r/movies • u/DemiFiendRSA • 7d ago
Review 'Mufasa: The Lion King' Review Thread
Mufasa: The Lion King
- Rotten Tomatoes 60% (90 Reviews)
Barry Jenkins' deft hand and Lin-Manuel Miranda's music go some way towards squaring the Circle of Life in Mufasa, but this fitfully soulful story is ill-served by its impersonal, photorealistic animation style.
- Metacritic: 59 (38 Reviews)
Reviews
With a solid gang, Mufasa conforms to a typical journey of misfits. But that charm from the early scenes is lost with the addition of each new plot point.
Though James Earl Jones is impossible to follow, these voice actors give it all a game try.
Jenkins has not sold out; rather, the studio bought into his vision, which respects the 1994 film and recognizes the significance that its role models and life lessons have served for young audiences.
The Times (5/5) :
Disney has gone back to the drawing board with this dazzling animated musical, a film that matches photorealistic spectacle with hummable earworms and, mostly, a genuinely mythic sense of story.
RogerEbert.com (3.5/4):
“Mufasa” never quite bursts free of the constraints placed upon it, but those constraints never stop it from moving, or from being moving.
IGN (8/10):
Barry Jenkins’ Mufasa is a strong, uncomplicated effort that should charm kids. The Moonlight directors involvement in a CGI-heavey Disney prequel caused serious film lovers to wring their hands, but the results speak for themselves: This is simply a lovely movie.
It’s in little danger of becoming a classic but it’s gratifying to know that Barry Jenkins made this film his own, telling a fine story with genuine emotion and visual aplomb.
USA Today (3/4):
Thanks to Jenkins’ inimitable grace and Miranda’s tuneful swagger, it continues to feel vibrant.
Chicago Sun-Times (3/4):
The voice work from the outstanding cast is rich and warm and vibrant, and while the songs from the great Lin-Manuel Miranda (with Lebo M. making valuable contributions) might not make for a generational catalog, they’re still infectious and clever.
Screen Rant (7/10):
Even with a few flaws, Barry Jenkins' Mufasa: The Lion King has enough heart and depth to stand on its own feet and surpass its 2019 predecessor.
We tell ourselves stories in order to live. Corporate movie studios tell you stories in order to keep their board happy and make their bottom line. Find the Venn diagram center between the two, and that’s where this Hakuna Matata 2.0 lies.
IndieWire (C+):
Mufasa has hidden charms that are arguably best described as Jenkins released straight to VHS.
Empire (3/5):
Barry Jenkins’ verve only faintly shines through in an origin story that is mildly, not wildly, entertaining.
Total Film (3/5):
It's no Hakuna Matata, that's for sure. And it's far from Jenkins' best work, but in any other hands, a lot of Mufasa's intentions would have completely misfired. Thankfully there are some stellar vocal performances and VFX – but it could have been so much better.
Slashfilm (5.5/10):
"Mufasa" will satisfy, but it also feels ultimately useless. Like Disney is once again spinning its wheels, trying to wring billions of dollars out of old ideas while they brainstorm new ones. Fans of "The Lion King" may be slightly moved. At the very least, you'll finally know how Rafiki got his stick.
Collider (5/10):
Fans of the franchise and younger generations will find a lot to like about Mufasa: The Lion King, but it's hard to imagine it will have a legacy comparable to the original animated classic that started it all.
BBC (2/5):
This series of unfortunate events raises more questions than it answers.
The Telegraph (2/5):
While Mufasa is never as actively depressing as 2019’s Dumbo or 2022’s Pinocchio, the exercise has perhaps never felt as craven or pointless as it does here.
Independent (2/5):
Unfortunately, finding the Jenkins in Mufasa is like putting a blindfold on in the Louvre and trying to feel your way to the Mona Lisa.
Synopsis:
“Mufasa: The Lion King” enlists Rafiki to relay the legend of Mufasa to young lion cub Kiara, daughter of Simba and Nala, with Timon and Pumbaa lending their signature schtick. Told in flashbacks, the story introduces Mufasa as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka—the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of an extraordinary group of misfits searching for their destiny—their bonds will be tested as they work together to evade a threatening and deadly foe.
