User reviews

Visuals are great, but it can't hold up an overall subpar movie. Fine for kids and families but leaves originality at the door.

It does fit together some fine lore to bring us up to speed with what we know from the original movie. How it does it is rehash story elements, themes and plenty of conveniences to forcibly make the pieces fit into the original. It has similar flaire to Solo where it's just fine and uninterestingly shows or tells us where things come from in this fanfiction. Sometimes it's best to leave things a mystery if the progenitor is unceremoniously bland.

The music is fine but doesn't have the same force of fun or majesty as the original score. They're kind of just there like Moana 2's music. Not bad, but certainly not memorable.

The 3D glasses also did nothing. It felt like just a regular movie instead of them trying to do anything with with 3D.

The worst part IMO was no James Earl Jones in the actual movie. I know he's sadly passed, but they've brought back voices from other people before. If they didn't want to synthesize, they could've used unused clips or even just reused a voice clip from previous Lion King works. I can't get behind a movie called Mufasa without Mufasa's actual iconic voice somewhere in the movie.

Feels like a made for TV movie, and probably worth a watch on Disney+. But not really one I'd recommend for theatres or purchase.

As someone who has grown up loving the Lion King, I was surprised there was a need for this story to be told, and the trailer had me even further unsure, but of course I went to watch it anyway, more out of curiosity than expecting something incredible.

However, now I've seen it I felt it did add to the original story. Was it as good as the original? No but don't expect it to be & you'll enjoy it.

The visuals and soundtrack were great though and although elements of the story felt a little rushed at times to cram in certain elements, on the whole it was enjoyable & I still felt emotional in places with some subtle (& not so subtle) nods to the original.

Overall, solid film, would watch again in future.

The general consensus of Live-Action remakes have become a heated discussion amongst movie goers over these past years. With Disney remaking various classics into Live-Action, everyone has gotten heated up and criticized them for their laziness, repetitiveness and annoyance of taking an animated classic and approaching them from a poor and lazy perspective, with nothing new or value to express.

I solely agree with the statement that Live Action remakes are getting repetitive. Animation is golden in cinema due to the passion and beautiness behind the work of animation and what made the original animated movies "classics", should be left alone. I believe Disney should continue to provide new, original, and different stories to continue what made Disney good. Continuing to craft remakes of classics ruins the legacy of the best aspects of Disney and with the modern generation, the classics might be forgotten if it continues. By creating new ideas with interesting stories and characters, Disney will be remembered by future generations for what made them great.

Many times complaints have been said that Disney needs to stop remaking things and make original. They need to stop making cash grabs and focus on good movies. Issue is that the remakes still make lots of money despite the backlash and negative responses from the public. It's because no matter what is said, people still flow through to watch them and the more money it builds up. Disney is compelled to continue to craft remakes until the towel runs dry. I find it hypocritical that people express their dislike of the remakes, yet, the more the words are spoken about it, it's basically giving out free promotion of the remakes, and unsurprisingly, draws more attention. For example, the Live Action remakes of Aladdin and The Lion King have been negatively discussed before its big release from what I had seen in the past. Despite all the negative feedback, the movies still made billions. Free marketing, demanding boycotts (especially with the new Snow White Live-Action movie) and controversy responses are allowing free marketing and publicity that would attract viewers (especially children or naive audiences) to watch them. On the other hand, when new and original stories are made, they rarely get discussed. Like when Strange World came out, it was a box office failure (yes, I understand the movie isn't amazing but still, it's at least an original concept).

Loud responses, calls for boycotts, and public backlash pretty much raises awareness, in the worst ways possible, to promote the movies. It draws curiosity and attention. Curious eyes and ears will draw through backlash as it feeds like a parasite.

The best thing to do is just: Ignore The Remakes and Let It Fail. Drawing more attention to how ugly it looks, complaining about them, criticizing them, and reviewing them, pretty much will draw viewers because people will have the sense "Is it that bad or controversial? I need to see it now!" If people desire to stop the remakes, the voice, call for boycotts, and talk of it should be subsided. The best way one could fail is to not promote, speak, and engage with it. It's like making an influencer who desires attention, lose the attention; you don't buy into their nonsense, you ignore them and let them fail on themselves.

The decisions of live-action remakes isn't solely Disney's fault, it's also the audiences and viewers fault that these live-action remakes continue to exist. Sure, Disney is 100 percent milking themselves to make more money and the company is the issue. At the same time, viewers are just as responsible to not engage with the remakes. If you wish the remakes to stop, the best is to avoid it, ignore it, and don't promote them. It would send out a clear message to tell Disney that they need to improve and make better things.

