Mufasa: Le Roi lion

With the imminent disaster that is Snow White, waiting in the wings, the company needed a big hit.

I have no doubts that fans of The Lion King's many forms will flock to see it, and for kids and families, there is a definite appeal, I watched this movie about a week ago, and almost forgot to review it, that's the problem, it simply isn't memorable.

You get the impression that they played it super safe, it's just a little bland at times, it's hardly a film that'll be remembered as a classic. Sure it's a good story, but sometimes it just feels a little shoved together.

Amazing visuals, lovely music, you can't fault the production values of it at all.

It's a shame that James Earl Jones couldn't have been persuaded to at least feature, but it was nice that the film was dedicated to him.

A nice movie, just hardly memorable.

6/10.

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.

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.

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.

This movie is BEAUTIFUL, but man do i hate musicals. There is a moment where tention grows as enemy approaches and the enemy starts some drag queen show that completely shakes the balance of the movie. Don't do that when makig movies!!! Why do you need this singing crap that makes movie seem like some sleezy bs, taking action into some weird, silly cabaret. This could be full action movie without the unnecessary musical parts. However, the movie is so beautifully made, with such a great voice acring, storytelling, it is still amazing. What I would do is give Elton John original song in ending credits.