Walking into the theaters to see the recently released movie Mufasa: The Lion King, I was expecting a heartfelt and visually impressive prequel to the live-action Lion King I knew and loved. I was thoroughly disappointed.
As the end credits rolled, I realized Mufasa was instead a ripped-off Lion King that had lost the best and most emotional scenes of its predecessor along the way.
Mufasa follows the story of a lion cub isolated from his family at a young age, who found a family with another pride of lions and got the brother, Taka, he always wanted—despite not fully being accepted by the pride. As their home is threatened by “The Outsiders,” a vengeful rival pride of lions, Mufasa and Taka, the heir to the pride, leave in an attempt to keep the bloodline alive.
The two meet lioness Sarabi, messenger bird Zazu, and baboon Rafaki (all characters who original fans will remember from The Lion King) and travel to the “dreamland” of Milele.
I loved the references to characters that received no backstory in the original The Lion King, yet I think their stories could have been elaborated on more. Mufasa‘s plot was focused on Mufasa and Taka, and there was a missed opportunity to show more than one or two scenes about the supporting characters.
Not only did Mufasa display a significant lack of character development for the supporting characters, but the personalities of Mufasa and Taka felt shallow and cliche. I didn’t feel emotionally connected to any of the characters like how I did in The Lion King.
Taka’s betrayal felt forced and predictable. As I watched him betray his friends over a mutual love interest he met no more than a few days earlier, I was confused over the quick change in personality, seemingly out of nowhere. Mufasa needed a larger catalyst event in order to justify Taka’s betrayal of his family and complete destruction of his life—simply a “broken heart” over a recently acquired friend did not live up to the standard the plot required.
It was clear from the start that Taka would evolve into The Lion King villain, Scar, and in an attempt to do just that, his character felt rushed, and the “plot twist” less of a twist and more of a predictable ending clear from the original The Lion King, with not enough time given to the character developments of the potential-filled character.
Above all, the pacing of the plot was my biggest issue with the film. I honestly think Mufasa could have had the same emotional depth and connection as The Lion King if the pacing of the film had been better. From the beginning of the movie, when Mufasa was orphaned, there wasn’t enough time to even feel sorry for him with only a few minutes with his parents in the scene. It felt rushed, and lacked the heart-wrenching possibilities that Mufasa’s death inspired in the original movie. More minor moments in the movie were drawn out through long songs, yet not enough emphasis was placed on key scenes, whether that be battles or emotional moments with Mufasa’s parents.
Despite the film’s underwhelming plot sequence and lack of emotional depth in comparison to its predecessor, the two movies were similar in more ways than one. From a key stampede scene, to Scar holding Mufasa’s paws off a cliff, to a story of losing your family and forming an unlikely one, the two movies were so similar that Mufasa didn’t feel original at all.
In yet another element of the movie that fell short, the soundtrack felt unoriginal and extremely similar to The Lion King soundtrack. With the exception of the viral “I Always Wanted A Brother,” a song that has been stuck in my head and all over TikTok for days, the rest of the songs were easily forgettable and similar to other Disney songs. It was expected yet still disappointing, and I think the music could have been a way for the movie to shine.
Mufasa would have been a much superior movie with an original plot and soundtrack and fewer references to The Lion King; it was still a great idea for a movie that could have been a success if only it was executed properly.
From the opening scene to the credits, I was in awe of the special effects and visuals in this movie, and it was, without a doubt, the only likable part of Mufasa. Technically, the visuals were executed flawlessly, and with better pacing and character development, I maybe could have loved this movie as much as The Lion King that I have watched and rewatched so many times.
Mufasa, overall, left much to be desired and had the potential to be a great movie, but it fell short on almost all fronts. Needless to say, I will not be rewatching Mufasa, but The Lion King will remain one of my favorite Disney movies.