‘Mufasa: The Lion King’s reviews: What critics are saying about the film

• “Mufasa: The Lion King,” directed by Barry Jenkins, opens in theaters on Friday.
• It is a prequel and sequel to Jon Favreau’s 2019 remake of the 1994 animated film The Lion King.
• The film has a critics score of 60% on Rotten Tomatoes.

“Mufasa: The Lion King” is the latest addition to Disney’s growing collection of modern films, and critics have mixed reviews about it.

The film, which hits theaters this Friday, comes five years after Jon Favreau’s “Lion King” remake was widely criticized for its creepy, 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 father; and Taka, who becomes the “Lion King” villain known as Scar. The story is framed around the wise mandrill named Rafiki, who tells the story to Kiara, voiced by Blue Ivy Carter.

Jenkins tries to infuse the film with his signature style, but the limitations of photorealistic visuals, forgettable original songs, and cheap attempts at nostalgia and laughs hinder the film.

Ultimately, Clarisse Loughrey wrote at The independentthe film is “another damning case study of the fragility of the artist’s voice in the modern studio machine.”

At the time of release, “Mufasa” has a critics score of 60%, with some calling it a “engineered cash-in“and”blank corporate“film.

But despite its flaws, “Mufasa” is likely to do well at the box office this holiday season. Black and Deadline reported that the film is tracking for a $180 million global opening. Only time will tell if it will catch up to the success of Favreau’s “Lion King” remake, which earned $1.6 billion globally despite middling reviews (it has a 51% critics score on rotten tomatoes).

Here’s what critics are saying about “Mufasa.”