Mufasa: The Lion King
Mufasa: The Lion King
Starring Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., John Kani, Tiffany Boone
Directed by Barry Jenkins
As a cub, Mufasa (Braelyn/Brielle Rankins) lived with his parents in an idyllic situation until he gets washed away in a flood, ending up alone in a new land. He's found by fellow lion cub Taka (Theo Somolu) who begs his mother to let Mufasa join their pack, even though she's hesitant because Taka's father is the lion king who doesn't want any strays around. As the years go by, Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) and Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) become brothers, and Mufasa gains the approval of Taka's family due to his hunting prowess and fearlessness.
Eventually Mufasa's new pack comes under attack from white lion king Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen) who wishes to rule over everything, leaving Mufasa and Taka to go on the run to find the fabled Milele land that's supposed to be the new promised land. Along the way they run into lioness Sarabi (Tiffany Boone) whom was also sent away after Kiros destroyed her village, accompanied by her companion bird Zazu (Preston Nyman) and also the wise mandrill Rafiki (John Kani) who's had visions of Milele. As Kiros and his lions track them down, there comes an enemy from within as Taka becomes jealous of Mufasa's natural leadership and his budding relationship with Sarabi, threatening not just them but the hope of the future as well.
So essentially this is an unnecessary sequel that has some gorgeous visuals but lackluster animations, but faring a bit better than the 2019 film (which I surprised myself when I looked at my review for it in 2019 and gave it an A, which now I'd give it a B- at best). It follows the generic path you'd expect for a prequel to take, since we all know the final outcome anyway, so there's no need for worry for our titular hero (at least in this movie). It's a story you've heard before, most notably in 2024's "Transformers One" that also tells the story of how two mortal enemies (in that case Optimus Prime and Megatron) started off as best friends and brothers before having an epic falling out, much like Mufasa and Taka here. Only I was actually pleasantly surprised by "Transformers One" while I just skidded through "Mufasa" with neither a yawn nor a yell of excitement, but rather a sullen shrug.
Part of that is the story itself, which as I mentioned earlier is just generic and weak, following the tropes you find in films like this. Why did Taka eventually turn on Mufasa? Of course, as almost always, it's because of a girl (or lioness in this case). Instead of rationally thinking through things, Taka flies off the handle and turns on his brother because of it, but also I guess because he's jealous of Mufasa's bravery, or I guess Taka was always just a scaredy cat, or whatever.
The animation isn't any better, but it's better than what I expected it to be if that makes sense. The trailers didn't do the film any favors, and while there were some decent animated shots, others were mind-numbingly terrible (a few scenes shows the lions running like they had a static camera facing them as they run, giving a very off-putting visual). Their smiles looked contrived and weird. But at least their fur blew in the wind, so that's a positive I guess.
The film is told in a style with a framing device as the story of Mufasa is told by Rafiki to a young Kiara, who's Simba and Nala's young daughter, as her parents go off on an adventure. She's baby-sat by Simba's friends Timon and Pumbaa, and they try to throw in jokes that typically fall flat, even though they riff on their own franchise. It's all wholly unnecessary, something that could've been a Disney+ movie.
The songs this time around are utterly forgettable, which is sad considering they came from the great mind of Lin-Manuel Miranda. You won't be seeing any of these songs up for Song of the Year at the Oscars unlike Elton John's iconic three-peat song nominations (for "Circle of Life," "Hakuna Matata" and the winner "Can You Feel the Love Tonight"), nor will you even remember them once you walk out of the theater.
While I'm knocking on this film a lot, ultimately it wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be. Nor was it anywhere near the heights of other films. It's just a bland outing that offered a lot of fan service (the number of times Mufasa is hanging off a ledge with Taka saving his life is laughably numerous) with great outdoor visuals and better than most CGI animations. It tells the story of two brothers and their eventual separation, a story that - to take license from another Disney movie, a tale as old as time.
The Score: C+
Comments
Post a Comment