Barry Jenkins’ “Mufasa: The Lion King” is a visually splendid but overly familiar semi-sequel, mostly prequel to Jon Favreau’s CGI motion-capture 2019 remake.
I’m not fond of either of the new photorealistic versions but still find the 1994 animated original to be enthralling. There’s a lot of nostalgia in “Mufusa,” which basically tells a near-identical plot and soars the highest when playing the same notes as the first film.
For most of this new movie, I just wanted to go home and watch the old ’94 “Lion King.”
The events of Favreau’s ’19 remake are recapped in an amusing bit where Timon and Pumba (played again by a less-than-ideal comic dream team of Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner) tell a version of the prior film’s climax in which they are story’s true heroes.
Then we’re off to the proper prequel, in which a young Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) is separated from his parents and must hold his own in a different pride.
Mufasa’s best friend is another lion cub named Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.)- the two forge a tight bond that is tested by the uneasy relationship Taka has with his father and Mufasa’s insistence on finding a magic land far beyond their own. Meanwhile, a vicious lion named Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen) aims to destroy everyone in his path.
Jenkins manages to sneak in a few moments that mirror the remarkable opening of his “Moonlight” (2016). There are also some odd bits, like a moment where the camera is meant to replicate how it would look if Mufasa was trotting with a GoPro camera. Yet, I actually wish there were more of these moments here, as most of this looks like pixels and the tapping of laptop keyboards just doing their thing.
So much of Jenkins’ film is a pleasure to look at but I rarely felt anything or cared about it.
The one bit that really got to me is one of the very last moments in the film, where the meager growl of a lion cub in the present is juxtaposed with the mighty roar of an older lion in the past. Other than that, the experience of just watching the pretty pictures has its appeal but I’ve found myself far more transfixed and emotionally engaged by just looking out the window of a commercial flight.
Mikkelsen makes the most impression playing the central villain, though his appearance is predictable. Considering how Mikkelsrn, a versatile actor, managed to not only be persuasive but original in his take on Hannibal Lecter (in the fantastic “Hannibal” series) and made strong impressions in the recent Indiana Jones and “Fantastic Beasts” installments, his work here is efficient but too safe.
It’s like how Christopher Walken became a frequent, always amusing but obvious choice for the bad guy in too many flicks. I hope Mikkelsen doesn’t become the next Mark Strong.
Donald Glover and Beyonce Knowles give vocal performances that must have taken five minutes, tops, to record. James Earl Jones, one of the greatest voices (if not actors) in cinema, gets a welcome, brief tribute at the very beginning.
None of the actors enhance this the way Jones and Jeremy Irons made the original electrifying.
The frequent interruptions from Timon and Pumba has some amusing and unnecessary asides, like a reference to the Broadway “Lion King.” The most telling thing our comic duo has to offer is noting how much screen time Rafiki gets in the second act.
In fact, it’s a great observation – why isn’t the entire movie about Rafiki, as his story is presumably more interesting and less formulaic than what we have here.
The new songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda are all duds, with the least being a dumb villain anthem titled “Bye Bye,” among the lamest songs in the Disney movie jukebox. The score only soars when its replaying Hans Zimmer’s gorgeous themes from the original and utilizing returning vocalist Lebo M on a few tracks.
Otherwise, the songs could and should have been cut, which is the last thing I thought I’ve ever write about a cinematic offspring of “The Lion King.”
EXCLUSIVE LOOK: Behind the scenes of #Mufasa: The Lion King with Beyoncé and Blue Ivy
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— Good Morning America (@GMA) December 10, 2024
When it was over, the plot synopsis I had to offer someone who asked was, “They walk, they sing, they run, they walk, they sing, they run…”
We’re now 30 years away from the robust initial Disney remake, “Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book” (1994), 10 years removed from the bold 2014 “Maleficent” (one of my favorite films of that year) and the charming, respectable “Cinderella” (2015).
In between were two amusing but unnecessary Cruella Deville flicks (the ones with Glenn Close, not Emma Stone) and Tim Burton’s limp “Alice in Wonderland” (2010). The subsequent live-action remakes, which include “Aladdin” (2019), “Pinocchio (2022), “Dumbo” (2019), “The Little Mermaid” (2023) and “Beauty and the Beast” (2017), are among the worst movies of the early 21st century.
I won’t make an obvious joke about the forthcoming “Snow White,” “Lilo and Stitch” and “Moana” live-action Disney remakes we don’t need and didn’t ask for, either. I’ll just lower my expectations, hope the Mouse House somehow nails “Tron: Ares” and throw on my favorite Elton John/Tim Rice/Hans Zimmer soundtrack CD, in order to permanently scrape “Bye Bye” from memory.
Two stars
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