Mufasa: Il re leone

Pleasantly surprised. It wasn't the soulless cash grab people claimed-the movie has heart and plenty of story.

People love to hate on things and they will make this movie a target. This is why I feel obliged to tell you it's not that bad. If you like this type of movies, blockbusters, you will probably enjoy it; I know I did.

I feel like the CGI was on par with the first but they've definitely improved the expression of the animals (one of the biggest complaints from the first one).

One of the most obvious mistakes is that the movie should have been longer; the story feels cramped, and you can feel it on the pacing.

"less childhood trauma, more meerkat" is what I want for the threequel.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. As a prequel that tells the rise of Mufasa, Simba's father, it is very formulaic and predictable. But it is also beautifully animated, quite funny, and emotionally well-balanced between adventure, drama, humour, and tragedy. For a prequel, it plays it sometimes too safe, but that is fine to me since the audience knows the conclusion of the story. The upside of playing it safe is that the movie thankfully avoids any major distractions or side characters that could have taken away from the meat of the film. My only major gripes are that the soundtrack is forgettable compared to the Elton John classics, and some of the plot development proceeds too quickly at numerous points in the story, which takes away from its intended emotional impact.

Nonetheless, let me repeat that I am surprised by how much I liked this film. I could not be bothered by the previous CGI adaptation at all. But as far as big studio prequels are concerned, this is one of the better ones. Sure, they clearly made the film for easy money, but miraculously it respects the Lion King fanbase and oozes love for the source material. Graphically, it is well-composed and it manages to find good use for CGI that gets close to the beauty of the original animation. And although it adds little to the story, it provides enough new context and meat to make the original story shine even brighter. Nothing can beat the 1995 original masterpiece, and this one obviously pales in comparison, but I am glad that they are treating the franchise with respect.

The score always delivers emotionally. What I noticed is that Disney is losing, with the latest products, that double layer, the message under the surface that only adults can decipher. Maybe it's because of the story and the circumstances, but I found it too exclusive for children, especially from a director like Jenkins.

Everything else is okay. Nothing big, nothing great. You get what you go in for, emotion, fun, something that could make you feel again the feelings that you felt the first time you watched the original thing. I don't know if they're going to expand the cinematic universe.

Italian dubbing sucked. Singers can't dub. Period.

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.

Man these 2 were unnecessary and NOT funny. Annoyed every time they cut to them. Havent seen the first live action and now i definitely wont if I have to see more of these two. Could've used less cutting back and forth maybe a voiceover would have been more effective. Villains didnt really have a lot of depth. Nothing interesting about them. They just wanted to wipe out all other prides? I dont know. WhyOtherwise enjoyable movie. Casting of Rafiki was a good choice. Truly brought the essence of Rafiki from the original movie. Won't repeat what already has been said. Songs were catchy visuals were stunning.