Review: ‘Mufasa’ a prequel worthy of the original

Barry Jenkins truly is a miracle worker.

The Oscar-winning director of the intimate indie “Moonlight,” the romantic period drama “If Beale Street Could Talk” and the Amazon series “The Underground Railroad” isn’t the first filmmaker who comes to mind to tackle the prequel to Jon Favreau’s poorly received 2019 remake of the beloved animated feature “The Lion King.”

And yet, somehow, Jenkins and his creative team — including his longtime collaborators, cinematographer James Laxton and editor Joi McMillon — make magic with “Mufasa: The Lion King,” offering up a visually dazzling and emotionally affecting coming-of-age story about Simba’s father, whose death traumatized an entire generation of kids in 1994.

There were elements of the 2019 “The Lion King” that were traumatizing, too, having to do with the conceit of transposing this familiar story onto photorealistic animals, who then sang. That mental hurdle still presents as an obstacle.

In “Mufasa,” as we’re jarred into the reality of this cinematic world where stunningly accurate representations of African wildlife speak — nay, elocute — and of course, sing (songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda). It’s a big leap to make, but it’s a testament to the absorbing story and the gorgeous and beautifully staged visuals that the leap isn’t so difficult to land.

The script is also by 2019 “The Lion King” writer Jeff Nathanson, but he’s been liberated from making a line-for-line remake of the original. He is able to imagine the story of how Mufasa and Scar became brothers, and then how they became enemies.

We’re plunged into the action right away, as we keep up with the harrowing journey of the tiny lion cub Mufasa (Braelyn Rankins; Aaron Pierre voices the grown Mufasa).

A young Mufasa is separated from his parents in a great flood and is rescued by young lion Taka (Theo Somolu; later, Kelvin Harrison Jr.) and his mother, Eshe (Thandiwe Newton).

As a stray, Mufasa is not accepted by Obasi (Lennie James), the pride’s king, so he is trained to hunt with the lionesses, while Taka is groomed to take over his royal birthright, though the young cubs quickly become brothers. Their harmony is disrupted when an invading pride of menacing white lions, led by Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen), begins to stalk and hunt them, seeking revenge for a young prince killed in combat.

What Jenkins does so well with Nathanson’s script is make it emotionally palpable to the audience, with an intense focus on the faces of the lions. The technology allows for nuanced micro-expressions in the brows and eyes, while incorporating the animal behaviors that big cats use to communicate: nuzzling, swatting, clawing, caressing.

We’re able to connect with these animal characters during their harrowing adventure, and relate to the entire range of emotions along the way. There are smaller moments and big betrayals, and elements that make the story much more human and compelling in terms of the love triangles and double-crosses; the disappointments and the grief; the triumph and the joy.

It’s a story about standing together to fight tyranny. But the true message of “Mufasa” is to never doubt Jenkins, even when he makes a choice that seems outside of his wheelhouse. He knows the characters and the story intimately, and in “Mufasa,” he expands the scope and range of this world, offering up a story that exists in the realm of “The Lion King” but doesn’t retread on old material (or desecrate it).

3 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: PG (for action/violence, peril and some thematic elements)