Title: Mufasa: The Lion King (2024) Director: Barry Jenkins Rating: PG Genre(s): Adventure, Action, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Musical Run Time: 1hr 58mins Stars: Aaron Pierre ∙ Kelvin Harrison Jnr ∙ Tiffany Boone ∙ Kagiso Lediga ∙ Preston Nyman After young lion cub, Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) gets separated from his parents, he stumbles upon Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jnr), another young lion but of royal descent whom Mufasa befriends and eventually grows to call a brother. Destiny however, causes their bond to be tested overtime revealing who is meant to be the lion king. Mufasa: The Lion King would be great addition to the Lion King franchise if only live action remakes, sequels and villain-hero backstories did not become an overused trope these last few years. It seems the only redeemable quality of Mufasa was a couple of its songs, composed by the talented Lin-Manuel Miranda. “I Always Wanted a Brother” has fortunately wormed its way into the ears of many audiences for good and bad reasons. The film uses the cliché storyline of underdog to hero and does a poor attempt of developing a relationship between Mufasa and Taka (aka Scar). Not to mention, the sarcasm and random jokes here and there by characters Timon and Pumba seems pretty forced. On the other hand, Disney took great effort in honoring the memory of late James Earl Jones. But that’s just what it is – a tribute to the original great voice of Mufasa. It seems Disney’s creative juices were running low and needed a desperate attempt to tug at the audiences’ heartstrings. Perhaps the timing of Mufasa wasn’t right; with the excessive development of cliché overused plots, identifiable character tropes, predictable endings and a constant disappointment of live action remakes, played a part in the film’s deflated reception. Obviously, adults would have an opinion, but children wouldn’t care. Hence, if you’re an adult looking for something fresh and entertaining to watch, I don’t recommend Mufasa: The Lion King. It’s for the kids. I’ll give this movie a solid 3/10.