Movie Review: Mufasa

I saw Mufasa: The Lion King and developed an earworm, but not for the song you think.

Quick Recap

Mufasa: The Lion King tells the origin story of a young Mufasa who finds himself as a stray in a strange pride after a flooding incident.

I’ve seen Mufasa twice, and I have my mum to thank for the second watch. But while rewatching, I noticed it had almost the same rewatch value as the original The Lion King.

There were tons of criticisms when it premiered, from the realism of the lions to the songs, the accents of the young actors, and the mispronunciation of names. I’ll be taking it one at a time.

Grab some popcorn, and let’s get started.

The Cast

We had some returnees like Seth Rogen, Donald Glover, and Billy Eichner.

We had the latest additions: Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Mads Mikkelsen, Thandiwe Newton, Disney Legend, Anika Noni Rose, and many more.

In The Beginning

The original The Lion King is a classic. It has its own archive and is in a league all by itself. Everything about it was superb: the musical selection, the cast, the storyline, the 2D animations—it was a hit. And despite how long ago it came to our screens, it still stands with modern animations. So, yeah, the shoes are quite large to fill.

Franchise

There are now a total of five Lion King stories— excluding Lion Guard. Three of which are 2D animations and the others 3D. The first 3D installment we got was a remake of the classic 2D. There was nothing different—just the upgraded animation. It did well, but people did point out that there was nothing new.

Questions

I can't count how many times I've seen The Lion King, and with each watch, my question list grows. I'll share that list with you. Mind you, these were the questions before the idea of Mufasa was birthed:

• How did Scar get his scar?
• If Mufasa and Scar were the only male lions, did that mean Mufasa was sleeping with other lionesses?
• Why did Scar insist that Mufasa stole his birthright?
• In the scene where Scar dropped Mufasa, he reminded his brother that it was familiar. Why?
• Why were some of the animals outcasts?

The Storyline: Answering the Questions

With Mufasa, we get a full-circle moment where a lot of things make sense.

Scar and The Scar

Scar is the most notable villain in the Disney universe. You just can't talk about villains and not mention him. He was so bad, he was good. Jeremy Irons may have an impressive filmography but I doubt if anything comes close to his portrayal of Scar.

Throughout The Lion King, we heard his rant and complain about Mufasa “stealing” from him.

Yeah, right.

Scar always announced how he got the scar that saved Mufasa. What he brilliantly omitted was how the whole ordeal had been his fault in the first place.

The Birthright

I was miffed when I read that people actually agreed with Scar. Are you kidding me? He didn't even care that the outsiders could also kill Sarabi. He was bent on a stupid revenge mission because of what? A woman!

Granted, he told Mufasa first, but as we can see, Mufasa tried to help him. And what did he do? “You smell like a duck?”

If we go back in time, we also see another instance where Taka was so scared and timid, he ran away from his own mother, Eshe. Eshe was his biological mother, who only took in Mufasa out of kindness. All he had to do was join them and even the odds—three to one—but my guy was more concerned about his safety.

Also, he still couldn't even be there for Sarabi because he was saving his mane. Come on already. A coward prince of a lazy father.

It makes so much sense now why Sarabi refused him in The Lion King. She knows he's a coward and is well aware of what he can do. I guess it still stung Scar that even in death Sarabi still refused him.

The birthright he's hammering on wasn't even his idea. If Mufasa had not continued on the path, would he have had a kingdom to lord over?

The Additions

No matter what the original idea had been in 1994, the way this ties up is clean.

Zazu was Sarabi's and Rafiki was exiled for having visions and being born with leg deformity. The stick? It makes sense that the stick he held onto from a stampede would turn into his life companion. It's Rafiki. He's weird like that.

Also, a group of baboons is not called a "congress," and Rafiki is a mandrill, not a baboon. It would have been witty to actually use their correct collective name instead of "congress."

The Pride Rock

What a wonderful way to show us how Pride Rock came about—natural earth activities. It’s symbolic and beautiful that it wasn’t just there waiting for them at Milele but was created as a result of their activities.

The Kingship

Mufasa was given that honour by the other animals and never sought it for himself. Anyone who argues that he got it because of Scar should remember that Mufasa saved Scar right back. The animals wanted him banished, and he kept him around.

A mistake, obviously, but then, he remembered how Scar helped him when he was lost, so I guess they were even.

The Animation

I watched an interview series where the director of animation tried to explain the rendering process, and all I can tell you is—let it be.

