Mufasa: The Lion King: Movie Review

Cast: Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Mads Mikkelsen
Director: Barry Jenkins

Disney continues its push to remove the magic of its iconic characters by filling in backstory where there was no need in their latest release.

If you ever wondered how Mufasa became king, how Scar got his scar, how Raffiki found his stick or - believe it or not - how the rock was born where Mufasa roared over his kingdom, well you're in luck with Mufasa: The Lion King.

Whether or not you consider that luck largely depends on how keen you are to dive back into the live-animated world of Simba et al.

Forced to babysit cub Kiara while Nala and Simba disappear, Timon and Pumbaa are regaled by Raffiki's tale of how Mufasa and Scar, then known as Taka, came to be friends and frenemies 

Separated from his family by a flood, Mufasa (Pierre) finds himself lost until he's taken in by Taka (Harrison Jr). But Taka's father King Obasi (Lennie James) refuses to acknowledge the stray, causing a rift and dilemma in his son.

However, the pride faces a larger threat - a roaming pride of outside lions determined to rule everything in the land led by Mikkelsen's angry white lion, who's after revenge as well after the death of his own son at Mufasa's hands.

There is no doubting Mufasa: The Lion King's technical prowess.

From in your face POV shots of the lions as they're running to a seamless feeling you're watching a nature doco,the film feels vibrant and alive,rich in wildlife and deep in details. But a desire to keep cutting back to cave antics and in-jokes during the homeward bound riffing story does the flow no real justice and makes the whole thing feel episodic at best.

And the narrative is stymied by the fact both its protagonists and their band of followers must survive meaning dramatically the film is limp, lacking any frisson of danger despite a series of bloodless confrontations.

It's not helped by songs thrown in that are largely forgettable from Lin-Manuel Miranda, a constant reminder of the brilliance of Sir Tim Rice's ear for a good hook and timeless lyrics from the original animated film.

At 2 hours, the film also pushes patience as far as it's willing to go - there's only so far technical prowess can impress.  And while the lion's share of the joy of this is in its visuals, it's a lack of epic emotional edge that leaves you feeling this doesn't quite have the pride of place in Disney's catalogue as maybe it deserves. 

Still maybe that's the nature of the beast.