we saw the first 30 minutes of the new Disney film

In 2019, Disney had a record year at the box office. Helped by the outings ofAvengers : Endgame, Toy Story 4 et Star Wars : L’Ascension de Skywalkerthe firm with big ears confirmed its status as the undisputed queen of cinemas, all licenses combined. The photorealistic remake of The Lion King was not to be outdone, well over a billion dollars in revenue. 1.6 billion worldwide, the operation was profitable for the company, always quick to exploit these most emblematic fictional universes. The development of a new film of the genre was quickly noted, this time, it was Barry Jenkins who was in charge of directing.

The director of Moonlight will chronicle Mufasa’s rise from orphan to king of the land of lions. It will also explore his relationship with Scar, adding more dimension to their fratricidal war. Thirty years after the first animated film, Mufasa : The Roi Lion wants to bring together several generations of spectators around a resolutely family production. Does the magic work? We saw the first thirty minutes of the film which has 158, the opportunity to discover the way in which the story reappropriates mythology.

Brothers and lions

After a Lion King looking like an improved copy in 2019, Disney is embarking on the path of deepening and rereading. As Maleficent before him, this new film intends to show another version of the history of the land of lions. These are the events that brought Mufasa to the throne which will be described here. With Rafiki as narrator, the viewer is transported to crucial moments in the feline’s life. From his early childhood to his ascension, it will be a question of adding a little density to the one who has always been presented as a just and upright king, a model for Simba to follow. Like Maleficent though, Mufasa : The Roi Lion offers some freedoms to discuss his relationship with the one who is led to become Scar.

He is undeniably one of the most successful antagonists in the Disney animated universe, this project could not be done without him. In 1994, the screenwriters were inspired by the greatest English-speaking playwright to tell the story of Simba, Scar is therefore a purely Shakespearean adversary, in all his villainy, his deceit and his cruelty. Disney and Barry Jenkins want to question his motivations this time.

If we obviously cannot say too much about the events depicted in the introduction, we must admit that Mufasa has piqued our curiosity. With skill, although a certain eagerness, the first minutes lay the foundations of a new fraternal tragedy. In many ways, Disney’s new film defies our expectations and shines where we least expected it. The big-eared firm has not chosen the easy route, and could well deliver a more nuanced story than its predecessor. We will still have to wait for things to really get going to know if this new film will live up to its ambitions.

Visually interesting

After an aesthetic close to that of animal documentaries in 2019, Mufasa : The Roi Lion reinvents itself with more fantasy. Less realistic than its predecessor, this new film benefits from the same technologies, but a very different artistic direction. The light and colors bring this film a little closer to the animated classic. The introduction even delivers some rather exciting scenes, like when a race benefits from nice camera effects to add to the dynamism of the scene. The presentation of new characters is also particularly interesting, when a red light floods a barren and bleached land. The fact remains that the film does not, for the moment, really succeed in paying homage to the musical interludes which appear regularly. If the sung passages of the animated classic took advantage of the freedom offered by 2D animation to stand out, thedigital and realistic effects do not allow not to make the music vibrate in the same way.

Disenchanted?

In 1994, Elton John and Tim Rice created tunes that will still be sung years later by young and old audiences alike. Mufasa does not abandon this musical aspect and delivers some original songs to accompany the heroes in search of a welcoming land. The first thirty minutes of the film allow us to discover two of these new themes, composed by none other than Lin-Manuel Miranda. Having become one of the most important songwriters on Broadway, the 44-year-old American signs a new collaboration with Disney after Charm et The Little Mermaid. If in the second case, it was mainly a question of reworking the emblematic songs of the animated film alongside Alan Menken, in the first the success is obvious. One could hope that the creator ofHamilton puts his talent at the service of wild and catchy scores. Unfortunately, the mayonnaise does not take. The same goes for the orchestral themes, which rarely escape from the work of Hans Zimmer on The Lion King (1994) or some reinventions for the 2019 version.