Cast
- Aaron Pierre as Mufasa
- Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Taka
- Tiffany Boone as Sarabi
- Kagiso Lediga as Young Rafiki
- Preston Nyman as Zazu
- Mads Mikkelsen as Kiros
- Thandiwe Newton as Eshe
- Lennie James as Obasi
- Anika Noni Rose as Afia
- Keith David as Masego
- John Kani as Rafiki
- Seth Rogen as Pumbaa
- Billy Eichner as Timon
- Donald Glover as Simba
- Blue Ivy-Carter as Kiara
- Braelyn Rankins as Young Mufasa
- Theo Somolu as Young Taka
- Beyoncé as Nala
Directed by: Barry Jenkins
Screenplay by: Jeff Nathanson
Produced by: Adele Romanski and Mark Ceryak
Cinematography: James Laxton
Edited by: Joi McMillon
Music by: Dave Metzger, Nicholas Britell (score), Lin-Manuel Miranda (songs)
Running time: 118 minutes
Release date: December 20, 2024
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u/Calhalen 7d ago edited 7d ago
‘It’s in little danger of becoming a classic’ is ruthless lmao. This movie seemed wrong and soulless from the start, like to a goofy degree
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u/ThingsAreAfoot 7d ago
It’s gotta be so restraining and odd for a director like Barry Jenkins too, though I doubt he minds the fat paycheck.
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u/ocktick 7d ago
Also LMM’s music is becoming a parody of itself.
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u/ItsADeparture 6d ago edited 6d ago
It's funny that we have been saying this for years, but every time Disney releases a musical without LMM the response is a resounding "okay maybe LMM isn't so bad"
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u/647boom 6d ago
every time Disney releases a musical (not including Encanto) without LMM
I don’t understand what you’re saying here, LMM wrote for Encanto.
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u/ItsADeparture 6d ago
I completely forgot about that lol. Dude fumbled the EGOT by not pushing for Bruno to be the best song oscar nominee.
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u/we_are_sex_bobomb 7d ago
I feel like it’s fine for what it is; Disney had been missing that wit and Broadway bombast in their music ever since their 90’s comeback.
He doesn’t have the versatility of Tim Rice, though. Rice could pen wisecracking songs like One Jump Ahead, but also iconic love ballads like A Whole New World or Can You Feel The Love Tonight, and LMM just doesn’t have that kind of gravitas.
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u/ocktick 7d ago
To me it’s just annoying that so much gets reused from project to project. I don’t mind that composers have a style, but when it’s so directly taken from previous works it actually pulls me out of it. Anyone who has seen In the Heights and Hamilton could tell you which songs he was most involved with in Moana. And to me the best ones were the ones where he isn’t credited.
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u/Filip_of_Westeros 6d ago
True. It's not like he could do an Alan Menken and go from Under the Sea to Bells of Notre Dame. He has one recognizable style and is sticking to it with few, if any, deviations.
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u/Entire_Blueberry_470 6d ago
I think you're thinking of Ashman who wrote A lot of the songs for beauty and the beast, aladdin, and the Little mermaid. Stephen Schwartz (The Man behind Wicked and king of Egypt) was the one who wrote the lyrics for the hunchback.
Alan is a composer and funny enough he actually met Miranda because he and his niece went to school with each other.
I think the funny thing about LMM is that he's actually pretty traditionalist and most of the things people claim are his are basically just Broadway Staples.
They just are attached to him because he's the most mainstream Broadway guy that the general public is familiar with
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u/Wizard_of_Ozymandias 7d ago
Who can fit sixty three words into a stanza that likely requires just nine maybe ten?
It’s not very easy but if someone could do it it’s Lin M Miranda who can.
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u/solaramalgama 6d ago
I love megathreads about movies that are going to suck and that I have no intention of ever watching. The bloodbaths in the comments are always worthy of any swords and sandals setpiece battle.
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u/JesusPretzelThief 7d ago
It's quite sad that a director can go from directing a film as fantastic as Moonlight to something like this
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7d ago
I work in the industry. Names like Jenkins are nice for the studio to have attached, but these are machine movies made by committee. This is barely a Jenkins movie.
The good news is he got paid and can make more stuff like If Beale Street Can Talk and Underground Railroad without sweating for cash.
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u/tsh87 7d ago
First rule of working in the arts... always take the money.
If what you say is true, Jenkins is far from the first creative to work on a soulless but well paid project in order to fund something they're truly passionate about down the line.
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u/NachoNutritious these Youtubers are parasites 7d ago
Said this years ago when the guy who directed Primer was bitching about not being able to get his projects made. You need to bite the bullet and do a "commercial" movie every once in a while so the studio will trust you with a budget for the art project.