That stuff is insanely difficult to do. Whether the animals don’t look like Nat Geo Wild ones or they look like the ones in Australia Zoo ones, the goal was that the animation came out well enough that you almost felt the animals were talking. That realism was the goal, and they hit it. Any other side comment is just finicky.

The Songs

The Lion King’s discography was insane. That voice you hear as the sun rises is just captivating and absolutely mesmerizing. It’s not something that can be replicated. It had classics:

• He Lives in Me
• Circle of Life
• Be Prepared
• Can You Feel the Love Tonight?
• Hakuna Matata
• One of Us (Lion King 2)

Just these six songs alone are intimidating. If I were a songwriter, I would legit panic at the idea of writing songs to go with Mufasa, but Lin-Manuel Miranda did justice to his job. In fact, I believe he had too much of a shoe to fill.

Remember the earworm I mentioned earlier? I got it from We Go Together. I get that many people like I Always Wanted a Brothaa, but We Go Together is my jam. I even wish it were longer.

My mother loves Bye Bye, and hearing her sing it cracks me up. I may agree that to some extent, some of the songs may not be as memorable as the original The Lion King, but come on already—Lin did well and deserves his flowers.

My Thoughts

I'll start by admitting that Disney disneyed with this installment. In the 1994 story, Scar was a bad guy. Simple. There were no guilt tripping or emotional attachments. He was a bad guy who killed his brother, got his nephew exiled and still sent for his assasination, drained the Pride and starved the lionesses who refused to accept him. It was a delicious character that one just watched and enjoyed.

Fast forward 2025 and they paint him as a villain who was forged out of hurt and betrayal? Oh please. Mufasa never wanted his throne. Maybe he wanted Sarabi but Sarabi chose him back. It’s not Mufasa’s fault that Obasi had him train with Eshe. It’s not Mufasa’s fault that he lacks the courage. It’s not his fault that the other animals picked him. It’s not his fault he’s a lion who can do what no other lion can.

It's even more annoying that people are lobbying for Scar. Painting him out as the betrayed one.

Yeah, sure.

Imagine where everyone was singing about home and family and he focused on Sarabi. Talk about a selfish person.

I can't hate on any Lion King installment. Call it nostalgia or blind loyalty, but I just can't.

I found it very disheartening that people tried to paint the idea of racism using the albino lions vs. the dark-maned lions as a case. And I'm stunned. Racism? Not every storyline is that deep.

What does racism have to do with anything? I read up on albino lions, and they are huge and outsiders because they come out white. They're also stronger. Were the animators supposed to make them Black?

I see no reason why anyone would try to use it to preach a movement. It's a children's animation, for crying out loud. Watch, have fun, and stop nitpicking.

Mufasa has tried to answer every possible question you might have.

• The extra lionesses are from the runaway pride.
• Pride Rock is a result of natural formation.
• Zazu has been giving reports since forever. Side note: the voice actor did a stellar job with his voicing. It matches the witiness of Rowan Atkinson’s Zazu, but has its own unique flair.
• They also went a step further by bringing in Kion, who I heard is a regular on the Disney Junior series The Lion Guard.

What else do people want?

Though, I suggest this should be the last installment. There are no more stories to tell. We don’t need a Sarabi origin story.

I was curious as to how Scar forged a pack with the Hyenas but I came up with this explanation:

With Mufasa as king the Hyenas may have tried to break the circle of life and then got exiled along with lionesses that refused to adhere to the rules. Scar saw the opportunity and formed his own alliance.

So.yeah, no more stories.

Timon, Pumbaa, and Rafiki were banished from their home.
Sarabi, Mufasa, Zazu, and Scar lost their homes.
Practically, The Lion King is a story of strays banding together and making something of themselves.

On that note:
We Go Together is my favourite song.
I don’t care that the child actor pronounced the word as "brothaa." People complained, but it is what it is.
I feel Aaron and Kelvin did well with their portrayals. You could tell when Aaron was down, feisty, sad, or in love—all from his modulations.
Kevin’s voice when he forged his plan was just badass.
Mads Mikkelsen as Kiros was absolutely amazing. His delivery was almost as intense as the original Scar.
Do I mind the mispronunciation of Obasi and Chigaru? Maybe.
Will I watch it again if the need arises? Yes.
Will I argue for the movie anywhere I come across bashing? Yes.

On that note, go see it and let me know what you think.