In 1994, Disney released the iconic ‘The Lion King’: a beautiful animation with a soundtrack from the legendary Elton John and Tim Rice. We were introduced to Simba, Nala and a movie franchise was born.
The film went on to win 17 GRAMMY Awards and 2 Oscars, and has gone down in cinematic history as iconic. Fast forward 30 years later, and I was excited to see the prequel in the ‘Lion King’ lore.
The animation did not disappoint – beautiful, artistic and vast, so realistic that at times it felt like we were watching real lions on the savannah. Directed by Barry Jenkins with Jeff Nathanson providing the screenplay, it’s in the prequel that we learn of how Scar got his name, how the love story between Simba and Nala started, and also discover where they all are now. There was much to love in the film and in particular the journey of Taka aka Scar, in fact, this felt much more like Scar’s story – not Mufasa’s. Interesting family dynamics were introduced with a friendship turned into a one-sided rivalry.
The acting was also great, with Aaron Pierre as Mufasa, Beyonce as Nala and Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Taka. All with incredible singing chops, although I could have taken a pass on Mads Mikkelson as Kiros singing.
Here, is where I felt the production was let down.
The composing team is listed as – get ready for icons of the industry – Lin-Manuel Miranda, Dave Metzger, Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams, Nicholas Britell and Mark Mancina. Unfortunately, for me, the film score really let the overall enjoyment of the storyline down with songs that felt slapped together and uninspiring. I took my daughters to see the film, and I could see them noticeably sighing or ‘cringing’ as they might put it, through each of the songs. Raised on the ‘Lion King’ franchise, I could see they were disappointed by the soundtrack. I wasn’t entirely offended, but did feel they weren’t up to standard for such an iconic movie franchise.
We need to remember that we are comparing the award-winning Elton John & Tim Rice score for the first ‘Lion King’ to a team of composers, which therein lies the problem. There was not one consistent voice to join. Too many cooks, as they say. Perhaps what this production needed for the music was one voice, one musical superstar to create a synergy that complemented the beautiful storytelling and backdrop that is always Disney animation.
Overall, I enjoyed the film, but did feel the score was a missed opportunity for something truly beautiful – and there wasn’t much of a joyful of comedic element. The score was also extremely heavy-handed with male voices, considering the talent of Beyonce, it was surprising that there wasn’t more to give to the Queen Bey.
Favourites Zazu, Pumbaa and Timon make a welcome return, but the jokes are few and far between in what feels like a missed opportunity for fan favourites. Blue Ivy Carter as Kiara is excellent – she has inherited mum and dad’s talent.
Overall, ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ is a fun family watch, and worth checking out if you’re not obsessed with the music.
★★★☆☆
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