The Mufasa and the fur-ious: Disney’s Lion King prequel trailer brings thrills and chills

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“The earth will shake,” Rafiki says before the earth does exactly that: Disney’s first trailer for its live-action-animation hybrid Lion King prequel movie – officially titled Mufasa: The Lion King – looks like it’s going to be packed with action of the most epic kind. Although, based on some of the reactions online, there are plenty of people who aren’t enamored with what a few have described as an expensive tech demo.

But I digress. If the trailer for one of 2024’s new movies makes you excited at the prospect of another Lion King movie, you won’t like how it ends. Indeed, the release date, which is shown at the end of said teaser, confirms it won’t be released in theaters until 20 December. Those of you holding out for its launch on Disney Plus, then, will also have to wait until 2025. Anyway, take a look at the trailer for Mufasa below:

Depending on who you listen to, the movie looks like it’ll be worth waiting for. Once again, Disney has assembled a spectacular cast that includes Aaron Pierre as Mufasa and John Kani as Rafiki. Donald Glover returns to voice Simba from the 2019 remake, and he’s joined by Beyoncé as Nala, Seth Rogen and Pumba, and Billy Eichner as Timba – the trio also returning from The Lion King.

On the newcomer front, Beyoncé’s daughter Blue Ivy Carter is on board as Nala’s daughter Kiara. Kelvin Harrison Jr. is also set to play a prominent role as Taka, a lion prince who befriends the young Mufasa. Lastly, Thandiwe Newton will voice Taka’s mom Eshe, Preston Nyman replaces John Oliver as Zazu, and Mads Mikkelsen is playing Kiros, a formidable lion with big plans for his pride.

The film’s soundtrack will feature new songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda – although the iconic theme from the original movie is here, too, opening the trailer with goosebump-raising effect.

What’s the story of Mufasa: The Lion King?

Mufasa: The Lion King will recount events surrounding the titular character’s rise to prominence. (Image credit: Walt Disney Studios)

Mufasa is an origins tale of sorts that’ll recount the events leading up to the famous lion’s ascension to King of the Pride Lands, which we resides over at Pride Rock. 

Per a Disney press release, the flick “enlists Rafiki to relay the legend of Mufasa to young lion cub Kiara, daughter of Simba and Nala, with Timon and Pumbaa lending their signature schtick. 

“Told in flashbacks, the story introduces Mufasa as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka – the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of an extraordinary group of misfits searching for their destiny – their bonds will be tested as they work together to evade a threatening and deadly foe”. While Mufasa is the focus, we’ll also get some backstory about his brother Scar, one of the finest Disney villains of all-time. Is Scar the new alias that Taka assumes due to events that play out in Mufasa? We’ll find out in December.

The film follows in the footsteps of 2019’s Lion King remake with photorealistic CGI rather than traditional animation. Some of the images in the trailer look a bit computer-y to me, but that may be a YouTube thing – although the movie’s production, including its visual effects production, was slowed during the Hollywood strikes so it’s likely still very much a work in progress.

Disney’s ‘live-action’ remakes have proven to be quite divisive since 2010’s Alice in Wonderland kickstarted the entertainment giant’s push to retell some of its biggest animated classics.

2019’s The Lion King, for instance, currently sits on a bang average 52% on Rotten Tomatoes (RT) – a far cry from the revered 1994 original’s perfect 100% RT rating among audiences. Part of that, of course, is that the more recent film is being reviewed through the lens of remaking a movie that’s almost universally adored. As Brian Eggert of Deep Focus Review pointed out, though there are also issues specific to the use of CGI, adding: “With Disney’s new version of The Lion King, the studio’s recent trend of remaking their classic hand-drawn animated films with live actors and photoreal animation has broadened the definition of Uncanny Valley to include animals.” 

Photorealism is more lifelike than hand-drawn cels, but that means that, when it falls short of perfection, our brains notice it in a way that doesn’t happen with more stylized images. In The Lion King, it also mean the creatures were less expressive and individual but, based on its first teaser, Mufasa looks like it’s taken some good steps to beat that problem. 

Even so, considering Mufasa seems to retcon parts of the lion’s backstory that we learned snippets of in the 1994 original, such as him and Scar being blood relatives, aspects of this Barry Jenkins-directed film might prove contentious, regardless of whether its visuals are more appealing than what’s come before. While you wait, check out our guide to the best Disney Plus movies for more animated hits.

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