"Contradicts everything established in ‘The Lion King’": the BBC’s harsh criticism of "Mufasa"the new Disney movie

When Disney’s CEO announced in February that the studio would begin relying more on “sequels and franchises,” he wasn’t kidding.

This year we already had Inside Out 2 (“Inside Out 2”) and Moana 2, and now it’s coming out “Mufasa: The Lion King”a prequel to the 2019 photorealistic remake of the beloved 1994 animated film.

Yes, we are talking about a prequel to a remake.

And, yes, it makes as little sense as that description sounds.

This artifice to earn money for disney It may be worth it if you are a superfan of “The Lion King”but like so many prequels, it devotes an enormous amount of thought and energy to answering questions no one asked in the first place.

When did the father meet SimbaMufasa, to his wife Sarabi? Where did you get Rafikithe baboon, his cane? How did it become Zazuthe hornbill, in Mufasa’s right hand?

The film is directed by Barry Jenkins, author of moonlight (“Moonlight”), and the songs are by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the celebrated Hollywood and Broadway songwriter, so a more pressing question might be: Don’t the talented artists involved have nothing better to do with your time?

However, the big question the film answers is how a humble lion named Mufasa (played by Aaron Pierre in the English version) came to the idyllic Kingdom Lands with a friend, Takawhich later became Scar (voice of Kelvin Harrison Jr.)

I can guarantee that no one has asked that question, because contradicts everything established in “The Lion King”.

If you remember, the central theme of the original film was that Mufasa’s son, Simba, was the last in a long line of monarchs who had protected the Pride Lands for generations, and that Mufasa’s younger brother, Scar, was upset for their place in the pecking order.

But presumably someone at Disney was uncomfortable with that feudal premiseso they discarded it in favor of a more complicated and egalitarian story.

The problem is that this new democratic version fits so poorly with tradition that the producers might as well have renamed their film “Mufasa: The Lion Prime Minister.”

The film begins with the news that Simba (Donald Glover) and his wife Nala (Beyoncé) are about to have another cub, so they disappear into a forest without telling their daughter Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter) where they are going or why (the motivation behind this strangely bad parenting experience is never explained).

Kiara’s babysitters are Timon the meerkat (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa the wild boar (Seth Rogen), and together they sit in a cave while Rafiki (John Kani) tells her about his grandfather Mufasa.

After this unnecessarily long and complicated introductionthe main plot begins.

(Spoiler alert from now on)

It turns out that Mufasa does not come from a royal bloodlinedespite having a name that means “king.”

As a puppy, he lives happily with his family until the time comes for one of those childhood traumas that Disney loves so much: a flood kills his father and drags Mufasa to a distant region.

It is there that he meets the future Scar, who at that time is a spoiled little prince named Taka.

The two grow up together like brothers, but then comes another childhood trauma.

A pride of white lions called the Outsiders invades their territory and kills Taka’s father.

Mufasa and Taka have to flee, but it is already clear that one of them is becoming noble and brave, while the other is becoming bitter and deceitful.

This series of unfortunate events raises more questions than answers.

On the one hand,why so many parents die in the “Lion King” franchise?

Besides,Why did Rafiki think this disturbing tale of woe would be suitable for worried little Kiara to hear??

What we’re supposed to wonder is whether Mufasa and Taka’s journey will take them to the Pride Lands before the Outsiders hunt them down, but of course anyone who’s seen “The Lion King” knows that they do, so so there is no tension.

Their odyssey includes a lot of running through meadows and climbing up trees (and the camera pans and sways so much that motion sickness pills are advised), but the film never gains momentum. At least there is some beautiful scenery to admire along the way.

Because Mufasa and Taka are in motion, the range of colorful landscapes is more varied and attractive than the drab brown backgrounds of “The Lion King.”

But the same is not true of the CG animals, which are less naturalistic and have less personality than their 2019 counterparts.

One problem is that photorealistic lions They don’t have the most expressive faces nor do they look especially different from each other.

That didn’t matter much in the 2019 film, because the lions often interacted with other species.

But The new movie is about lions talking to other lions while being chased by more lions.so it can be visually monotonous.

It can also be a challenge to know which lion is which.

The animation isn’t the only problem with “Mufasa: The Lion King.”

The fact is that the quality of each component is a notch or two below that of its equivalent in “The Lion King.”

Miranda’s songs show their magic, but they don’t have the karaoke-friendly melodies that Elton John and Tim Rice’s songs had.

AND the voice cast gets worse with each addition to the franchise.

Rowan Atkinson voiced Zazu in 1994, John Oliver took over in 2019, and now we have Preston Nyman, who doesn’t have the comedic chops of any of them.

Likewise, Scar was played by the mighty Jeremy Irons in the cartoon and Chiwetel Ejiofor in the 2019 remake, while now we have Kelvin Harrison Jr, who can’t decide which accent to use, British or American.

As for poor Aaron Pierre in the lead role, are we supposed to believe that his voice will ever be deeper and more resonant than that of James Earl Jones, the man who played Mufasa in the previous two “The Lion King” films? “?

That’s as ridiculous as the idea that Jake Lloyd or Hayden Christensen could be Darth Vader.

The worst part of the production is the boring script by Jeff Nathanson, which shows Mufasa trudging through Africa, bumping into various members of the supporting cast, and having tedious introspective conversations that feel like therapy sessions.

There are also regular interruptions, as the film returns again and again to Rafiki as he tells his story, and Timon and Pumbaa make postmodern jokes.

These interludes add welcome comic relief, but are a reminder that there is almost no humor in the central narrative.

“This story is killing me,” Pumbaa complains at one point. “I need to go to the bathroom!”

Viewers will understand how he feels.

“Mufasa: The Lion King” premiered this Wednesday in Latin America and premieres this Thursday.

Cast in English version: Aaron Pierre, Beyoncé, Donald Glover, Blue Ivy Carter, Preston Nyman

Subscribe here to our new newsletter to receive a selection of our best content of the week every Friday.

And remember that you can receive notifications in our app. Download the latest version and activate them.