"Mufasa: The Lion King" a film that serves as a prequel and sequel to "The Lion King" (2019), the script focuses mainly on being a prequel telling the life of Mufasa and his allies, including the origin of Scar, the story manages to have effective moments and others somewhat weak on screen, but the story is solid although not very original. The computer animation achieves an almost realistic cinematography in most of the scenes, both in the landscapes and in the characters, much fauna looks realistic. Also being a drama film, it is obviously also a musical following the tradition of "The Lion King", the songs composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda range from good to average, being the attractive point for this production since its promotion. "Mufasa: The Lion King" is a solid film with a story that manages to entertain despite being unoriginal.

Pleasantly surprised. It wasn't the soulless cash grab people claimed-the movie has heart and plenty of story.

People love to hate on things and they will make this movie a target. This is why I feel obliged to tell you it's not that bad. If you like this type of movies, blockbusters, you will probably enjoy it; I know I did.

I feel like the CGI was on par with the first but they've definitely improved the expression of the animals (one of the biggest complaints from the first one).

One of the most obvious mistakes is that the movie should have been longer; the story feels cramped, and you can feel it on the pacing.

"less childhood trauma, more meerkat" is what I want for the threequel.

Mufasa, the latest installment in the beloved Lion King franchise, takes viewers on a heartwarming journey that delves into the origins of one of Disney's most iconic characters. The production quality is nothing short of spectacular, with stunning visuals that bring the African savanna to life. Every frame is crafted with care, showcasing the beauty of the landscapes and the majestic creatures that inhabit them.

The story itself is sweet and poignant, exploring themes of family, courage, and the responsibilities of leadership. It provides a fresh perspective on Mufasa's character, allowing audiences to connect with him on a deeper level. The emotional depth of the narrative resonates well, making it a memorable experience for both children and adults.

However, while the production and storytelling shine, the music felt somewhat lacking. Although it complements the film, it doesn't quite reach the heights of the original soundtrack that fans have come to love. A more memorable musical score could have elevated the emotional impact even further.

Overall, Mufasa is a beautifully crafted film that offers a touching story and breathtaking visuals, making it a must-see for fans of the franchise. While the music could use some improvement, the film's strengths certainly outweigh its shortcomings.

The highest praise for the visual spectacle that it is! I'm beyond impressed. As for the script.. I'm somewhat disappointed, considering my low expectations.

Two issues : First, this version of Timon and Pumba continue to be more of an annoyance than anything else (I could do without ever hearing seth rogen again) and their continued appearance could have been completely trimmed to make this shorter than the 2 hours it is (though it doesn't feel as long)! Unnecessarily segmenting the story for no reason. Second, it feels like a snow-ball rolling down the mountain.. picking up "things I know" from the original Lion King as it goes. There's too much foreshadowing and predictability for any fan of the original, and absolutely nothing is left to the imagination. Not to mention the disgusting amount of references.. I joked that the mountain would even split and form on screen, and my jaw dropped when it did! It's almost like watching the original mixed in a blender.

But the movie is entertaining for children and there's not that much "violence" on screen (kept away from the cameras).

The songs are acceptable and I won't remember any tomorrow..

This film definitely exceeded my expectations despite them being high enough to begin with. The animation in this film looked amazing, the score and soundtrack were both incredible and the action was superb.

The entire cast of this film was great, but Aaron Pierre and Mads Mikkelsen both stole the show for me as Mufasa and Kiros. Seeing Aaron Pierre in more films is so great as he is such an amazing actor, he played Mufasa so well. Also seeing Mads Mikkelsen back playing a villain was amazing. He really does have the perfect voice for a villain, which is why he gave us one of the best Bond villains ever in Casino Royale.

The ending of this film definitely made me tear up because of everything that Mufasa goes through, everything that Taka/Scar goes through and the fact I know what happens in their future after them being such great friends and brothers.

Overall, this was a great film and a very enjoyable watch. I would definitely recommend going to see this film and seeing it on the biggest screen possible.

"The circle is broken. There will be one lion king."

• Kiros.

The score always delivers emotionally. What I noticed is that Disney is losing, with the latest products, that double layer, the message under the surface that only adults can decipher. Maybe it's because of the story and the circumstances, but I found it too exclusive for children, especially from a director like Jenkins.