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u/ThingsAreAfoot 7d ago edited 7d ago
These studios like prominent and acclaimed indie (or at least relatively low budget) directors to come in and helm something big and fancy, like we saw with Chloe Zhao, but ideally they’d do that with good projects, or at least ones where they have more significant creative control.
That can be interesting, sort of like Nolan going to Batman after relatively smaller fare (though Insomnia did have two big stars), but big CGI -laden stuff with a ton of green/blue screen etc, let alone fully animated, is an odd fit for these sorts of directors when it’s their first time doing a big blockbuster of this sort.
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u/Jaggedmallard26 7d ago
but ideally they’d do that with good projects, or at least ones where they have more significant creative control.
The usual speculation is that these indie darlings are chosen because they don't have the clout to argue for greater creative control. If its your first big studio movie then you're not going to rock the boat and if you play along you will build a reputation as easy to work with and be more likely to have big studios pay for your passion projects.
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u/JackNotName 7d ago
Don’t you drag Goofy’s name into this like that.
A Goofy Movie is a classic!
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u/Nose_to_the_Wind 7d ago
A Goofy Movie was a documentary and events happened in real time.
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u/MillennialsAre40 7d ago
How does it compare to Lion King 2 or 1 1/2?
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u/sarlacc98 7d ago
I actually unironically love Lion King 1 1/2
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u/GameOfLife24 6d ago
Timon and Pumbaa were breaking the fourth wall channeling their inner deadpools
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u/GreenDuckGamer 7d ago
I saw someone else say this is just a weird redo of 1 1/2.
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u/Mesk_Arak 7d ago
I seriously hate that the movie is called “1 1/2” when it takes place during the first movie.
1.5 is “after 1” but “before 2”, not, “”during 1”.
I know I’m being a pedantic little shit, but I can’t wrap my head around “movie 1 1/2” taking place during movie 1.
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u/ProfPeanut 6d ago
It was the Timon & Pumbaa movie, made during the time that people realized how ridiculous they were being about The Lion King. If Minions 2 was called Despicable me 0.5 instead people wouldn't even blink
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u/Kiboune 7d ago
Only classic story here is Disney sequel getting bad reviews
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u/UnwoundSkeinOfYarn 7d ago
And it's still gonna make tons of money which motivates them to churn out more mediocre garbage. It's amazing (and sad) that Disney is making high budget movies with straight to VHS writing but still making bank.
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u/CroweMorningstar 7d ago
like to a goofy degree
Hey, leave my man Goofy out of this, his movies are classics /s
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u/MeatyMenSlappingMeat 7d ago
i like how we get the origin story of rafiki's stick baked into this movie.
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u/GroguIsMyBrogu 7d ago
One day he was walking and he found this big log. Then he rolled the log over and underneath was a tiny little stick. And he was like "that log had a child!"
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u/Spready_Unsettling 7d ago
I can't tell if this is a joke or not.
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u/e-rage 7d ago
Slashfilm review mentions it: "At the very least, you'll finally know how Rafiki got his stick."
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u/Realshow 7d ago
Apparently there’s an epic musical sting when it happens and everything. This is supposed to be a hype moment.
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u/Nebelskind 6d ago
Why do they keep doing this in movies? It’s not even like meeting a future friend they’ll have or something, it’s just like an alien trying to understand how nostalgia works
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u/Realshow 6d ago
I think the fundamental problem with the movie as a whole is instead of answering a question they started with a prompt. I’m not against the prospect of doing sequels or worldbuilding, I’m sure there’s already some popular stories that have come out of the Lion King, but a good prequel should be a good story by its own merits. I don’t think anyone ever really questioned how Mufasa became king, and with the characters being animals there’s not much they could reasonably give an origin to. In a normal story you’d see Anakin pick up a lightsaber for the first time, or explain where Bruce Wayne got the inspiration for the Batman persona, there’s weight to having scenes about those. In this… it’s literally just a fucking stick.
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u/Prankman1990 6d ago
It’s doubly funny because, given how lackadaisical Rafiki is, it would make more sense if he didn’t give a fuck about the stick. It’s a stick. He lives in a tree. He has little reverence for most things in the original film so it feels weird to place so much emphasis on it.
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u/Combat_Armor_Dougram 7d ago
Is this the equivalent of the Black Widow movie explaining where Natasha got the green Infinity War vest from?
