Mufasa – The Lion King | The astonishing origins of the first Lion King

Before being the cruel Scar, he was Taka, who came to the rescue of the young orphan Mufasa. The two will grow up as brothers and set out together in search of the promised land, Mileilei.

The main criticism towards the photorealistic remake of The Lion King by Jon Favreau, published in 2019, was: “Why? »

Although visually stunning, the film tells the same story and is punctuated by the same songs as the 1994 original. Screenwriter Jeff Nathanson (Catch Me If You Can, Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Men Tell No Tales) picked up well this time with the plot of Mufasawhich turns out to be captivating, even if we know how it ends.

Some time after the events of The Lion Kingthe wise mandrill Rafiki (voice of John Kani) tells Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter), daughter of Simba (Donald Glover) and Nala (Beyoncé Knowles), as well as her “bodyguards” Timon (Billy Eichner ) and Pumbaa (Seth Rogen), how his grandfather Mufasa became king of the Pride Lands.

If you were hoping to avoid the trauma of seeing a child lose its parents this time – insert memory of the wildebeest horde here –, Mufasa will not spare you. Orphaned, the lion cub (Aaron Pierre) is saved from crocodile-infested waters by Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). Happy to have found a “brother”, the friendly prince leads Mufasa to his parents, Obassi (Lennie James) and Eshe (Thandiwe Newton). While the king rejects him, the lioness raises him as her son.

Faced with the threat of voracious white lions, King Obassi orders Taka and Mufasa to flee and charges the latter with protecting his son. On the way to Mileilei – the mythical promised land, subject of one of the most beautiful songs in the film – the duo meets young Rafiki (Kagiso Lediga), Zazu (Preston Nyman) and Sarabi (Tiffany Boone). When the group is reunited, we realize how enjoyable it is to discover a new adventure with these familiar characters and to see how friendship, love and hatred have changed them.

Mufasa is a delight for the eyes. Once again, we combine live shots and photorealistic computer-generated images, but Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins (Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk) stands out for the variety of his plans and his attention to detail.

The music is the other strong element of the feature film, as Hans Zimmer's memorable pieces blend skillfully with Dave Metzger's new compositions. Lin-Manuel Miranda's songs are not as catchy as those of Elton John and Tim Rice – an almost insurmountable challenge – but are catchy, especially I Always Wanted a Brother et Tell Me It’s You.

The humor of Timon and Pumbaa lightens the overall serious story, but the “tale” type structure ends up harming the rhythm with its frequent back and forth in time. A few interludes featuring them could have been cut in order to go under the psychological bar of two hours.

In the room