Well I’ve seen Disney’s #MufasaTheLionKing. So here’s what I can tell you about it in my spoiler-free review/reaction:
Barry Jenkins cooked and succeeded in making this film the way he wanted, with more wins than losses.
You can see his sensibilities of how he made his previous movies with this movie in specific shots when they come up. Its cinematography, lighting and color grading have more life to it than what we got with Jon Favreau’s cash grab that is the 2019 remake of The Lion King. And just as I still believed, they managed to succeed in ensuring the animal characters would be fully expressive and show emotions this time.
The cast also did a really good job w/ their vocal performances, even Aaron Pierre who, as a man who is faced with living up to the legacy of the legend James Earl Jones (R.I.P. friend), strongly nailed Mufasa as he goes on his path to destiny of going from orphan to king. Kelvin Harrison Jr. also nailed the role of Taka and his downfall into becoming who we all know as Scar. And they did a real good job with the voices of young Sarabi (Tiffany Boone), young Zazu, and young Rafiki (the latter who sounds more closer to how Rafiki sounded in the original 1994 Lion King in some parts). Though no disrespect to John Kani, he’s still strong as present day Rafiki. Plus, the duo of Billy Eichner & Seth Rogen as Timon & Pumbaa still manages to be very funny when we flip back and forth to the present day scenes when Rafiki tells the story of Mufasa and Taka/Scar to Kiara, with those scenes getting the most laughs from my audience, along w/ some scenes from Zazu.
In terms of the new/new-ish characters for this movie, Mads Mikkelsen did a good job in the role of the relentless and very power-hungry Kiros. But in terms of the new characters who stole the show and were the heart of this movie, those honors would go to Blue Ivy Carter as the voice of Kiara, daughter of Simba & Nala, and Disney Legend/Disney Princess Anika Noni Rose (Tiana of #ThePrincessAndTheFrog) herself as Afia, the mother of Mufasa (the heart of the movie and the driving force of Mufasa’s journey in the movie). Also Keith David (Dr. Facilier of The Princess and the Frog) voiced Mufasa’s father Masego, a Disney history deep cut I liked a lot.
In terms of the new songs Lin-Manuel Miranda made for this film, “I Always Wanted A Brother”, “Milele,” and “Bye Bye” were the strongest 3 of the movie, the latter of the 3 which is like if Mr. Miranda mixed “Trust In Me” from 1967’s Jungle Book with “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Encanto. The other songs after that including a duet between Sarabi and Mufasa are also good, but I gravitate more to the first 3 just because the first 2 feel more hopeful, upbeat, and very lullaby-ish. Plus as a Disney fan, I liked hearing the voices of Tiana and Facilier singing a duet as Mufasa’s parents, so guess I’m a sucker for that.
I will admit, as per usual with issues people have with prequel films, some explanations of a few details felt random, but I don’t think they’re as groan-causing as many felt with Star Wars: Solo.
All in all, a solid film that is worthy of standing in the canon of The Lion King lore more than the 2019 remake was. In terms of ranking this in the hierarchy of the now 5 Lion King movies, it’d be #3, above Simba’s Pride, underneath Lion King 1 1/2 and the original 1994 Lion King.
Also, there will be tributes to the later James Earl Jones at the start of the movie and a tribute of special thanks to the crew behind Walt Disney Animation Studios’ original 1994 Lion King in the end credits of the film. And keep your eyes open for an Easter egg related to #TheLionGuard, too.
As much as I would’ve preferred seeing this film be hand-drawn animated like in the old days of Disney, I’m not gonna lie when I say this was a solid film.
Final rating for this film… I’m gonna give it 4 out of 5 lion roars.