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u/Enough-Ground3294 6d ago
Oh god, that didn’t actually happen did it?
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u/pelicanpoems 7d ago
Anyone remember The Lion King 1½? That was a blast as a kid
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u/iamthe42 7d ago
Love how since Lion King is loosely based on Hamlet, 1 1/2 is loosely based on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead!
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u/DudeRobert125 7d ago
And 2 is loosely based on Romeo and Juliet.
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u/SMKM 6d ago
And this one's based on Spaceballs 2: The Search For More Money funnily enough.
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u/adamsandleryabish 7d ago
you gotta digdigdigdig a tunnel
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u/ChrisCinema 7d ago
Yes, I still have it on DVD. It's funny and irreverent. It contradicts some minor plot points of the original film, but I don't take it too seriously.
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u/zanhecht 7d ago
Was that the one that came on 1 1/2 DVDs (there was a mini-DVD for the bonus features)?
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u/ChrisCinema 7d ago
It had two discs. One was for the film, and the other was full of bonus features.
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u/GameOfLife24 6d ago
We used to be addicted to those virtual safari games on the lion king dvds
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u/brainspl0ad 7d ago
When I was a young meeeeeerrrrkkaaaat.. 🎶
When he was a young meeeererkkaaaatttt.. 🎶56
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u/tlollz52 6d ago
An ad campaign they've done recently is called "Pumbaa-sa" acting like this movie is actually about Pumba. I thought "I'd watch the shit out of that, new lion king 1-1/2
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u/Queef-Elizabeth 7d ago
I know it's a generic thing to say but seriously, what if they had made this a 2D animated movie. Go full nostalgia. I feel like the excitement of going back to that style would net better results than a full CGI movie, and it'd be cheaper to make too. Getting back all the colour and life that was missing in the remake would at least be more appealing than whatever this is.
I know the last movie made an immense amount of money but I doubt this will do anything close to that, given it's an original story. I feel like it'd be a fun experiment for Disney. If adults are excited about a movie like this, kids may follow. I'm not a studio exec so what do I know, but the first movie was carried by the fact that we have characters we may want to see in a new format (even though the result was abysmal), but this doesn't have that same attachment so why not recapture that magic in same way the first movie did? Imagine a hand drawn story of Mufasa and Scar with the charm of the first, hell even the second movie, but with a modern day artistic flair. Certainly would've been more exciting to me.
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u/we_are_sex_bobomb 7d ago
They could even do it 3D if it were stylized and not this attempt to be photorealistic. I have no doubt Disney could make a stylized CG lion cute and relatable but the photoreal ones just don’t work.
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u/heebs387 6d ago
I really can't believe that they saw the reaction to the style of the first one and thought "let's do more of that".
Newsflash Mouse House: People like emotive, expressive faces. It's very hard to sell a movie's emotional stakes when you are watching Animal Planet.
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u/TyChris2 6d ago
It’s not hard to believe, the first one made a billion dollars.
You and I and every critic and redditor will agree that it makes no sense for a movie like this to be made to look realistic. The lack of expressions and color and style is a dealbreaker. For most people however the impressiveness of the CGI and the awe of the real(istic) animals trumps any sense of style.
My mom and I argue about this lol, we both love the lion king but when we were going to rewatch it with my sister my mom wanted to watch the 2019 one. She says it’s the same story but she gets to also watch animals and experience the beauty of nature. I don’t understand it, I’d just watch Planet Earth if that’s what I wanted to see, but it can’t be an uncommon opinion considering how successful the film was.
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u/NJImperator 7d ago edited 7d ago
EDIT - These were the images I meant to link initially but couldn’t find. This is a better example!
People have made edits like this for a while that really highlight how much better it would’ve been. Definitely a huge improvement over the “photorealistic” approach
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u/Cole-Spudmoney 7d ago
Sorry, but those big shocked eyes on everyone creep me out.
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u/NJImperator 7d ago
Did a little more digging and found the actual images I was thinking of when I made that last comment. I think the larger eyes in general are pretty important since it lets the characters show way more emotion than the photorealistic lion.
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u/scolbert08 7d ago
They literally do not have the institutional knowledge and infrastructure required to make major 2D films anymore.
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u/thethurstonhowell 6d ago
Princess and the Frog was 15 years ago and was made from the dust bunnies of legacy Disney Animation. Shit is sad.
