Mufasa is the one true king.
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When the photorealistic remake of The Lion King was released into the world back in 2019, it received polarising views. Despite this, it was still a box-office hit, giving the studio behind the franchise enough reason to do a sequel. Only this time, Disney has opted to give Mufasa an origin story rather than remake their exisiting animated sequel The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride (1998).
Disney's Mufasa: The Lion King adopts the structure that presents itself as both prequel and sequel to its predecessor. It boasts a voice cast featuring Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., John Kani, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Mads Mikkelsen, Donald Glover, Tiffany Boone, Thandiwe Newton, Lennie James, Beyonce, Blue Ivy Carter, Anika Noni Rose, Keith David and more.
Presently in the Pride Lands, Kiara (daughter of Simba and Nala and granddaughter of Mufasa), sits down for storytime with Rafiki (Kani), Timon (Eichner) and Pumbaa (Rogen) as the latter tells them a tale of two young cubs.
We are then introduced to a young Mufasa and his parents as his mother (Rose) tells him of a place called “Milele” (a kingdom where the water flows, the grass is high and it's not a dream) through song. Things take a turn when the family is divided by a flood, orphaning Mufasa. Thankfully, he’s saved by a playful young Taka and taken in by Taka’s mother, Eshe (Newton).
While Mufasa is hesitant at first, the excitable Taka expresses his joy of having found him with “I Always Wanted A Brother”, a catchy tune that features the young cubs and later older versions voiced by Pierre as Mufasa and Harrison Jr. as Taka respectively. The two share a close bond and it is apparent Taka is the more cowardly of the two despite Mufasa not displaying any dominance in their relationship.
Taka’s father, Obasi (James), who was never agreeable to Mufasa joining his pride finally relents when the latter saves Eshe’s life during a fight with white lions led by Kiros (Mikkelsen).
Mikkelsen who’s no stranger to playing the bad guy in films makes a formiddable villain here, providing an icy and menacing tone that perfectly matches his ruthless character. His presence not only proves a great threat to the circle of life but also helps lift our main protagonist. There is no lion greater than Mufasa, seeing him in battle with Kiros only brings more weight to the statement.
With Kiros hellbent on eliminating all lion prides so he can assume the role of being the one lion king, Obasi sends Taka away to preserve his bloodline and instructs Mufasa to accompany him.
On their journey of escaping Kiros’ pride, the duo meet Sarabi (Boone), a lone lioness, her hornbill scout Zazu (Preston Nyman), and later a young Rafiki. The group of misfits travel together in search of Milele.
Taka tells his brother of his interest in Sarabi and Mufasa helps him get her attention. She seemingly takes a liking to Taka when Mufasa tells her it was him who saved her during an elephant stampede. Sarabi eventually realises her true saviour is Mufasa, recalling the same phrase he said while saving her and watching him put his sensory talents to use. Feeling betrayed after watching his brother grow close to the lioness he loves, Taka forms an alliance with Kiros.
We finally see the Milele they were looking for is the glorious Pride Lands after all. It doesn’t take long before the land is threatened by the arrival of Kiros and his pride. Mufasa goes head to head with Kiros while the rest of the animals deal with his pride. With a change of heart, Taka steps in to defend Mufasa, resulting in Kiros scarring him.
The white lions are at long last defeated, with the animals hailing Mufasa as king of the Pride Lands and Taka adopting his new moniker, Scar.
As much as this film is Mufasa’s genesis, it serves as Scar’s villain origin story too. The film also touches on its supporting characters by giving us insight on how Rafiki and Zazu came to hold place in the Pride Lands. We even get to see the formation of Pride Rock!
Despite being an original film with an untold story and avoiding from being a direct remake, Mufasa still borrows from the stage production based on the 1994 film as well as the aforementioned animated sequel. For instance, the original sequel introduces Kiara and also has Timon and Pumbaa babysitting her. Franchise fans will find similarities in the song “Milele” with “Upendi”, a song sung by Rafiki. But the most telling of all is the repeated use of the phrase “he lives in you” – the amount of times this was spoken but never sung is criminal but we’ll forgive it for trying to stay as authentic as possible.
Which brings us to the original music penned by Lin Manuel-Miranda (best known for Broadway’s In The Heights and Hamilton and Disney’s Moana and Encanto). Fans of the award-winning multitalent will be all too familiar with his signature polyphonic style featured throughout the soundtrack. Unfortunately, none of the songs hold weight against the original music that captivated audiences for generations. Apart from “Milele” featuring the dulcet tones of Princess Tiana Anika Noni Rose, “Bye Bye” would be the other standout choice, mainly for it featuring a singing Mikkelsen and it’s delivery of a full-fledged villain anthem the remake was void of. Perhaps it would take multiple listens for the songs to truly reach us but it’s safe to say the musical elements in this film is not its strongest points. And that's really fine because Mufasa is a compelling character-driven film with wondrous visuals and a strong enough story that doesn't need to rely on its songs to bring it forward.
Mufasa is commendable for learning from the criticism its predecessor faced for lacking originality and the attempt at making its characters more animated with their expressions, giving audience a spectacle the larger-than-life lion is worthy of.
Just like the Godfather sequel, Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King may just join the ranks as a rare example of a sequel that rivals its predecessor.
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