A live-action adaptation that lacks both style and substance

Mufasa: The Lion King serves as yet another chapter in Disney's relentless pursuit of revamping its animation classics for a modern audience, often at the expense of originality.

- Samarth Goyal

Mufasa: The Lion King serves as yet another chapter in Disney's relentless pursuit of revamping its animation classics for a modern audience, often at the expense of originality. Directed by filmmaker Barry Jenkins, this prequel to the 2019 The Lion King remake explores the origin story of Mufasa, the noble lion whose legacy shapes the Pride Lands.

Despite flashes of Jenkins' signature style, the film is weighed down by its bloated narrative and the constraints of corporate filmmaking. The movie begins in the aftermath of the reign of Simba (voiced in Hindi by Aryan Khan), with Nala (Neha Gargava) on the verge of giving birth. As Simba rushes to her side, the ever-comical Timon (Shreyas Talpade) and Pumbaa (Sanjay Mishra) are tasked with watching over Kiara. Rafiki (Makrand Deshpande) uses this as a segue to narrate Mufasa's tale, setting the stage for a journey into the lion king's past.