Mufasa: El rey león

With the imminent disaster that is Snow White, waiting in the wings, the company needed a big hit.

I have no doubts that fans of The Lion King's many forms will flock to see it, and for kids and families, there is a definite appeal, I watched this movie about a week ago, and almost forgot to review it, that's the problem, it simply isn't memorable.

You get the impression that they played it super safe, it's just a little bland at times, it's hardly a film that'll be remembered as a classic. Sure it's a good story, but sometimes it just feels a little shoved together.

Amazing visuals, lovely music, you can't fault the production values of it at all.

It's a shame that James Earl Jones couldn't have been persuaded to at least feature, but it was nice that the film was dedicated to him.

A nice movie, just hardly memorable.

6/10.

As a huge fan of The Lion King, I can honestly say this movie is excellent. The cinematography and music, especially in 3D IMAX are absolutely stunning. There wasn't a single boring moment and the visuals are breathtaking, you can read the animals' emotions much more clearly compared to the first live action film, the pacing is smooth and the plot holds up well. While I occasionally struggled to distinguish some lion characters, the voices made it easy to follow. A bit more humor would've been nice though but overall, it's a well crafted prequel that delves into Scar's origin beautifully. People seem too critical these days instead of just enjoying things.

In a time when Disney has been struggling to recapture its golden era magic, Mufasa: The Lion King stands out as a welcome surprise. Directed by Barry Jenkins, this prequel to the 2019 photorealistic remake offers a refreshing take, not just rehashing the familiar story, but expanding the mythology in a way that feels both purposeful and entertaining.

Narrated by Rafiki to Simba and Nala's daughter, Kiara (voiced by Blue Ivy Carter in her feature film debut), the film journeys back to explore Mufasa's origin story. We follow him from his beginnings as an orphaned cub to his rise as king, with Aaron Pierre voicing a younger, more vulnerable Mufasa. Kelvin Harrison Jr. Brings emotional depth to Taka, Mufasa's brother, who is destined to become Scar.

The casting is solid, with returning voices like Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Donald Glover, and Beyoncé giving the film a sense of continuity, while new voices breathe life into the backstory. Lin Manuel Miranda contributes original songs, which, alongside Dave Metzger's score and Hans Zimmer's familiar themes, create a soundtrack that is rich but never overbearing.

Visually, the film continues the photorealistic style of its predecessor, sometimes to its emotional detriment, but it's undeniably stunning to watch. More importantly, the story offers something new. Unlike recent Disney efforts that feel more like copy-paste nostalgia grabs (looking at you, remake fatigue), Mufasa justifies its existence. It's not a "1.5" spinoff or a cash-in; it's a true prequel that fills in meaningful gaps.

Is it perfect? No. The story can feel a bit predictable, and it may not have the same emotional punch for adult audiences as the original. But in a landscape of recent Disney flops, Mufasa earns its stripes simply by being a coherent, heartfelt, and engaging addition to the Lion King legacy.

All in all, I'd give it a solid 7 out of 10. It's a movie that didn't need to be made, but I'm glad it was.

Visuals are great, but it can't hold up an overall subpar movie. Fine for kids and families but leaves originality at the door.

It does fit together some fine lore to bring us up to speed with what we know from the original movie. How it does it is rehash story elements, themes and plenty of conveniences to forcibly make the pieces fit into the original. It has similar flaire to Solo where it's just fine and uninterestingly shows or tells us where things come from in this fanfiction. Sometimes it's best to leave things a mystery if the progenitor is unceremoniously bland.

The music is fine but doesn't have the same force of fun or majesty as the original score. They're kind of just there like Moana 2's music. Not bad, but certainly not memorable.

The 3D glasses also did nothing. It felt like just a regular movie instead of them trying to do anything with with 3D.

The worst part IMO was no James Earl Jones in the actual movie. I know he's sadly passed, but they've brought back voices from other people before. If they didn't want to synthesize, they could've used unused clips or even just reused a voice clip from previous Lion King works. I can't get behind a movie called Mufasa without Mufasa's actual iconic voice somewhere in the movie.

Feels like a made for TV movie, and probably worth a watch on Disney+. But not really one I'd recommend for theatres or purchase.

I quite liked the story in this movie, the forced connection to the lion king and every forced location dragged it down. The music was very forgetable. The sad parts didnt hit home as it should but oh well.

Byebye.

And now i need to write 360 more characters so that i can submit this review. So here it goes. Have you ever heard the story of darth plageuis the wise? Its not a story common for the jedi. He was a baddie yes bananakin. Obi one and two dont know about it and qui and thri gon jin doesnt either. Its not a pleasant story but a story nonetheless. I wish you had heard it so that we could discussed it.