Mufasa: The Lion King continues the iconic The Lion King franchise in the photo-realistic live-action format. This Disney Holiday blockbuster serves as the origin tale of Mufasa. It follows his story as an orphan to the day he became the ruler of The Pride Lands.
Simultaneously, the movie continues the story of the 2019 live-action The Lion King.
What is the plot of Mufasa: The Lion King?
Nala and Simba's daughter Kiara hears the story of her grandfather Mufasa's accession to power from the wise mandrill Rafiki. Mufasa: The Lion King follows the early days of orphaned cub Mufasa as he becomes friends with Prince Taka and is adopted by the Royal Family.
Also in the mix is the comedic, adorable duo of Timon and Pumbaa. Barry Jenkins, the director of the Academy-Award Winning Moonlight, is at the helm of the prequel and sequel. Furthermore, he recently revealed that the movie will begin on a heart-touching note.
What is the release date of Mufasa: The Lion King?
Mufasa: The Lion King is yet to be released in cinema halls across the world, but it premiered at LA's Dolby Theater on 9th December 2024. It will be released internationally on 20th December 2024.
The film will have an OTT release on Disney+ at an unconfirmed date in 2025. According to Variety's report, the movie received glowing reviews from those attending. Let's look at some of them:
Jazz Tangcay, the senior artisans' editor at Variety, wrote:
Here's what the Entertainment editor for The Koalition, Dana Abercrombie, said:
Chris Killian from ComicBook.com reviewed the film on his X (formerly Twitter) account:
"I'll be the first to admit that a Lion King prequel was not something I was asking for, but the animation is incredible, the songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda are infectious, and the vocal performances make Mufasa – dare I say – better than the 2019 version of Lion King.”
Dempsey Pillot from Cinefied also wrote on his X account:
"Pleased to say ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ is really good! But what else would you expect from Barry Jenkins? A biblical exploration of destiny brilliantly disguised as an origin story for Mufasa and Scar. Entertaining, visually stunning, and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s music did not disappoint!”
All of these are social media reactions, and the review embargo will lift on 17th December 2024, according to ScreenRant.
Who makes the cast of Mufasa: The Lion King?
Voicing Mufasa is none other than Aaron Pierre, who recently blew everyone away as the leading man of Netflix's Rebel Ridge. Joining him is Kelvin Harrison Jr., lending his voice to Prince Taka, Mufasa's friend and family member.
Taka is a character who will play a huge role in The Lion King's lore. Apart from fresh voice talent, Mufasa: The Lion King also brings back some of the voices from the 2019 movie.
Look at the star-stacked voice cast below:
- Aaron Pierre voices the future King Mufasa (Braelyn Rankins as the young Mufasa)
- Kelvin Harrison Jr. voices Taka (Theo Somolu as the young Taka)
- Tiffany Boone voices Sarabi
- Thandiwe Newton voices Eshe
- Lennie James voices Obasi
- Mads Mikkelsen voices Kiros
- Blue Ivy Carter voices Kiara
- John Kani voices Rafiki (Kagiso Lediga is young Rafiki)
- Billy Eichner voices Timon
- Seth Rogen voices Pumbaa
- Donald Glover voices Simba
- Beyoncé voices Nala
Moreover, Barry Jenkins told Variety that the movie begins with a tribute to James Earl Jones.
He said:
“When I think about what James Earl Jones means, not even just to me, but to global audiences — people know this — I grew up without a father figure, and you go in and you watch this art, you watch these films, sometimes these fathers in these movies become a stand-in for that. They become these father figures.”
Mufasa: The Lion King was written by Jeff Nathanson, who has been working in Hollywood since 1995 and has worked in several blockbuster movies. It is produced by Walt Disney Pictures.
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