Mufasa – The Lion King review

The Lion King is one of the most popular and much loved film series from Disney. The latest installment in the franchise, “Mufasa: The Lion King,” is now in theaters. This is a prequel to the 2019 photorealistic animated feature The Lion King. Apart from English, the film was also dubbed into Telugu, Tamil and Hindi. Superstar Mahesh Babu lent his voice to the lead character in the film. Here is the review of this much awaited movie.

What is it about?

The story begins with Simba and Nala embarking on a new journey. They leave behind their daughter Kiara with Timon and Pumbaa. After their departure, Kiara worries about her parents. It is then that Rafiki tells her the legendary story of his grandfather, Mufasa.

During his childhood, Mufasa (MaheshBabu) is separated from his parents by a flood and ends up in a country ruled by Obasi. Meanwhile, Obasi’s son, Taka (Satya Dev), becomes Mufasa’s close friend and a brother to him. As their clan is threatened by the Outsiders, Mufasa must protect the next king, Taka. The challenges they face and how they overcome these obstacles form the main core of the film.

Performances

Superstar Mahesh Babu’s voice is the biggest asset of this film. His fans would enjoy every single picture where they hear Mahesh’s voice. He was well supported by Satyadev as Taka, Brahmanandam and Ali as Timon and Pumba respectively.

However, despite having a wonderful voice cast, the film does not live up to expectations. Due to the poor script and outdated story, these stalwarts could not save this project.

Technical conditions

All fans of the Lion King series are familiar with the world and its characters. So all the writing team had to do was wrap that world in an engaging narrative. This is where Mufasa falters. Although director Barry Jenkins managed to create stunning visuals, he could have concentrated more on the story. The script by Jeff Nathanson is weak and lacks any emotional depth. The film is all about its visuals and Team Disney should be commended for bringing such exciting visuals to the screen. The details are so rich and so are the vibrant animation works. The music was a big let down. It doesn’t have anything that evokes a background score or a memorable album like the original version.

Thumbs up

Voiceovers by Mahesh Babu and other actors
Fantastic pictures
Nostalgic feeling

Thumbs down

Lack of emotional depth
Boring script
Music

Analysis

Director Barry Jenkins is known for making the Oscar-winning film Moonlight. Mufasa is his first photorealistic animated film. The first part, The Lion King (2019), was directed by Jon Favreau and was a big hit at the box office. However, he failed to recreate the magic of the original version. The same is true of Barry. He managed to bring out images and characters well, but did not deliver the emotional punch to the audience.

Although we are engaged with the mesmerizing voices of Mahesh Babu, Satya Dev, Brahmanandam, Ali and others, the scenes do not work at all. A few one-liners by Brahmi and Ali work and Zazu’s dialogue keeps us entertained in bits and pieces. The music was a big let down. Overall, Mufasa: The Lion King is a boring watch for Mahesh Babu fans and a completely disappointing watch for fans of the original version. Only kids who didn’t see the original might find it entertaining.

Bottomline: Even Superstar couldn’t save this boring prequel!

Grade: 2.25/5

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