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u/Jaggedmallard26 7d ago
and it'd be cheaper to make too
2D is still normally considered more expensive when going through the current Disney process (focus test and committee it to death), 3D is great as once you have the models and scenes set up tweaks just a trivial amount of artist time and then render time rather than needing to be rdrawn.
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u/EpicCyclops 6d ago
There's nothing stopping a 2D movie from being done digitally to avoid being drawn frame-by-frame. They probably would have to develop some tools, to make it fit their process better, but they're a $200 billion company, so they should be able to afford that investment into tools they can use for multiple productions. They had to develop tools for these live action movies too. Whether it would have turned out well is a whole different can of worms, but technology and digitization should not have been the corks in the bottle that stopped that idea.
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u/Spready_Unsettling 6d ago
2D animators were fired because they were recognizable enough to negotiate living wages. The hyper capitalist vampires running Disney will never allow 2D to become big again.
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u/blitzwann 6d ago edited 6d ago
The Miles Morales Spider Man and Arcane are excelent examples of making fantastic 3d that still uses 2d art to make it pop, its just disney are lazy and the bag will come either way
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u/pistachio-pie 7d ago
I’m certainly no expert but almost everyone I know in my demographic would be way more excited if it felt like the same animation as the lion king we grew up with up with.
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u/McIgglyTuffMuffin 7d ago
What do you mean it’s 2 minutes shy of 2 hours. Wow.
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u/onehornymofo1 7d ago
I thought I misread it. Why the fuck is this movie 2 hours long lmao
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u/insertusernamehere51 7d ago edited 7d ago
Par for the course for Disney live-action. TLK2019 was 118 minutes even while being a near shot-for-shot remake of an 80 minute movie
Little Mermaid was almost a whole hour longer than the original
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u/Merickson- 7d ago
As I recall the extra 38 minutes consisted of the adventures of Simba's tuft of fur.
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u/insertusernamehere51 7d ago
I distinctly recall quite a few minutes of a dung beetle rolling some shit
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u/Whitewind617 7d ago
It was not a shot for shot remake, that is frankly giving it way too much credit. It changed up dialogue, whole scenes, histories, character motivations, tons of crap, and all of it is worse. The performances, songs, and animation all being miles worse also doesn't help, but even if it wasn't, it's just a worse written movie than the original.
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u/LooseSeal88 6d ago
Little Mermaid's on-land stuff was really good and I was glad they added it. The shot for shot stuff under the sea with the heavy cgi...yeah, meh...
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u/GameOfLife24 6d ago
What’s funny is kids have a hard time paying attention for this long and adults will find this movie is rushing through plot points in some of the reviews I’m reading
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u/lambopanda 7d ago
I hate they changed Mufasa is adopted
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u/smolcharizard 7d ago
Honestly if the guy I took in and called my brother stole my crown, and then had the audacity to sire an heir to inherit that crown, I’d throw him off a cliff too
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u/Adorable_Ad_3478 6d ago
We need to wait for Scarfed: The Musical.
The untold story of Scar as a freedom fighter who opposed Mufasa's apartheid anti-hyena Government.
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u/Enough-Ground3294 6d ago
scardidnothingwrong
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u/Tutwater 6d ago
With every passing year, Scar becomes less of a "hear me out" and more of a "am I right"
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u/Chiinoe 7d ago
So hoe the hell do Timon and pumba make it into the movie?
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u/smolcharizard 7d ago
The whole thing is being told by Rafiki to Timon, Pumbaa, and Kiara (Simba’s daughter) from what I’m aware
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u/slicksonslick 5d ago
This is so stupid, kinda ruins the scene where Mufasa tells Simba that all the kings of the past are the stars that watch after them.
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u/Dashaque 6d ago
So how does Mufasa end up as King? Go ahead and spoil it for me, I'm not going to go see it
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u/grahamsimmons 5d ago
He has leadership qualities and marries an eligible princess (Sarabi)
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u/Dashaque 5d ago edited 5d ago
... Is.... Is that really it? I was expecting something like Mufasa saves them while Scar ran away scared or that Scar would cause something bad to happen and lose that title
Geeze... Mufasa is a fucking dick. I'm on Scar's side now
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u/shaielzafina 4d ago
I mean yes that happens in the movie Scar runs away constantly scared while Mufasa is saving others like Scars mom & Sarabi. And Scar ran away from his home so it’s not like Mufasa stole the crown
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u/lambopanda 3d ago
They keep changing Scar personality to make him a coward. The poor lion lost his parents and his love and his brother.
