BRIAN VINER reviews Mufasa: The Lion King: Spectacular, but this Lion King isn't a whisker on the original
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Verdict: Does the job. Rating:. Amazingly, three decades have passed since we first set eyes on The Lion King, the joyous animated musical which reminded us, after a lacklustre few years, that Disney could still create spellbinding cinematic magic. My children, all born in the 1990s, grew up knowing the words of those Tim Rice/Elton John songs like catechisms. For them, the fruity baritone menace of Jeremy Irons as Scar defined villainy, while Mufasa (James Earl Jones) was a byword for valour. As soon as they were old enough, we took them to see the stage version.
![[Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) reaches adolescence as the adopted son of kindly lioness Eshe (Thandiwe Newton),]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/19/20/93331169-14211671-Mufasa_Aaron_Pierre_reaches_adolescence_as_the_adopted_son_of_ki-a-39_1734641841997.jpg)
Those memories of The Lion King were so precious that they baulked at the idea of seeing the heavily digitalised 2019 remake, even though I assured them that it was fun. But they would be right to swerve this overblown sequel. Mufasa: The Lion King (dedicated to Jones, who died in September) strains with every sinew to make us feel the love tonight — to paraphrase one of the original song titles.
![[Mufasa and Taka escape — with the Outsiders, led by the ill-tempered Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen), in hot pursuit.]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/19/20/93332309-14211671-Mufasa_and_Taka_escape_with_the_Outsiders_led_by_the_ill_tempere-a-40_1734641842000.jpg)
It is sometimes spectacular on the eye, with all those computerised bells and whistles combining to bring the African savannah to vibrant, exhilarating life. Yet the film, directed by Barry Jenkins (who made the Oscar-festooned 2016 film Moonlight), is touched with a spot of leonine laryngitis. Hard as it tries, it never quite roars.
![[He somehow contrives to make the banter between Timon the meerkat (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa the warthog (Seth Rogen) more tiresome than funny]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/19/20/93331161-14211671-He_somehow_contrives_to_make_the_banter_between_Timon_the_meerka-a-41_1734641842015.jpg)
Mufasa: The Lion King strains with every sinew to make us feel the love tonight. Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) reaches adolescence as the adopted son of kindly lioness Eshe (Thandiwe Newton),. Mufasa and Taka escape — with the Outsiders, led by the ill-tempered Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen), in hot pursuit.
![[Wise mandrill Rafiki (John Kani) tells the stirring life story of Simba’s late father, Mufasa, to his wide-eyed granddaughter, Princess Kiara]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/19/20/93331165-14211671-Wise_mandrill_Rafiki_John_Kani_tells_the_stirring_life_story_of_-a-43_1734641842022.jpg)
