“Mufasa: The Lion King” is the latest addition to Disney’s growing collection of modern films, and critics have mixed reviews about it.
The movie, in theaters this Friday, comes five years after Jon Favreau’s “The Lion King” remake was widely criticized for its uncanny, photorealistic animation.
In “Mufasa,” Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins (“Moonlight” and “If Beale Street Could Talk”) tells the origin story of the two lions and adoptive brothers Mufasa, Simba’s dad; and Taka, who will become the “Lion King” villain known as Scar. The story is framed around the wise mandrill named Rafiki recounting the history to Kiara, voiced by Blue Ivy Carter.
Jenkins tries to infuse the film with his signature style, but the limitations of photorealistic visuals, unmemorable original songs, and cheap attempts at nostalgia and laughs hinder the movie.
Ultimately, Clarisse Loughrey wrote at The Independent, the movie is “yet another damning case study of the fragility of the artist’s voice in the modern studio machine.”
At the time of publication, “Mufasa” has a critics score of 60%, with some calling it a “contrived cash-in” and “blankly corporate” film.
But despite its shortcomings, “Mufasa” is likely to perform well at the box office this holiday season. Variety and Deadline reported that the movie is tracking for a global opening of $180 million. Only time will tell if it’ll catch up to the success of Favreau’s “Lion King” remake, which made $1.6 billion globally despite middling reviews (it holds a 51% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes).
Here’s what critics are saying about “Mufasa.”
The movie begins with a touching homage to the late James Earl Jones, who voiced Mufasa in the beloved 1994 animated movie “The Lion King.”
“‘Mufasa’ opens with a brief, but effective tribute to the icon. As a result, his presence lingers over the whole project.” — Rachel Labonte, Screen Rant
“That it opens by paying tribute to the late, great James Earl Jones, known to several generations as the booming voice of Mufasa, rather than simply closing with a dedication, is an early sign that reverence for what came before will be the name of the game.” — David Fear, Rolling Stone
Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr. deliver great performances as the voices of Mufasa and Taka, respectively, while Mads Mikkelsen excels as the villain Kiros.
“Pierre and Harrison are strong actors committed to the material, and while it’d be nice for Disney to imagine a villain not played by Mikkelsen for once, he’s yet to turn in an ineffective performance.” — Clarisse Loughrey, The Independent
“Whilst Pierre is no James Earl Jones (but then again, who is?), at least he makes the character his own to feel invested in Mufasa’s journey as a reluctant leader who becomes the king we know and love.” — Kelechi Ehenulo, Total Film
The visuals are better than the 2019 movie’s emotionless and lifeless animals, but they still cross the uncanny valley.
“Jenkins at least addresses of the central issues of Jon Favreau’s ‘The Lion King,’ namely, that lions aren’t very expressive animals.” — Witney Seibold, Slash Film
“As opposed to Favreau’s cast in ‘The Lion King,’ the elephants, giraffes, and birds here don’t look like pieces of melted plastic.” — Robert Daniels, IGN
“The characters in ‘Mufasa’ look plausible, but more expressive. The camerawork takes full advantage of the animated medium, flying across the screen with energy and wonder instead of limiting itself to what might have been possible in real life.” — William Bibbiani, TheWrap
“Impressive though it may be intellectually, the reality of watching these animals for two hours is a somewhat numbing and dull experience despite the best efforts of director Barry Jenkins.” — Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
“Jenkins calls for far more nuance and expressivity in the virtual animals’ facial performances, which helps us identify with their emotions, even as it pushes the characters toward the uncanny valley — especially when they speak or open their mouths to sing.” — Peter Debruge, Variety
“There is just no way for the face of a photorealistic lion — ‘live action,’ in Disney’s controversial parlance — to convey the pain of a brother’s deep betrayal, or express a moving grief over a lost family.” — Petrana Radulovic, Polygon
The tonal shift to Timon (Billy Eichner ) and Pumbaa (Seth Rogen) as comedic relief kills the movie’s momentum and the jokes don’t land.
“The framing device feels like a mistake, serving mostly to delay and interrupt the main attraction, which is Mufasa’s origin story.” — Peter Debruge, Variety
“Though they add comedic relief to a surprisingly heavy story, their meta jokes and constant asides break up the flow of Rafiki’s earnest storytelling in the present day.” — Rachel Labonte, Screen Rant
“The story Rafiki tells Kiara is so thematically rich that the frequent shifts back to present day, usually involving some lighthearted Timon jokes, don’t do the narrative momentum many favors.” — Brian Truitt, USA Today
“Nothing in ‘Mufasa’ plays more like a desperate studio note than these comic relief characters, who inject self-aware jokes and gross-out humor in a shameless attempt to entertain immature audience members who can’t focus on a well-told story without constant reassurance that they’re being pandered to and the filmmakers haven’t forgotten about ‘Hakuna Matata.’” — William Bibbiani, TheWrap
“Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda’s original songs are adequate but largely forgettable.
“Even Lin-Manuel Miranda’s new songs play like off-brand substitutes for each of Elton John’s originals — and only one, the ‘I Just Can’t Wait to be King’ stand-in, makes an impression on its own terms.” — Robbie Collin, The Telegraph
“While the visuals during these sequences are solid, the songs themselves follow a trend in recent Disney musicals in the sense that all the songs are just…OK. None of the seven original songs in the film are flat-out terrible, but they’re also not particularly memorable either.” — Aidan Kelley, Collider
“None of the songs here are overtly terrible, but they all blur into an indistinguishable ‘Lin-Manuel Miranda Presents: The Lion King!’ concept album, with all Miranda’s stylistic hallmarks. He sure has a signature style, but it’s hard to reconcile that style into a movie that already has its own iconic soundtrack. The new songs feel forced and out of place.” — Petrana Radulovic, Polygon
There are glimmers of Barry Jenkins’ visual style in the film, but his vision seems at odds with the demands of a big studio.
“The studio obligation for brand reassurance and nostalgia bait is constantly at odds with Jenkins’ vision, especially when they’re not emotionally earned.” — Kelechi Ehenulo, Total Film
“It’s a shame Jenkins wasn’t able to personalize it more, but, as they say, that’s just the nature of the beast.” — Dan Jolin, Empire
“Jenkins’ pivot to a big-budget, kid-friendly project for a major studio was always intriguing. But in hindsight, it’s hard to imagine he ever really stood a chance at revolutionizing from within Disney’s so-called ‘live-action’ money machine.” — Alison Foreman, IndieWire
“The Barry Jenkins-directed project is mostly a site of strained encounters between a visionary helmer and his corporate shareholders.” — Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter
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