An image from Musafa The Lion King

The entertainment quotient takes a back seat in this prequel but director Barry Jenkins does a very fine job in exploring the back story of how Mufasa became a king. The film also has stunning visuals particularly the shots of flood. The prequel also gets into a more political zone through the angle of a ferocious pride called outsiders

Voice cast: Aaron Pierre, Tiffany Boone, John Kani, Kelvin Harrison and others

Director: Barry Jenkins

Screenplay: Jeff Nathanson

Based on: The Disney’s Lion King by Irene Mecchi, Jonathon Roberts and Linda Woolverton

Producers; Adele Romanski and Mark Ceryak

Cinematography: James Laxton

Production Company: Disney Walt Productions

Running time: 1 hour and 58 minutes

The 2019 musical drama the Lion King was an entertaining update of the much beloved 1998 animated film. The musical format with the photorealistic animation made it a worthy big screen watch. The humor provided by the characters of Pumbaa and Timon voiced by Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner also gave some chuckle worthy moments. After a gap of 4 years you have the prequel exploring the origin story of Mufasa, how as a young cub he was separated from his parents. Mufasa never wanted the throne, he always wanted to be free of responsibility but destiny had other plans.

The 2019 Lion King was an entertaining update of the much beloved 1998 animated film

In simple terms story of Mufasa The Lion King recounts the tale of the titular character through a wise monkey also called as Mandrill. This wise Mandrill is voiced by John Kani as Rafiki. The plot follows the journey of Mufasa as an orphaned cub to a king. Intermingled in this tale is a friend turned foe Taka/Scar (voiced by Kelvin Harrison jr. )

A strong aspect of Mufasa the Lion King is its CGI department. The work of cinematographer James Laxton deserves a major appreciation. The shots are simply breathtaking particularly the portion where Mufasa gets lost in the flood. Even the battle scenes with a ferocious pride called outsiders keeps the viewers tensed on how Mufasa would come out safe. As already mentioned the prequel comes with a political angle.

This pride called outsiders seem to represent the white colonizers of Africa. It comes out starkly in the attitude of the deadly Kiros (voiced by Mikkelsen). Kiros has a clear goal of conquering everything, he rules the land with an iron fist. There is a strong undercurrent of anti – colonialism underlying the invasion of Africans by Europeans. The underlying message is that more unity would have changed the course of history.

The characterization of Mufasa coupled with the acting of Aaron Pierre is another big plus for the movie. Musafa started off as a carefree cub with no intention of becoming the king in spite of having all the traits but all this changes when Mufasa along with Taka have to run for their life due to this ferocious and deadly pack of outsiders. Mufasa personality has to undergo a significant change, he eventually becomes a leader for the animals in a place called Milele. All these nuances have come out well both in the writing and the voice acting of Aaron Pierre. He does a fine job in conveying both the inner strength and the emotional turmoil of Mufasa.

Aaron Pierre as the voice of Mufasa. He does a very fine job in conveying both the inner strength and emotional turmoil of Mufasa

Also praiseworthy is how the director has built up the rivalry between Taka/Scar and Mufasa. It adds a sense of intrigue on how their relations soured considering that for Taka Mufasa was both a friend and a brother. Kelvin Harrison does a very fine job in showcasing the different nuances going from I am always there for Mufasa, then to an insecure sibling and eventually a bitter antagonist.

Mufasa and Taka

The humor in Mufasa The Lion King doesn’t completely match up to the first part still the prequel has its share of chuckle worthy moments. Billy Eichener and Seth Rogen returning as Timon and Pumbaa respectively have wonderful chemistry in spite of less screen time. Mention must also be made of John Kani. He brings in a lot of warmth.

The music of Mufasa The Lion does fall significantly short in comparison to the 2019 movie. However the song Think “I Always Wanted A Brother perfectly establishes the initial brotherhood between Taka and Mufasa.

To sum it up Mufasa The Lion King is a worthy big screen spectacle for both kids and adults.