Everything else is okay. Nothing big, nothing great. You get what you go in for, emotion, fun, something that could make you feel again the feelings that you felt the first time you watched the original thing. I don't know if they're going to expand the cinematic universe.

Italian dubbing sucked. Singers can't dub. Period.

As a huge fan of The Lion King, I can honestly say this movie is excellent. The cinematography and music, especially in 3D IMAX are absolutely stunning. There wasn't a single boring moment and the visuals are breathtaking, you can read the animals' emotions much more clearly compared to the first live action film, the pacing is smooth and the plot holds up well. While I occasionally struggled to distinguish some lion characters, the voices made it easy to follow. A bit more humor would've been nice though but overall, it's a well crafted prequel that delves into Scar's origin beautifully. People seem too critical these days instead of just enjoying things.

It's watchable but the music and songs are annoying. Similar to the joker filled with songs that are unnecessary.

Somehow i wasn't afraid of the villain. His white color was noticeable but he did nothing to make you afraid of. The producers avoided scenes when he killed other lions probably because of age restrictions.

The hilarious characters aren't like in original version.

The only positive thing about it is the development in the storyline between scar & mufass

You can enjoy the movie if you didn't compare it with the original Simba. It's watchable, but don't have high expectations, even if the trailer gave you some.

Mufasa is the prequal of the lion king the movie is good but not the story but it is good visual the visual are too good it graps attention for few times but main point or negative point is story and songs the song of this movie is not good 😐 but story good but for few time I think makers can give more time to make good story but they focus on visual of this flim I give for star to this flim because of visual and story think this the last part and actors and visual arts serving good performance but because of story and song it can't perform well I watch in english. And 3d and this my first review.

LIKES: The Animation The Voice Acting The Story Has Heart Comedic Interludes Are Fun At times The Dialogue At Times The Music Summary: The animation is the crown jewel of this movie and, again, a fine display of the power of CGI in Disney's hands. An amazingly realistic design of the animals is a treat to the eyes, loaded with smooth movement, powerful steps, and speed that I've seen in the documentaries. All the animals hold this detail and seldom lose that realism during their antics. A few added facial features add some personality to the mix, especially during the kid and comedy interludes, which were very welcome to add a little more of that 90s magic I fell in love with long ago. The mixture has crafted better characters that are no longer bound by the narrative so many hold dear. Outside of the visual work, Mufasa's tale also has beautiful sound editing to make the world come to life and the worth of the theater. From the roars of the proud lions to the thundering stomps of the elephants, it all holds the majestic prowess of the African Savannah and raises my goosebumps at the technical prowess. Even more impressive is the musical score that is filled with the spirit I wish was in Moana 2. Lin Manuel-Miranda achieves magic again with many of the tracks, injecting his pizazz and cleverness into live-action numbers that feel energetic, like the animated Disney world. Awesome beats, powerful coordination, and deeper lyrics bring the Disney Renaissance back to people like me and still manage to convey the thoughts of the characters in talented ways.

Past the technical moments, the movie does well at making a fun adventure for the family to watch. The story is familiar but now bent on the rise of the future king and his journey to Pride Rock. Geeks like me will enjoy the references made in the movies and start connecting the pieces to what our characters would wield as their trademark tools. Seeing some of the references make their appearance was fun, and I appreciated the creativity and ambiance that came with them, while others may have been a bit more of a stretch for the melodramatic lovers. Well-written dialogue is present in this movie as well, a combination of the shaman wisdom of the narrator, the British drama elements with an African twist, and also that fun family banter to soften it up. What's great for me is that it holds so much emotion to it, loaded with personality and tension that is performed beautifully by the cast at hand. Mufasa's words are delivered with precision that balances confidence and coming-of-age fears of a developing king in the making. Taka's voice holds a good spectrum as well, mirroring the journey to becoming the nefarious villain of The Lion King, great use of emotion that makes you feel so much for what was just a typical Disney villain in the previous iteration. Sarabi's words are beautiful and powerful at the same time. A strong character that also has many layers, her purpose was much stronger than I thought and yet still needed some more time to develop. Boone accomplishes much with what she does, though, and I loved the poise she injected into her tone. And the comedic interludes by our favorite odd couple, Timon and Pumbaa, are just as quirky as ever, fun, kiddy, and perfect for making the kids in my showing laugh in delight.

The result of all these components is a film that has a lot of heart, soul, and emotional depth that I love in my movies. All the great visuals deliver that powerful punch as the scenes come together, taking all the build-up of the voice acting and music and making it sing. Match that with fleshed-out characters and a story that holds a lot of the original movie's moxie, and you have accomplished a wonderous spectacle that should capture a lot of the younger generation's fascination and awe.

