'Mufasa: The Lion King' review: An uninspired effort by Disney to cash in on a beloved character

“Simba, let me tell you something that my father told me.... The great kings of the past look down on us from those stars.... So, whenever you feel alone, just remember that those kings will always be up there to guide you. And so will I,” said Mufasa to his son in The Lion King, both 2019 and 1994. Now, in 2024, we are told, again and again, that Mufasa was not a royal lion. So, was his lowly lion father just randomly telling Mufasa about the great kings of the past? Or was the magnificent ruler of Pride Lands lying to Simba? Forget that. Was Mufasa, one of our favourite Disney dads, lying to us, trying to make it seem as if he came from a long line of monarchs?

The most likely explanation is that someone at Disney—a singularly intelligent someone, no doubt—felt icky about that 'undemocratic' premise and changed it to an egalitarian and inspiring tale of an orphaned, non-royal cub's rise to be the elected-by-acclamation lion king; the lore be damned. (Disney, please stop trying to be 'woke'. Just make mistakes, get criticised and actually learn.)

So, here we are, with the story of the common-born orphan with a name that literally means king and his newfound friend and adoptive brother, Taka. The duo meet when a flood displaces Mufasa from his family, a prideless lion couple. There is no sign of a younger brother called Scar. That is because Taka, the royal heir of the unspecified place he is from, becomes Scar by the time the two lions make it to the Pride Lands at the end of the movie. I am sorry! Is that a spoiler? It is shown as a big reveal. But it is telegraphed so early and is apparent even from promotional clips that to even treat it as a reveal was utterly comical. Still, a little girl sitting behind me made a noise at that point—it is not clear whether she was surprised by the 'plot twist' or just wanted to go home.

Indeed, the urge to just get up and leave is likely to be strong as you try to sit through Mufasa: The Lion King. But, if you decide to soldier on, ignore the cumbersome plot and immerse yourself in the stunning visuals. There is a tremendous improvement from the 2019 effort. The photoreal animation animals can actually 'act', so much so that it is not too far-fetched to argue that these lions emote better than some big-ticket stars.

The high points of the movie are undoubtedly the direction by Barry Jenkins, who helmed the Oscar-winning Moonlight (2016), and the cutting-edge techniques used to make the talking animals look realistic. The performances pass muster. Aaron Pierre's voice as Mufasa does enough to convince us that this could be a younger version of the iconic voice of the late James Earl Jones. Similarly, Kelvin Harrison Jr's Taka hits upon certain notes that could be Scar. Mads Mikkelsen as the big baddie is menacing.

Sadly, one of the major problems in the narration is the attempts at humour via Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa (Seth Rogen). Their jokes are more irritating than funny. It feels like this movie would have been better if the two iconic characters had been cut out entirely. They were redundant, especially when there is more natural humour in other bits, like one of the scenes with Taka and Sarabi (Tiffany Boone).

Overall, Mufasa... is a thoroughly uninspired effort by Disney to cash in on a beloved character. The positive from it is the animation and filmmaking techniques used that could benefit future movies that opt for photoreal animation. But, the possibility of a brighter tomorrow is not enough to tide over the disappointment of Mufasa: The Lion King. A potential remedy is to go and watch Mufasa in all his regal glory on Disney+ Hotstar. That is just it though, Disney has got us all in its vicious 'Circle of Cash'.

Mufasa: The Lion King
Director: Barry Jenkins
Cast: Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Tiffany Boone, Mads Mikkelsen
Rating: 2/5