“Mufasa” film review: The stuff lions are made of

Simba's little lion daughter Kiara wants to know a little more about her grandfather and so the monkey, who is as always well-informed, gets in touch Rafiki speaks up. He acts as narrator again and offers a long overdue look back at Mufasa's life, in which he himself plays an important role. What is his origins, how did he become the Lion King and why did Scar develop such rivalry and deadly enmity?

Mufasa gets lost and finds a brother

Even a future king starts small – this one had a terrible swim in his early youth because a huge flash flood swept him away and only washed up again in a far away area. As a result, he was from the Parents separatedbut he has one Surrogate family and above all a best friend Stepbrother Taka found. While they initially frolic undisturbed, they are later on the run from a brutal pride of lions (whose leader speaks like Mads Mikkelsen in the original), and Taka will display some character weaknesses that ultimately lead to him having a completely different name, under which we have all known him for a long time.

Realistic animals with singing and speaking talent

Barry Jenkins continues Jon Favreau's 2019 The Lion King with a mix of live-action filming techniques and photorealistic computer imagery. In the second part, the sight initially takes some getting used to, as soon as the many animals from the computer move their mouths (the snout, the beak) and talk or even sing with human voices – has the songs by the way Lin Manuel Miranda contributed.

Personally, I still think it would have been better to simply use the voices as voiceovers – even if it then seemed as if they were only communicating with each other in their minds. In any case, you never feel really uncomfortable, and at least the protagonists are often allowed to retain their animal nature, which is why they occasionally hiss, hum or roar with abandon.

Under the sign of water

While in the original “The Lion King” the finale takes place against a fiery backdrop, here the opposite natural force was chosen at the crucial moment, because the final fight takes place in water – which is only logical, since Mufasa's life is entirely dominated by this element stands. But the film also puts us in other people's shoes Natural spectacle – we experience an elephant stampede up close, roam the snow and ice landscapes in the snowy mountains with the lions, or take part in wild races through the African wilderness from an animal's perspective. All of that is on Show value hard to beat.

Framework story with clowns during breaks

There are also a few old animal acquaintances on screen – especially the comical duo Timon and Pumbaawho have to serve as cue givers and clowns during breaks. The Review on Mufasa's life namely serves as Framework plotto shorten the waiting time while Kiara's mother is in labor. By the time her little brother finally sees the light of day, Mufasa's story has just come to an end, because Rafiki of course has perfect timing. In addition, he even answered questions that had never been asked before: For example, we not only find out how Scar got his characteristic facial scar, but also how Rafiki himself found his beloved walking stick.

So dead kings live on not only in the sky in the cloud formations, but also in films like this, and director Jenkins has done everything perfectly to honor Mufasa's memory – but of course the lion's share of the credit goes to the animals themselves (even if they aren't are real).

4 out of 5 lion cubs washed away