Mufasa: The Lion King Review: Different than the Original Animated Films

Overall, Mufasa: The Lion King was a pretty good film with a good story and believable and relatable characters. 

The movie is split into two parts: the present day which centers around Princess Kiara, set after the 2019 “live-action” Lion King remake, and the past which focuses on her grandfather Mufasa’s original story for the live-action films. 

 

The present day half of the film follows Simba and Nala as they prepare for the birth of another cub during their rule as King and Queen. Their daughter, Kiara, stays at home at Pride Rock and hears stories about how her grandfather Mufasa became king of the Pridelands, despite (in this film) not having royal blood. 

 

The reluctant hero Mufasa is a young adult lion who doesn’t seek power, much like Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. He would rather have others get the credit and glory like a selfless man. 

 

Mufasa also has to rise into his role as a natural-born leader and accept his place in The Circle of Life as the new King, and allow his love for Sarabi to grow naturally despite Taka/Scar also liking her. 

 

He isn’t vengeful or deceitful either Taka. He even gives his advice on how to talk to lionesses (girls). He even selflessly makes Taka better in Sarabi’s eyes and say that Taka saved her life instead of him. 

 

Mufasa only reveals his feelings for Sarabi to her after she puts two and two together and realizes he is the one who saved her life and who she is connecting with. 

 

Just like Nala did with Simba in the original Lion King animated film, Sarabi sees the good lion that Mufasa is and is drawn to him. The only lion she truly loves. 

 

The only problems in this film are the Orange Man Bad—sorry, White Lion Bad—propaganda that’s prevalent in many Hollywood productions. 

 

Of course the bad guys in this movie are white lions, led by an anti-Trump figure. And they are called Outsiders (just like Trump is an outsider). 

 

That can be negated to the fact that Mufasa is called an “Outsider” and yet he’s the Outsider who brings everyone together under one banner and rallying cry, just like Trump. 

 

Also, Rafiki tells Kiara turning his storytelling scenes that the Outsiders have tragic backstories because they were all driven out of their own prides because of their white fur. They could have been portrayed as sympathetic characters, or at least some of them. 

 

But that still doesn’t help the White Lions because they aren’t shown to be redeemable during the climatic battle or show remorse for attacking and trying to eliminate other lions. 

 

It remains to be seen if these white lion Outsiders are the Outsiders/Outlanders from “The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride.” 

 

The other flaw/problem with this movie is larger in scope because the “Live-Action” movie deviates from the Lion King canon and lore from the original animated films. 

 

Characters’ origins and backstories are changed in order to connect the live-action “Mufasa” to the 2019 “live-action” remake of The Lion King. 

 

Instead of Mufasa and Scar being biological brothers, they are good friends as brothers in arms. Taka/Scar saves Mufasa and develops a close bond that’s only severed by Taka’s jealousy of Mufasa and Sarabi’s love for each other. 

 

You know, instead of Taka/Scar being a younger brother trying to take his older brother’s throne, like a lot of people (myself included) believed in the animated films. 

 

The original 1994 animated “Lion King” film never indicated that Mufasa and Scar weren’t actual brothers. They were portrayed as real biological brothers through dialogue and the story. How Zazu and Mufasa talk ago it Scar definitely shows Mufasa frustrated with Scar as his older brother. 

 

For example in Star Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi told Luke Skywalker in “A New Hope” that Luke’s father Anakin was “a good friend” to him. George Lucas could have changed that in the Prequels, but he didn’t. He built up their friendship as master and apprentice and later brothers in arms. Obi-Wan saw Anakin Skywalker like a brother in the Prequels and The Clone Wars animated series, which is why he tells Yoda that Anakin is “like my brother,” but he knew they weren’t real biological brothers. It was obvious to the characters and everyone in the audience. Lucas stayed true to the characters and story. 

 

And unlike the CGi “live-action” Lion King movies, the animated films and TV shows, along with other media including books related to the original animated movies, showed there were other male lions in the Mufasa and Simba’s pride, so Simba and Nala weren’t half siblings or cousins. 

 

Just like with the Star Wars Expanded Universe, Disney decided to ignore those stories and characters in order to focus on new stories and origins for the “live-action” films. 

 

The difference with Star Wars and The Lion King is that “Mufasa: The Lion King” can work by itself if the “live-action” Lion King films are separate compared to the original animated films. 

 

The filmmakers even changed the origin story of how Taka/Scar got his scar, which is different from the books and even The Lion Guard animated kids show. 

 

The books indicated that Scar received his scar from a buffalo after he schemed to trick Mufasa into confronting the water buffalo, while The Lion Guard showed a different origin for how Scar got his scar. 

 

This saint the first time a remake/reboot changed core elements of characters and a story. 

 

Much like how Solo: A Star Wars Story changed Han Solo’s origins, backstory, and personality, the “Mufasa” filmmakers decided to change Mufasa and Taka’s (Scar’s) origins, along with the other main characters from the original animated films, in order to tell a different story with the “live-action” films. 

 

The best way to enjoy this movie is to understand and accept/view the “live-action” Lion King films as separate stories compared to the original animated movies and the books and stories built around those great films. The true Lion King canon. 

 

Just like we as audiences can enjoy the Original Star Wars Trilogy and the Expanded Universe while ignoring Disney’s woke Star Wars “Sequel” Trilogy and woke shows like The Acolyte. We are free to not accept those as official Star Wars canon. 

 

We don’t even have to accept all of The Lion Guard as real canon either. We can pick and choose what’s part of the story. 

 

Even The Lion King 1 1/2 could be seen as a standalone film where Timon and Pumba break the fourth wall to insert themselves into the overall story. Even in the “House of Mouse” universe. And we can still enjoy that film. 

 

Taken by itself, Mufasa is a good movie with a great story and great characters who are relatable and believable. 

 

You can still enjoy this movie despite the anti-Trump, anti-conservative, anti-MAGA, and anti-white messaging in it. 

 

And the fact that the “live-action” Lion King films are a different version of The Lion King story compared to the animated films. 

 

Judy like how Wicked and The Wizard of Oz are different storylines about the same story. Just different versions. And that says nothing about The Wiz, the Muppets’ Wizard of Oz film, Oz The Great and Powerful, or the various animated film about those characters. 

 

Or how Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Wonka are different versions of the same story, but aren’t connected to each other. 

 

The same thing goes for the True Grit films starring John Wayne and Jeff Bridges. They tell the same story, but with different outcomes, messages, and themes. And both can be enjoyed by audiences in and of themselves. 

 

Or the Beetlejuice films and Beetlejuice the Musical. 

 

Same with every other franchise or intellectual property, including Treasure Island and Treasure Planet. 

 

Just because studios and filmmakers decide to create a different story doesn’t mean that the original story is tarnished. Or that a new version of the same story is bad. Just take Treasure Planet. That movie has great characters and a great story. 

 

We as audiences and consumers get to decide what we accept as good stories and part of the official canon. As we’ve seen with Star Wars and how Disney-LucasFilm butchered their handling of the Star Wars series. The Expanded Universe (including the books and video games) will always be part of Star Wars Canon. The Disney Film Trilogy, Solo, The Mandalorian Season 3, The Book of Boba Fett, The Acolyte, and the Kenobi series aren’t.