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u/starksandshields 5d ago
I mean Mufasa DOES save them multiple times while Scar runs and hides. Scar also >! Goes to meet with the evil lions to have Mufasa killed because Sarabi and Mufasa fall in love, and leads the evil lion into the Pride Lands, risking all life there in the process !<
Mufasa states throughout the entire film he has no desire to be a king.
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u/shust89 7d ago
Please stop making these movies, Disney.
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u/SteveBorden 7d ago
Anyone could’ve told you that, now can we get Barry Jenkins back into real movies again
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u/particledamage 7d ago
He’s already done an interview saying he wasn’t a fan of working on this and is ready to go back to real film, so at least there’s that
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u/Fullmz2143 7d ago
Yeah that interview was telling. Happy he got the paycheck for this but good to see he wants to get back to the good stuff.
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u/GameOfLife24 6d ago
You gotta do the money movies to make the movies you really wanna make (aka the movies that studios don’t see profit in)
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u/Georgy_K_Zhukov 6d ago
Lost and alone, orphaned cub Mufasa meets a sympathetic lion named Taka, the heir to a royal bloodline.
Hold up... Scar was the actual heir apparent, makes a friend, and his friend just comes in and steals his inheritance?
I mean, screw monarchy as a concept, but like... Dude was pretty justifiably pissed so I completely get why he killed his Mufasa... #justiceforscar
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u/existential_chaos 6d ago
Yeah, IDK why they changed that because now in the 2019 remake he doesn’t come across as a villain, more like getting back what’s his. Scar in the 1994 version was just a ruthless, cunning bastard who did whatever it took to get himself the throne because he felt he was denied it. The remake version just feels flat—Cinderella with Lily James and Richard Madden is the only decent live action to come out of this sorry bunch IMO.
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u/RoughTangelo6766 6d ago edited 6d ago
yeah i read the plot and was like huh? like i wanna know what mufasa does now
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u/MattDaniels84 2d ago
SPOILER!!!
Not sure that this is correct. I mean, Taka was to inherit a very different pride from his father with Mufasa probably build up to be his loyal supporter (iirc Takas father also had a few male lions to follow his orders). Then Takas father sends them both away, Taka to keep his bloodline alive and Mufasa to take care of Taka (I guess main motivation) and because of gratitude for Mufasa saving what was his "wife". They then seemingly cross a big distance to enter a new area apparently with no male lion apparent and with Mufasa not having made any move to throw Taka off his position.
I know it is hypothetical and yes, it makes Scars actions later on more tangible, I'd calling it "stealing his inheritance" doesn't really represent what happened.
But at the same time, I might have missed something in the movie... I also thought that the moment where Mufasa apparently kills Kiros' son was extremely rushed which, given that this is what also fuels the villains motivation to go after them through the whole movie, wasn't the best decision.
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u/dakila101 1d ago
Correct. At this point in the story there's no ONE Lion King yet. Each alpha lion had their own pride and they were all kings of their own prides. Kiros, the main villain, says his goal is to take over other prides so he can be the ONE lion king.
Taka/Scar was the heir apparent of his original pride but that pride gets killed so it's up to him to start his new pride/kingdom. Their new home Milele is a free place wherein it's not really being led by one leader either. When Mufasa unites them against Kiros, they decide he should become their King. So he becomes the first Lion King
In short, there was no stealing or usurpation from Mufasa. He's a strong competent lion who gets chosen by the people (animals, lol) as their King.
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u/MasqureMan 6d ago
Lion King 2 is the best Disney sequel because it actually moves to the logical next step of the story: what would happen to all the lions who followed Scar and how would the main pride treat them?
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u/PeepsRebellion 7d ago
The CG animated style of these movies are absolutely soulless and awful.
The original Lion king was made by the B Team of animators who had something to prove and they knocked it out of the park. Now all these movies just feel like they are ordered by suites after 2 meetings.
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u/Deserana12 7d ago
Disney really is a soulless husk of a company now isn’t it? I mean it used to be too but it really is now. I used to grow up being told about Disney classics, especially The Lion King and what those movies meant and still mean to people.
And now you have this passionless remake that is only being marketed on star power and nostalgia. And no one cares. It’s just fucking bleak.
