Film Snail

Mufasa: The Lion King
Mufasa: The Lion King

7.5

Mufasa: The Lion King

PG·2024·118m

Summary

Mufasa, a cub lost and alone, meets a sympathetic lion named Taka, the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of a group of misfits searching for their destiny.

Crew

Director

Barry Jenkins

Screenplay

Jeff Nathanson

Reviews

r96sk

r96sk

December 23, 2024

8

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.

Media

Status:

Released

Original Language:

English

Budget:

$200,000,000.00

Revenue:

$717,197,856.00

Keywords

friendship
paradise
lion
musical
prequel
jungle
told in flashback
betrayal by friend
chance meeting
live action remake
found family
lost
awestruck