared Patrick Gerbig

Dan Webster

Harry Cohen

Benjamin L. Cook

Adam Valdez

Audrey Ferrara

Elton John

The Lion King (Reboot) Collection

Adventure

Family

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Mufasa: The Lion King

Walt Disney Pictures

United States of America

English

friendship

paradise

lion

musical

prequel

jungle

told in flashback

betrayal by friend

chance meeting

live action remake

found family

lost

ambivalent

Rubbish poster aside, <em>'Mufasa: The Lion King'</em> is a success.

I can't overlook that poster, how amateur can you get - it genuinely looks like something I'd whip up seconds before the deadline. Thankfully, the movie itself is very good, it's one I enjoyed quite a bit. The animation is class, the lions look amazingly majestic. I will say the white ones look a bit iffy, but that's nothing even close to a big issue.

The voice cast are all perfectly good. Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr. (only now realising his character wasn't called Tucker... bit embarrassing on my part), John Kani et al. all merit props. The standouts for me, however, are Mads Mikkelsen and Lennie James - two actors I do love watching (or listening to, in this case), admittedly.

Music-wise, it's not the strongest - I can't recall any of the songs, to be honest. That's not actually a terrible thing though, as it means none of the musical numbers grated on me either - and that's always a win in my books. Elsewhere, Timon & Pumbaa are unamusing and wasted, but at the same time are unnecessarily forced into this prequel/sequel.

Obviously, this still falls far adrift of the beloved original animated film. Nevertheless, I'll hold it in higher esteem than the 2019 remake, even if I didn't overly mind that one to be fair. Oh, lastly, nice touch dedicating this to James Earl Jones at the get-go - was expecting it at the end.

CinemaSerf

They've been praying for rain for ages but are ill-prepared for when it finally comes and washes away the young "Mufasa" from the loving paws of his parents and out into the wilderness. Luckily, he is rescued by the friendly young cub "Taka" whose mother "Eshe" convinces his sceptical father "Obasi" to let her adopt him. The pair prove inseparable as they grow up, but the encroachment of a pride of angry white lions led by "Kiros" soon threatens their peaceful lives and forces the two to flee in search of a mystical land. Along the way they encounter the wily lioness "Sarabi" and her airborne early warning system "Zazu" and joining forces, have their work cut out for them crossing the snowy mountains. The whole story is regaled by the sagely "Rafiki" to a young cub "Kiara" and the underused, rough-round-the-edges, warthog/meerkat combo of "Pumbaa" and "Timon" so we know the ending all along. Not that jeopardy is in anyway the point here, it's not that kind of Disney film. It's really just a fairly shameless rip-off of the first, far superior, film that though it looks great with all the integrated live-action visuals has a story that's cheesily wafer thin. It's purpose is to set out the origins of the "Lion King" (1994) but all it really does is remind us of just how good that was and just how average this one is. They keep referring to the "Circle of Life" but barring a few meanderings from the orchestral score into the songs from the past, we are simply left with some banal offerings from Lin-Manuel Miranda best summed up by "Bye Bye" - straight from the Janet and John book of rhyming "seas" with "trees". Certainly, it looks great but it's also quite confusing whom it's for. The kids watching in the cinema with me were quickly bored by the undercooked story once the awe of the visuals had worn off. It's all perfectly watchable and is quite a testament to the arts of those in the CGI department well worthy of the big screen, but it's all instantly forgettable fayre that just sort of rolls along towards it's rousing denouement unremarkably.

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Mufasa: The Lion King( 2024)

The story of an orphan who would be king.

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A review by r96sk

Written by r96sk on Mon Dec 23 2024

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