If you thought the 2019 Lion King remake looked realistic, this one takes it to a whole new level.
The story is all about Mufasa, who climbs his way to becoming the Lion King. In this remake, Mufasa is separated from his mother and father after being torn away by a flood, which shapes his entire childhood. Along the road he meets Taka. Taka is part of a royal bloodline, and Mufasa is now an orphan. They end up becoming brothers. But, eventually, issues arise between the two, and it all falls apart. What really stirs the pot is how Mufasa and Taka both wish to rule the land called “Milele,” which is essentially a paradise full of life. But when there can only be one king, it all goes down, and it’s clear that Milele will also face its downfall.
The relationship between young Mufasa and Taka (Scar) has to be the best part of the story. Seeing how it all went downhill from a brotherly bond to enemies really kept me invested. The movie does a great job of giving us an understanding of why things ended the way they did, even when the ending is pretty obvious based on the original.
The soundtrack wasn’t bad at all, but in no way does it top The Lion King’s original soundtrack. Also, Timon and Pumbaa, for the most part, were pretty funny, but sometimes the jokes were kind of lame, and they were overdoing it. But for the songs in this movie, my favorite song out of all of them was probably “Bye Bye.” It was a lot more interesting compared to the rest of the soundtrack. I just wish the rest of the songs had that same energy. Though one other song that people seem to love is “I Always Wanted a Brother.”
As good as most of the movie was, the ending was a major letdown. The whole story was dramatic and took so much time to build up (not to mention, it was a really long movie, which was also something I didn’t like). But the ending just completely wraps up way too quickly, and there’s not enough time to digest all that happened. I saw this movie with a few of my friends.
Ambyr Clay, a sophomore writing and publishing major from Baden, pointed out as soon as it ended, “The movie was good and engaging. I really liked it but wasn’t a fan of the ending. It felt rushed and left me unsatisfied.” I fully agree.
Freshman Annamarie Rubino from Beaver shared a similar opinion to mine on the length of the film. “The Lion King movie, I’m saying, was not bad, but it was a little boring, and I wish the movie would’ve been a bit shorter. I think it was a well-made movie,” she said. “The CGI was very good. I don’t think it was a bad movie at all. I’d say it was like a five out of ten.
“I liked the fighting scenes a lot, but I feel like a lot of the movie was just them walking around. I do think some of the songs were pretty good. They weren’t my favorite songs in a movie, like ever. I’ve definitely heard better ones, but I think the music was good. The CGI was honestly impressive compared to the first time they tried to make a live-action Lion King.”
It is true that a lot of the film was just the lions running around while they showed off the scenery. There was barely any fighting until toward the end, which was a letdown. Again, still, it was a great movie. But there were points where it was just getting boring because there wasn’t much going on other than the animals adventuring around.
Overall, I’d say Mufasa: The Lion King is definitely worth watching, especially if you’re familiar with the other movies in the franchise. It has emotion, amazing CGI, a solid story, and some catchy music. But the ending? Well, it definitely could’ve been better.
If you have any movie suggestions for me to review, or anything else you’d like to let me know, email me @[email protected].