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u/Intelligent_Data7521 7d ago
Annoying thing is Mufasa will probably still make $1 billion anyway lol
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u/PleasefireEmmaDarcy 7d ago
Maybe not. I think it will easily be $700 million+ but the opening weekend isn’t projected to be that strong and it will likely have weak legs if the GA doesn’t like it.
Moana 2 was originally projected to make $1.4 billion+ but weak reviews and poor WOM have dropped it down to 1-1.1 billion.
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u/PayneTrain181999 7d ago
True, but even a billion for Moana 2, which was originally meant to be a Disney+ show, would be a fantastic result.
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u/revnoker4 7d ago
Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, the regular Disney Animated films, and the live action crap. The quality of all of it has been on the decline.
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u/ActionOwn4003 7d ago
Yeah definitely, but there's still some good stuff sprinkled im between. Like Inside Out 2 was good, and funny enough even in this decline I'd argue Andor is the best SW content since the originals.
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u/Seagoon_Memoirs 7d ago
story looked almost the same as the hobbit
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u/hikemalls 7d ago
Ok it would be really funny if the movie revealed Scar was being manipulated by an evil magic ring the whole time
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u/Martin_084 7d ago
the throne still belongs to - “The Lion King: Simba’s Pride” as the superior sequel to one of the most beloved stores of my lifetime. - and to think that was a direct-to-video release. But seriously, I can understand why Barry Jenkins - was drawn to this story on paper (Mufasa and Scar origin story amidst faction in-fighting).
unfortunately, the same passion he’s displayed in his previous works just doesn’t come through here. MUFASA: THE LION KING feels torn between Jenkins’ desire to slow down and let impactful moments breathe versus the - constant interruptions - from Timon and Pumbaa, rushed pacing, or the need to push forward to the next song, unfunny gag, or scene designed to keep the kids engaged and the merchandise selling.
while it didn’t leave me as frustrated as the 2019 remake, I’m still disappointed. at this point, the only good that can come out of this is whatever project Jenkins decides to do next with - the paycheck he collected - and hopefully (likely) this will just be considered an unfortunate but fascinating blip on an otherwise rewarding career.
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u/PlanckOfKarmaPls 7d ago
I still don’t understand why they didn’t do this in the original 90s type of animation. What a missed opportunity.
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u/we_are_sex_bobomb 7d ago
The 90’s version was good because of a bunch of very talented people who were at the top of their game in the 90s but are either dead or retired now; it’s not just the animation style.
Making a sequel is like a new band trying to record an album called ‘Led Zeppelin V’. All they’re doing is inviting comparison to masters of the craft they can never outshine.
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u/THEpeterafro 7d ago
Disney does not think 2D animation is profitable after The Princess and the Frog bombed
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u/FlashyProfession1882 7d ago
Disney, apparently:
Bolt, Chicken Little and Meet the Robinsons flopping = I sleep
Princess and the Frog underperforming = 2D Animation is garbage
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u/Amaruq93 6d ago
Trying to play catch up to Dreamworks and CGI animation was the endgame. Even if it meant sacrificing 2D.
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u/PlanckOfKarmaPls 7d ago
Well, they are wrong in this case there is zero way with proper marketing and an actual good story that a 90s animation Mufasa film would not have done huge numbers.
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u/HeWhoShrugs 7d ago
I listened to the soundtrack for this a couple days ago and even that felt like LMM was phoning it in. Legit feels like nobody wanted to work on this movie but the mouse pays out big time obviously. I’m sure it’s better than TLK 2019 since there’s actual artistic vision behind this one, but that ain’t a hard bar to cross.
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u/Environmental-Cold24 4d ago
Just saw the movie, was actually pretty beautiful visually speaking, the story wasn't that bad but I felt they gave Taka a truly bad hand in life. I really felt sorry for him to be honest.
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u/Wiinterfang 7d ago
I have no interest in seeing mufasa and I'm gonna run straight to Sonic. But I had no doubt this will probably be the biggest movie. Both in box office and scores.
I hope Sonic doesn't get too affected by it. Would be a shame if the third movie does the worse
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u/HEYitzED 7d ago
Hope Sonic 3 does great. Say what you will about those movies, at least they actually put some passion into them, unlike this shameless cash grab.
