The most anticipated prequel to one of the greatest Disney franchise’s of all time answers questions that audiences didn’t know we had. Mufasa: the Lion King, follows the story of the young cub as he gets lost from his parents and inevitably meets another young cub, destined to be king. The only thing is the cub’s father doesn’t want to except Mufasa into the pride. Forced to live with the lioness’, Mufasa grows up learning things that male lions typically don’t learn, such as hunting. As Mufasa and Taka grow up, they soon learn they are not the only lions and the race for survival begins. As stated in the beginning, “only be one lion king”. Though we know which one inevitably will be king, it’s entertaining to see the evolution. There are a lot of easter eggs that we learn, including the most clearest, “how Taka became Scar”.
The live action film rounds out the franchise as it continues where the original left off, with the birth of Kiera. Now the story of Mufasa, told as a kind of bedtime story to Kiera by Rafiki. It is meant to connect the present to the past as the franchise is good at doing. The film ultimately brings back the same voices from the original including Donald Glover as Simba, Beyonce as Nala, John Kani as Rafiki, Seth Rogan as Pumbaa and Billy Eichner as Timon.
Additionally new voices emerge as we see a young Taka aka Scar, played by Kelvin Harrison Jr. and a young Mufasa, played by Aaron Pierre. Through the story, we are also introduced to Sarabi (Tiffany Boone) and Zazu (Preston Nyman) which ultimately starts off the sibling rivalry between the two cubs.
All in all Mufasa: The Lion King, will have new audiences and true fans raveling over the unique story. The music will have you toe tapping like the original with it’s unique lines which do bear some homage to the original. For example instead of “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King”, it’s “Milele” and “I Always Wanted a Brother”. Lin Manuel Miranda who composed this score, did an exceptional job of keeping the same flare of the original soundtrack while adding his own Miranda charm.
Mufasa: The Lion King came out in theaters Dec. 20th and is currently showing in one near you.