"Mufasa" in theaters A lion's life that no one had to retell
"Mufasa" fills in the gaps in the "Lion King" universe that hardly anyone noticed - and the film shines visually in particular. And comes around the corner with a concentrated, musical load of nostalgia.
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- The movie "Mufasa" tells the backstory of Simba's father and sheds light on his relationship with Scar, but leaves doubts as to whether this narrative is necessary or relevant.
- The CGI animation has been improved compared to 2019's "Lion King", particularly with more subtle emotional facial expressions.
- The film utilizes familiar nostalgic elements such as the original's soundtrack, while appearing primarily as a commercial product from the successful "Lion King" series.
Disney is still determined to continue bringing live-action adaptations of its classic animated works to the cinema. Now comes the next spin-off in the 'Lion King' franchise, following on from the first live-action version from 2019.
It looks at the background story of Simba's father, Mufasa. It fills in some gaps that no one really wondered about. But we see it on the big screen nonetheless.
"Mufasa" shows us how the young title character has been separated from his parents by a flood. He meets another lion cub called Taka and is taken in by his family.
And yes, Taka is the young Scar.
Mufasa demonstrates leadership, compassion, strength - all the skills a future leader needs - in stark contrast to Taka, the pride leader's son. The goal now is to bring Mufasa back to his family, so he sets off together with Taka.
Along the way, they meet other characters you know from the 1994 original and take them with them as companions.
Does a background story need to be told?
"Mufasa" takes quite a while to get going. And at the end you walk out of the movie theater and ask yourself: What exactly was the point of the whole movie now? Is it really that relevant how Scar got his name? Or how Mufasa became what he represents in "The Lion King"? Maybe. But maybe not. We all have a backstory of how we got to a certain point in our lives - but does it need to be told? Nope.
The movie can still be praised for its animation. The basic problem with animals that look real and are not drawn is their facial expressions. These are humanized in the cartoon format. They laugh, wrinkle their noses, cry, look disgusted - you can't see these emotions on the faces of real animals. In contrast to the live-action remake from 2019, this has been tweaked a little and the CGI lions don't just express their emotions through their voices, you can also see them on their faces - sometimes at least.
One scene in particular stands out, in which the animators have done a great job: Rafiki, the monkey, lies down in the snow and makes an angel with arms and legs - and wow, how incredibly real and good it looks, you have to see it. The way the snow interacts with his body is crazy.
The cash register rings again
The music, meanwhile, is just fine. "Mufasa" does what "Gladiator 2" already did: The soundtrack from the original is repackaged, changed a bit and you've triggered nostalgia and emotion in the audience. Unfortunately with questionable - possibly lazy? - means.
Films like "Mufasa" are made when a predecessor has become one of the most commercially successful films of all time. And by that I mean the average "The Lion King" from 2019 and not the outstanding original from 1994.
Director Barry Jenkins ("Moonlight") talks in an interview about his first memory of "The Lion King" and how to navigate a new story in this world.
"Mufasa" is now showing in all blue Cinema cinemas.
