Mufasa: The Lion King Has Screened, And Critics Are Feeling The Love For This Disney Origin Story
Live-action sequel coming December 20.
It’s been 30 years since a generation of children were traumatized by watching the mighty king Mufasa falling to his death at the hands of his brother. Simba and the rest of us may have been robbed of the precious wisdom the king had to share, but with Mufasa: The Lion King’s release, the story of Mufasa and Taka will come to life on the 2024 movie calendar. The musical is one of the several upcoming family friendly films, and after catching early screenings, critics are hitting social media with their first reactions.
Mufasa: The Lion King is a prequel, since it tells the origin story of Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) and Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), the lion who will come to be known as Scar. It also serves as a sequel to the 2019 remake, with Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, John Kani, and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter reprising their roles. Beyoncé’s daughter Blue Ivy Carter makes her feature film debut as Simba and Nala’s daughter Kiara, and with Barry Jenkins directing and songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, anticipation is high for this one. According to Jazz Tangcay of Variety, it doesn’t disappoint, either, as the critic writes on X (Twitter):
It’s not surprising but definitely comforting to hear good things about Lin-Manuel Miranda’s soundtrack, especially following another Disney movie’s release. Moana 2 has been a huge hit at the box office, but many feel not having Miranda hurt the sequel.
Film critic Dempsey Pillot echoes that sentiment, saying that the sequel/prequel is visually stunning and will definitely keep audiences entertained. Pillot says:
Dana Abercrombie of the Koalition loves the way Mufasa: The Lion King adds more depth to the characters who we’ve been familiar with for decades. She was left without words but was still able to write:
Critic Joaquín Teodoro enjoys how the upcoming live-action Disney remake not only brings us a new story from the familiar universe, but it takes the opportunity to correct things from the 2019 offering. Teodoro says:
The news outlet Atom was over the moon (or maybe over Pride Rock?) after catching an early screening, lauding the cinematography and visual effects in a thread on X. Congratulations are given to the “magical wizards” who make up Mufasa: The Lion King’s crew. In their words:
CINEMABLEND NEWSLETTER
Your Daily Blend of Entertainment News
The feedback doesn’t get much more enthusiastic than that, though there’s not much word about whether or not it will help us millennials get past our decades-old trauma. Thankfully we don’t have to wait too long to grab a Pride Rock popcorn bucket and catch a screening for ourselves. Mufasa: The Lion King hits the big screen on Friday, December 20.
Heidi Venable is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend, a mom of two and a hard-core '90s kid. She started freelancing for CinemaBlend in 2020 and officially came on board in 2021. Her job entails writing news stories and TV reactions from some of her favorite prime-time shows like Grey's Anatomy and The Bachelor. She graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a degree in Journalism and worked in the newspaper industry for almost two decades in multiple roles including Sports Editor, Page Designer and Online Editor. Unprovoked, will quote Friends in any situation. Thrives on New Orleans Saints football, The West Wing and taco trucks.