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Mufasa: The Lion King is here, because Disney are desperate for a hit. Wish flopped, and Snow White is going to bomb big-time in March, since Snow White was a woman “whose skin was as white as snow“. She wasn’t a Latina, LatinX, or whatever the hell they decide to call themselves, today.
Quite often, our lead lion cub – voiced by Aaron Pierre (The Underground Railroad) – is at home, but around this time of day, he’s out and about, and with his family. Alas, thanks to storms, they’re all swept away, leaving the titular character on his own.
I wasn’t sure whether this film was a prequel or a sequel, but apparently, it’s both, as Rafiki (John Kani – Murder Mystery 2) narrates the tale of Mufasa’s life to Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa (Seth Rogen – Sausage Party: Foodtopia), the former being a meerkat. Simples!
With Donald Glover (Mr And Mrs Smith 2024) as Simba, and throwing in Beyoncé as his mate, Nala, nepotism soon kicks in as her offspring, Blue Ivy Carter, takes the voice of their daughter, Kiara, or was it Kia-Ora? I soon failed to care, since after the first 30-40 minutes, this film was already dragging on way too long, and it’s a 90-minute movie, at best, but stretched out to two hours, and yes, as usual, I still stayed for the end credits.
Along the way, as Mufasa is classed as a stray, and grows up with Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr – Elvis), effectively his adoptive brother, as he’s taken in by Eshe (Thandiwe Newton– Chicken Run: Dawn Of The Nugget) and Obasi (Lennie James – Save Me), we learn “The only true bond is blood“…. what about Roger Moore for the only Bond?
Anyways, with warring lions running around, shouting or singing at each other, I wondered will he find his parents? I figured, “Does a Pope shit in the woods?”
Still, while I am aware of the big songs in the original film, the 2024 movie has tunes which are bland and forgettable. I was just surprised James Corden wasn’t in this, but sadly instead, Lin-Manuel Miranda was. Who the hell keeps hiring him? Wasn’t his appearance in Mary Poppins Returns bad enough? He was in it more than SHE was!
Mufasa: The Lion King is the first film in the ‘Lion Kingverse’ I’ve seen in full. I did try watching the 1994 animation when it was on TV during the pandemic, but my attention soon drifted. So, why am I watching this? Well, have Limitless subscription, will watch (almost) anything.
At least on the plus side, since I was in two minds whether to go to the cinema on a Saturday or a Sunday that weekend, I ended up choosing the Sunday, given that the weather had stopped being such a nightmare. Previously, when checking the seatmap for an early evening screening on the Saturday, the auditorium was rammed! Just over 24hrs later for this one, and it was almost empty! Bliss!
There are no mid- or post-credits scenes.
Mufasa: The Lion King is in cinemas now, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD. However, once announced, it will appear on the New DVD Blu-ray 3D and 4K releases UK list.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 119 minutes
Release date: December 20th 2024
Studio: Walt Disney
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Rating: 2/10
Director: Barry Jenkins
Producers: Mark Ceryak, Genevieve Hofmeyr, Adele Romanski
Screenplay: Jeff Nathanson
Characters: Linda Woolverton, Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts
Music: Dave Metzger
Voice cast:
Mufasa: Aaron Pierre
Taka: Kelvin Harrison Jr
Sarabi: Tiffany Boone
Young Rafiki: Kagiso Lediga
Zazu: Preston Nyman
Kiara: Blue Ivy Carter
Nala: Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
Rafiki: John Kani
Kiros: Mads Mikkelsen
Timon: Billy Eichner
Pumbaa: Seth Rogen
Eshe: Thandiwe Newton
Obasi: Lennie James
Afia: Anika Noni Rose
Masego: Keith David
Simba: Donald Glover
Amara: Folake Olowofoyeku
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.