Rating:
Summary: An interesting and heartfelt telling of not so much Mufasa's origins as Taka's (the lion that eventually becomes Scar), but comparisons with the original is what hurts this prequel in terms of originality, story, and the quality and power of the music.
The original "Lion King" was Disney animation at the peak of its prowess. It was released after the powerhouses of "The Little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast", and "Aladdin", and it's not a controversial opinion to say that subsequent animated films never really matched the quality of this quartet. Personally speaking, I was less enamoured with the tale of the little lion cub who grew up to be a king than those earlier efforts, both with the story and with its music. Don't get me wrong, it is still comfortably one of my favourite movies of the '90s, but it was my least favourite out of the four releases from 1989 to 1994.
Time and maturity, however, have given me a different perspective just like they did for Simba. I now recognise "The Lion King" as perhaps the most beautiful of those four movies, and in its soundtrack, the most powerful of them all. So "Mufasa: The Lion King", a prequel to the original, has a tough mission at hand to match that level of quality and to add something new to the mythology. In this impossible task, "Mufasa" succeeds in some areas and fails in others.
"Mufasa" tells the story of Simba's father, his rise to power and the start of the rivalry with Scar. Scar wasn't always known by the pejorative nickname. He was once known as Taka, but more importantly, he was also Mufasa's best friend and adoptive brother. How Taka becomes Scar forms the heart of the story, and it isn't unfair to say that "Mufasa", despite the title, is more of an origin story for Scar. There's nothing wrong with this though. Even in the original movie, Scar was a far more interesting character than Mufasa, and the added backstory improves the original by making Scar a far less one-dimensional villain. This added backstory is a worthy addition to the Lion King mythology, in my opinion.
You may have noticed that I've not mentioned the live-action remake of "The Lion King" which this film is a direct prequel of, as opposed to the animated version. For me, both are essentially the same film, and the live-action version is simply a flawed re-telling of the original. I understand the need for it - to give a new generation easier access to a classic - but it's not something I liked compared to the other live-action remakes, mainly because of its major flaw. That major flaw was its animation and the "dead face" effect that robs all the feeling from the otherwise more than adequate voice acting.
I'm glad to say that this has been much improved in this prequel, the faces are much more expressive and "natural", and along with the other animation improvements, it makes "Mufasa" a technically impressive film. This, along with the fact that "Mufasa" is an original story, means that it already exceeds the live-action "The Lion King" in my opinion.
Exceeds, except in one area, and it's a big one. The musical numbers are interesting enough during the film, but they don't have the memorability of the original, or as mentioned before, the power. The situation here isn't too dissimilar to what I observed during Moana 2. It is hard, really hard, to follow up a fantastic musical with songs as memorable, so I guess we shouldn't be too surprised.
Overall, "Mufasa: The Lion King" is an enjoyable watch. It's not going to touch the original (and by that, I mean the animated version), in terms of story or the songs, but this doesn't mean it isn't a worthwhile addition to the Lion King universe.
"Mufasa: The Lion King" is in cinemas on 19 December 2024. Streaming release date: TBA
