Movie Review | ‘A visual wonder’

“Mufasa: The Lion King” roars in a way its predecessor couldn’t. This second live-action-meets-photorealistic-animation adventure tells an original story, whereas 2019’s “The Lion King” was a faithful update of the 1994 animated Disney classic. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Barry Jenkins, “Mufasa” is a visual wonder — it shows improvements in the technology behind it that have occurred in just half a decade — that crackles with life and courses with emotion.

On the other hand, it is, essentially, a prequel to “The Lion King,” so we largely know where the story is heading, even if the screenplay by Jeff Nathanson tells that story well. “Mufasa” also is part sequel, the tale beginning with the adult king of the Pride Lands, Simba (voiced again by Donald Glover), and his queen, Nala (a likewise returning Beyoncé Knowles), ruling during a happy and peaceful time for the animals who live among them and continuing to celebrate “the circle of life.” Simba and Nala are the proud parents of daughter Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter, the daughter of Knowles and her husband Jay-Z), who is working on being brave.



Before the king and queen venture off on a bit of important business, Simba charges old pals Pumbaa (Seth Rogen) and Timon (Billy Eichner) with keeping an eye on and entertaining the princess while they are away. Although Pumbaa and Timon act offended by being relegated to “babysitting” duty, they put their backs into offering her a tale of the time the warthog-and-meerkat pair defeated the evil lion Scar. Not a fan of this slice of revisionist history, primate shaman Rafiki (John Kani) takes over storytelling duty to weave a fact-based narrative, that of Simba’s father: late, great lion king Mufasa.

(The film is presented in remembrance of the iconic James Earl Jones, the deep-voiced actor who brought such memorable life to Mufasa in both screen versions of “The Lion King” and who died in September.) This origin story sees a young Mufasa (voiced as a cub by Cleveland native Braelyn Rankins), taken away from his loving parents by a raging river and found by another cub, Taka (Theo Somolu). However, because Taka’s father, Obasi (Lennie James), the king of this pride, has no love for “strays,” he insists Mufasa stay among the females.

Fortunately for Mufasa, Taka’s mother, Eshe (Thandiwe Newton), is loving toward him and recognizes his gift for perceiving what’s happening in the world around him. When Mufasa and Taka are a bit older (and voiced, respectively, by Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr.), the pride is threatened by another — a group of ambitious white lions led by a power-hungry king, Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen).

Faced with the likely defeat of his pride and desperate to preserve his bloodline, Obasi sends Taka and Mufasa away, insisting the latter pledge his loyalty to the former. Along their often-harrowing quest to find a safe home — the legendary Milele — the lion brothers make new friends: Rafiki; Sarabi (Tiffany Boone), a confident and initially independent lioness also separated from her pride; and her scout, Zazu, an African red-billed hornbill (Preston Nyman). Yes, if you’re familiar with the well-worn story of “The Lion King,” you will know where this is all going.

Nathanson, another returnee from “The Lion King,” has a little fun with this, with Pumba and Timon hinting that they know who Taka will become ...

even if Pumba seems to think, for some reason, that it’s himself. A heavy hitter involved with the production is Lin-Manuel Miranda. Most of the handful of songs he’s penned for this film are merely good.

However, even the strongest song, the lovely Mufasa-Sarabi duet “Tell Me It’s You,” doesn’t rise to the level of the best songs from the original by Elton John and Tim Rice. A few flaws aside, “Mufasa” is a worthwhile celebration. “Mufasa: The Lion King” is rated PG for action/violence, peril and some thematic elements.

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