First, in 1994, there was The Lion King by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff. Megasuccess in 2D animation (US$979 million at the box office) for this story inspired by Hamlet by Shakespeare. Which, four years later, was (unsurprisingly) followed by The Lion King 2 by Darrell Rooney and Rob LaDuca. A diversion of Romeo and Juliet intended for the then booming video market.
And then, the Disney empire having started to remake its animated classics in live action, the good old The Jungle Book by Wolfgang Reitherman, dating from 1967, has been given a striking makeover under the aegis of Jon Favreau. It was in 2016. A resounding success of this animated feature film with spectacular photorealism which allowed a young human to rub shoulders with wild beasts larger than life. This cohabitation was the magic of the work. In short, the die was cast… and it fell three years later on Simba, Mufasa and company. Cataclysmic success for this Lion King new, in computer-generated 3D animation and again by Jon Favreau: revenues of more than a billion and a half despite lukewarm reviews.
It speaks loudly. In this era of sequels, prequels and remakes, a prequel has therefore been started. Happens like this Mufasa: The Lion King (Mufasa. The lion king in French), the production of which was entrusted to filmmaker Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), who here steps out of his comfort zone, and the screenplay, for that veteran of sequels that is Jeff Nathanson (Speed 2, Rush Hour 2 et 3, Men in Black 3).
Drawing inspiration this time from the structure of The Godfather 2 (just that), Mufasa presents, through flashbacks, the origins of Simba’s father and his enemy brother Taka, who will become the evil Scar. It is the mandrill Rafiki who tells the story to Kiara, the “lion” born to Simba and Nala. Timon and Pumbaa are also (too) present, now essential. And oh so irritating.
Grave and dense
The Jar Jar Binks syndrome hovers over them, as they multiply the interruptions of the story to bring it back to the present, thus lightening a dense story, well led and well produced, but whose themes are very dark (a son unloved, a leader hating foreigners, a love triangle, a betrayed friendship, the dangerous quest for a mythical land… which is very reminiscent, from departure to arrival, of that of the protagonists of Littlefoot the dinosaur). Without the two friends, the youngest spectators could therefore be left behind, but their interventions seem so calculated that they annoy more than they help.
And that’s not even the main problem with production. Rather, it is found in its visual perfection. We thought we had seen everything with The Lion Kingbut technology has continued to advance. The characters as much as the landscapes are astonishingly realistic. Hence a feeling of strangeness when the animals start to speak. And a sudden dropoff when they start to sing. Especially since Lin-Manuel Miranda (Charm, Moana) failed to create pieces that complement the work of Elton John and Tim Rice in the original film.
On arrival, the simple, almost childish magic that emanates from the anthropomorphized animals in a… Disney way, in fact, does not exist here. The film’s stunning visuals paradoxically become its stumbling block. Thus, supported by an original vocal cast of good caliber (Beyoncé and Donald Glover, all in all not very present, as Nala and Simba, Seth Rogen who does tons as Pumbaa, Mads Mikkelsen as the formidable leader of the albino lions – the prize goes to him ), This Mufasa only dazzles. He never touches.
To watch on video
Movies
Canada
