Movie review: ‘Mufasa: The Lion King,’ deeply emotional with stunning visuals   

Mufasa, a cub lost and alone, meets a sympathetic lion named Taka, the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of a group of misfits searching for their destiny.

Disney

I’ll be the first to say that I had low expectations for “Mufasa: The Lion King,” mostly due to how much I disliked the 2019 “live-action” remake of “The Lion King.” Between the animals with no emotion and the movie being a shot-for-shot of the 1994 original, I walked out of that theater with a sour taste in my mouth. But now having seen “Mufasa,” I can honestly say it blew me away.  

My biggest takeaway from “Mufasa: The Lion King” was the commitment to listening to the audience from 2019. The major issue many viewers had back then was the lack of emotion from the animals themselves. It was clear that this was a point of emphasis when making “Mufasa,” as it seems filmmakers spent less time on realistic detail and more time making vibrant, emotional animals — and it worked. There was a moment toward the end of the film when I was nearly moved to tears just from the look in a lion’s eyes. Wild.  

Obviously, a major component of any Disney movie is the music. While the music of “Mufasa: The Lion King” doesn’t come near being as good as Elton John and Tim Rice’s songs from the original film, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s music really impressed me. I do feel there’s only two incredibly “catchy” songs, but every song is still really good. As soon as I was in the car, I turned on the soundtrack to re-listen to the songs.