Review: 'Mufasa: The Lion King,' the Circle of Meh

Disney, 2024.

I have to admit: When I walked out of the theater after screening "Mufasa: The Lion King," the new prequel and sequel to the CG-realistic 2019 version of "The Lion King," I had a smile on my face. Indeed, there are some good messages and the movie got better, faster, stronger, as it went along, culminating in what felt like a satisfying conclusion. 

But the more and more that I thought about what I had just seen, the more I felt...underwhelmed. The animated original, from 1994, was and is of course a modern classic. And I was one of the lonely critics that actually embraced the 2019 version (that last movie only ended up with a 51% on RottenTomatoes.com).

Especially when I started comparing it to what had came before, I began to feel like the franchise deserved better. "Mufasa: The Lion King" doesn't feel like a pure cash grab in the way that, say, the straight-to-DVD "The Lion King 2" did. And yet, there is no real reason for its existence other than to ravage the dead carcass - like a hyena might - of yet another Disney classic, squeezing what little life might be left so that the masses can feed.

When the tribute to James Earl Jones at the start of the film carries more weight than the film itself, there's a problem.

Grade: C+

"Mufasa: The Lion King" gives us the origin story of not only Simba's royal father, but also of his eventual evil Uncle Scar. But it actually picks up after the events of the last film, when the young cub of Simba and Nala, Kiara, is told a story by Rafiki, Timon and Pumba while her parents are...away. This plot structure is a not-so-clever way to fit these beloved characters into a new film, and they do their best to provide comic relief, with mixed results.

As we learn in the backstory, Mufasa is an orphan, literally swept away from his parents after a massive flood. He is rescued by another bubbly young cub named Taka, who we all know right away will one day turn into Scar. Mufasa and Taka are "brothers" but not in the sense that we thought. As Mufasa is not accepted by Taka's parents, he has to deal with feeling ostracized from his new family. But when a new pride of snow white lions, led by the forgettable villain Kiros (voiced by Mads Mikkelsen), turn up and start taking out all of the other lions in the Savannah, Mufasa is given a chance to prove himself worthy of being a king. He forms a group with other outcasts to battle Kiros for control of the Pridelands and, well, the rest is history.

One major problem I have with the "CG-realistic" animation is that many of the characters are hard to decipher. Is that Mufasa or Taka? Are we back to the present or are we still in the past? It leads to visual confusion. The first half of the film doesn't help with its choppy narration...in fact, the first hour is a real mess. the film does find its footing pacing-wise about half-way through, right about at the same time when the plot begins to unravel. Nothing seems to mesh well.

Children may still be invested in these characters however, and many of the messages still have impact...even if we've seen and heard them all before in the previous films. The idea of legacy, family, friendship and bonds with the environment are front-and-center. I particularly liked how the film ended and wrapped things together, even if the ending could be sniffed out from a mile away.

Where "Mufasa" fails miserably is, surprisingly, with its lackluster music. We expect so much more from Lin-Manual Miranda, and while there was one real winner (a Rafiki-led ballad of inspiration called "We Go Together"), most were worse than bad, they were cringe-worthy. None more so than "Bye Bye" sang by the villain, a truly awful ditty that echoes Scar's "Be Prepared" but has none of the wit or charm.

Some prequels feel the annoying need to explain EVERYTHING, and this one is no different, sadly. It's not enough that we learn about Mufasa and Scar's pasts, we also get the origins of Rafiki's stick, and Pride Rock itself, among several other reveals. Must everything be explained? Isn't Scar a way better villain if we just remember him as he was in the first film? His turn to the "dark side" was unconvincing and lame. And that's a problem, because his origin is the most compelling "mystery" going into the film, and way more interesting than finding out where the righteous Mufasa came from. Oh well. Hakuna Matata.

​"Mufasa: The Lion King" isn't all bad, it's just...meh. And that frankly isn't good enough these days.

Grade: C+

Genre: Family, Adventure, Animation.
Run Time: 2 hours.
Rated PG.

Starring (voices of): Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Tiffany Boone, Kagiso Lediga, Preston Nyman, Blue Ivy Carter, Mads Mikkelsen, John Kani, Billy Eichner, Seth Rogan, Thandiwe Newton, Lennie James, Donald Glover, Beyonce.

Directed by Barry Jenkins ("If Beale Street Could Talk," "Moonlight").

"Mufasa: The Lion King" is in theaters everywhere on Friday, December, 20th, 2025.