DISLIKES: The Plot Is Rushed The Story Is Predictable The Moments Get A Tad Cheesy The Fighting Is Dialed Down The Comedy Gets A Tad Too Much Still Doesn't Quite Have The Emotional Punch For Much Of The Movie More James Earl Jones Needed: Summary: In regards to my dislikes, the plot still needs some time and pizazz to have the caliber I think they were aiming to achieve. It's predictable and a bit too reliant on The Lion King to be original like they were doing. This tale could have thrived, but the time limitations get in the way and speed through too many things to get a grasp of most of the characters. That special connection, the development of the motifs, and the true impasses are eroded down to a mediocre level that still can't rival what the cartoon did so well. Maybe it's because they are trying to modernize the tale to not be so traumatic to the younger generation. Maybe it's because of the comedic interludes. Either way, the story still needed some more development to be the memorable origin story they wanted.

Speaking of the comedic interlude, Mufasa has sort of a Lion King 1.5 tone to it. It's funny to have the story's darker elements lightened by the comedic relief they provide. I laughed a lot at the self-badgering it gave to the movie and some of the corny jokes that this iteration delivers well. I enjoyed the reactions of Rafiki even more as his patience was tested by their obsessions to be in the story. Yet, the comedy did get a tad overbearing and happened enough to take a significant chunk of the movie that could have been used for optimizing other elements of the film. One thing is the action of the movie. Here is where the realism hurts the film because they have to portray the animal fights as close to realistic as possible. To maintain the rating, they can't turn it into a bloodbath of mauling slashes and piercing bites. What they did walks that tightrope well, but the result is a lot more talking than fighting (like some anime fights), meaning I was bored out of my mind for the epic climactic fights that the animation still does better. In addition, some of those speeches are kind of corny, diving a little too much into the Disney New Age to feel natural. They are relatively short-lived as a benefit, but I wanted more to these moments for an exciting climax. This again shows that the movie didn't quite capture the magic of the first animated film, nor did I give me enough James Earl Jones for a final send-off of the late actor.

The VERDICT: Mufasa was an improvement for me compared to the live-action version of The Lion King. The visuals are, of course, more polished and better tweaked, the sound is gorgeous and realistic, and together are a powerhouse worthy of the theater (perhaps even in 3-D). The music is one of my favorite aspects, thanks to clever lyrics, emotional undertones, and powerful performances that feel like a Disney movie. And crafting deeper characters with matching story elements and great voice acting to deliver the roles, including the comedic balance to cut through the sadder story. However, the movie still has work to do to bring everything I think they were trying for with this film. The story is still too familiar and reliant on the original material and needs more time to give everyone the elements they need to shine. I still want that enchanting attitude the original had, the fights that they made using those anthropomorphic qualities rather than toned-down fights to not terrify our kids. I want to bake some more of that adult humor into the film and rely less on forced interludes that are cutesy. And I still hope for a story that holds the same majesty that they got so right long ago. Balancing all this together, Mufasa is worth a visit for the technical prowess and musical scores, but you might get the most bang for your buck if you hit this one at home.

My Scores are: Adventure/Animation/Drama/Family/Musical /Fantasy: 7-7.5 Movie Overall: 6.5.

Went in with a healthy amount of skepticism. Loved the original Lion King as well as the remake. I really enjoyed this movie. They took what fell short with the remake and improved upon it in this film. For example the Lions have a bit more facial expression. The narrative was compelling and and easy to get wrapped up into. The music hit perfectly with amazing instrumentals and heart tugging songs, and the animation had a lot more "life" to it, with beatiful environments through out rather then staying in one location the whole movie. The voice actors were amazing and super talented! Absolutely would recommend giving it a watch in theaters!!!

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. As a prequel that tells the rise of Mufasa, Simba's father, it is very formulaic and predictable. But it is also beautifully animated, quite funny, and emotionally well-balanced between adventure, drama, humour, and tragedy. For a prequel, it plays it sometimes too safe, but that is fine to me since the audience knows the conclusion of the story. The upside of playing it safe is that the movie thankfully avoids any major distractions or side characters that could have taken away from the meat of the film. My only major gripes are that the soundtrack is forgettable compared to the Elton John classics, and some of the plot development proceeds too quickly at numerous points in the story, which takes away from its intended emotional impact.