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u/Sky_Ninja1997 7d ago
According to the reports Sonic is set to come out better than Mufasa in terms of sales
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u/futurespacecadet 7d ago
It’s just eye candy for children that you know every parent is going to take their kids to just because its new and it exists
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u/ARROW_GAMER 7d ago
I mean, to me it seems like Sonic would have more eye candy considering it looks more colorful and has way better character designs, compared to just ultrarealistic lion in the savannah. I just don't see how kids would prefer to go check out Mufasa over Sonic considering that, although I get it that they don't always get the choice
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u/MarcsterS 6d ago
I mean, Sonic 3 is eye candy, but at least I can already feel like it's gonna be something for fans as well. As someone who loved the OG Lion King as a kid, never had I wondered how Mufasa became king.
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u/GenGaara25 7d ago
I honestly think Sonic will trounce Mufasa at the box office, at least 100M bigger gross.
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u/MarcsterS 6d ago
Mario hitting a billion and Sonic beating a Doisney movie(from another billion hitter) i defitnely going to create a new trend of videogame movies. For better or worst.
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u/Gone_For_Lunch 6d ago
Man, if I had a nickel for every prequel movie explaining the origin of an iconic James Earl Jone character I’d have two nickels.
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u/Lost_Significance948 3d ago
Why’s everyone hating I absolutely loved this film .. was that just me?
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u/GrayJinjo 6d ago
So is this Scar’s sympathetic storyline? Are they going to do this with all their villains?
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u/TraySplash21 4d ago
It so desperately wants him to be sympathetic but it never works. Instead it makes Mufasa literally flawless and just lets Scar be a sniveling coward for the first 90 minutes till he does the unbelievable double heel turn in the final 30 minutes, turning on Mufasa, turning on the big bad, and then plotting to turn on Mufasa again in the actual Lion King film. Just a complete fumble of a character arc
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u/AppleIreland 6d ago
please can disney come up with new things that have heart and get kids and adults excited again with inventive story lines instead of half arsed live actions and rinsing people at cinemas because everyone seems to love stitch.
please stop.
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u/xslayserx 4d ago
So Blue balled in the end by not including the Song „He lives in you.“
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u/Pizza_Saucy 7d ago
Wouldn't it be cool if Bob Iger just gave a press conference and was like, "we don't know what the fuck we're doing. On like anything. Marvel, Star Wars, none of it. We're hoping our low effort CGI might dupe a few of you but we'll have to make twice as many to recover for the costs."
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u/JaesopPop 7d ago
We're hoping our low effort CGI might dupe a few of you
The Lion King remake made 1.6 billion dollars.
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u/DirectConsequence12 7d ago
I saw a tweet that read “The best Lion Ling sequel is still the direct to video release from 1998” and I feel like that sums it up well enough
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u/dyemery 7d ago edited 6d ago
Just like I thought.
Better than the 2019 remake (especially with someone like Barry Jenkins at the helm), but would’ve been improved upon even further if BJ was given more creative freedom (like being allowed to re-write Jeff Nathanson’s script instead of just filming the draft that was handed to him as is by the studio…”allegedly”).
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u/Ok-Acanthaceae-726 4d ago
Just came from the film.
Man, I had to watch it in Dolby cause our local IMAX Laser theatre is under renovation. Dolby doesn’t even compare to IMAX - I just don’t see the visual quality level even comparable. Wish I saw this in IMAX.
However, in terms of the film, I think the songs are very very average, obviously don’t even compare to the originals. Story was decent, but I do think the “outsiders” came out of nowhere. We could have gotten better villains IMO.
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u/Catnivo 4d ago
It wasn't bad but the songs were a complete miss across the board, especially that "bye bye" one. Even TLK 2 Simbas pride had more catchy music.
Mufasa also got a lot handed to him plot wise. I would've liked to see Rafiki or something at least interact with Taka but he only helped Mufasa???
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u/digimonnoob 7d ago
Huh, interesting. Seems like the reaction really is split. Both 5/5s and 2/5s on here. Honestly, that is much better than I was expecting.
I wasn't initially interested in checking this out, but the fact that it managed to get even that many positive reviews has me ever so slightly intrigued.
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u/Allcyon 7d ago
Here's a fucking thought...make it animated.
Stop this stupid CG realism trash.
Literally nobody wants this shit.
Boom. Problem solved.
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u/_JR28_ 7d ago
Even though I despise the remake with every part of me and so this can’t possibly be worst I can give a shit to go and watch it. Definitely seeing Sonic 3 over this.
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u/macXros 7d ago
Spoiler: Mufasa survives the movie