Nonetheless, let me repeat that I am surprised by how much I liked this film. I could not be bothered by the previous CGI adaptation at all. But as far as big studio prequels are concerned, this is one of the better ones. Sure, they clearly made the film for easy money, but miraculously it respects the Lion King fanbase and oozes love for the source material. Graphically, it is well-composed and it manages to find good use for CGI that gets close to the beauty of the original animation. And although it adds little to the story, it provides enough new context and meat to make the original story shine even brighter. Nothing can beat the 1995 original masterpiece, and this one obviously pales in comparison, but I am glad that they are treating the franchise with respect.

I really like this movie a lot annd the music is great as well! It's beautiful and stunning and I really love the journey that this movie takes! It's Funny and Touching.

There are some parts of this movie where there are some scary moments especially with the white lions. Those this were brutal!

The cast was really good as well! This was a great role for Blue Ivy Carter! Her voice was so natural she is destined to be a star!

The music is great too I was dancing and bopping my head a lot to this new and original movie! The storyline is good and I really love seeing this origin story of Mufasa and Scar!

This film is completely passable. There's some very good looking visual effects and the directing from Barry Jenkins makes this movie entertaining enough with some fun sequences and gorgeous shots. The film also does a pretty solid job at building up the characterization for Mufasa. However the movie is very predictable and ultimately forgettable. The way this movie is formatted as 3/4 prequel and 1/4 sequel to the 2019 Lion King really hurts the pacing of the movie. Whenever we're invested in the Mufasa story it cuts to Timon and Pumba making some painfully unfunny jokes. Scar's motivations for not liking Mufasa are kind of lame and really undermine a great villain. The musical numbers are also very bad. Not a single one of these new tunes is catchy and they all kind of drag on. This is a big problem because the original Lion King has some of the best musical numbers in film. Overall Mufasa is fine. It's not dreadful to get through at all and there are some interesting themes brought up. But it's not one I would ever rewatch. 6/10.

Horrible storyline and dialogues. Person who wrote the comedy scripts really sucks. Too many songs that doesnt sound good & stick to storyline. Being a hard core lion king fan, this movie makes me so angry. My kids slept during the movie & i'm writing this review while watching. People started talking to each other during the movie. Really surprised to how dreamworks decided to proceed with this storyline & dialogues.

When dreamworks can make movies like how to train a dragon ? Dont they know how to indulge people from the beginning. You always need to impress the audience in the first 10 mins of the movies. This one gave the vibe how the movie will be in the first 10 mins, that i made a mistake.

Mufasa: The Lion King is so much better than the soulless remake it has to act as a prequel to. All of the biggest issues have been rectified instantly and it has a greater purpose by telling a new story, even with some classic prequel issues. Everything set after the events of the first film could've been easily cut out to let the main story breathe however they are thankfully brief whenever they do interrupt and it comes to a nice conclusion.

Aaron Pierre makes the role of Mufasa his own with a strong performance that has him feeling reluctant to accept his destiny and becoming more stoic as it goes along. Similarly, Kelvin Harrison Jr. Gets more deceitful throughout and chooses to make his voice work sound closer to Jeremy Irons than Chiwetel Ejiofor. The only occasionally distracting element is some of the line readings sounding rushed.

Director Barry Jenkins is massively over qualified for this and held back by the photo real animation that comes with this but his direction is still more ambitious and exciting than Jon Favreau's was. He isn't afraid to sacrifice a pointless commitment to realism to create a beautiful looking film where the locations are more varied, the visuals are more creative and the cinematography is infinitely more dynamic.

The CGI is always faultless and thankfully all the lions now show a much wider range of emotions, enhanced by the massive increase in close ups. The songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda are definitely some of his weakest, they're very repetitive without his usual level of catchiness and it's a testament to how strong everything else is that this isn't a major issue. Dave Metzger's score only stands out when referencing Hans Zimmer's work, which it does constantly.

What happens when Disney tries to make great follow on songs to compete with Elton John's original tunes? They don't cut it. The CGI is perfect and awesome but the director left too much in this film. It's too long. It's clunky and it never fulfils the brilliant storyline.

Ignore the fact that the lions never eat, Zazu is deeply annoying, unfunny and Rowan Atkinson is not the voiceover. Pumba and Timon are irrelevant to the story and have been squeezed in like a basket ball in a bag of oranges.

What saves the movie is the broad sweep of the story, the natural beauty and Raffiki: he was marvellous, wise, funny, brave and controls the narrative.

We left happy but disappointed.