Amazingly, three decades have passed since we first set eyes on The Lion King, the joyous animated musical which reminded us, after a lacklustre few years, that Disney could still create spellbinding cinematic magic.
My children, all born in the 1990s, grew up knowing the words of those Tim Rice/Elton John songs like catechisms. For them, the fruity baritone menace of Jeremy Irons as Scar defined villainy, while Mufasa (James Earl Jones) was a byword for valour. As soon as they were old enough, we took them to see the stage version.
Those memories of The Lion King were so precious that they baulked at the idea of seeing the heavily digitalised 2019 remake, even though I assured them that it was fun.
But they would be right to swerve this overblown sequel.
Mufasa: The Lion King (dedicated to Jones, who died in September) strains with every sinew to make us feel the love tonight — to paraphrase one of the original song titles.
It is sometimes spectacular on the eye, with all those computerised bells and whistles combining to bring the African savannah to vibrant, exhilarating life. Yet the film, directed by Barry Jenkins (who made the Oscar-festooned 2016 film Moonlight), is touched with a spot of leonine laryngitis. Hard as it tries, it never quite roars.
Although a sequel in the sense that the grown-up Simba (voiced by Donald Glover) is now King of the Pride Lands, it is really a prequel, as wise mandrill Rafiki (John Kani) tells the stirring life story of Simba’s late father, Mufasa, to his wide-eyed granddaughter, Princess Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter, herself the daughter of what passes for US royalty, Beyoncé and Jay‑Z). Beyoncé is also back in the voice cast, as Simba’s queen, Nala.
Anyway, after being swept far away from his parents Afia and Masego by raging floodwaters, Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) reaches adolescence as the adopted son of kindly lioness Eshe (Thandiwe Newton), whose disagreeable mate Obasi (Lennie James) is less well disposed to a ‘stray’.
Mufasa forms a strong fraternal bond with Eshe’s natural son Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr), which intensifies when a belligerent army of lions, the so-called ‘Outsiders’, arrives to conquer Obasi’s pride. Mufasa and Taka escape — with the Outsiders, led by the ill-tempered Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen), in hot pursuit.
This all bowls along watchably enough, and as the pursuers close in there is a clifftop scene perhaps intended to evoke Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969), although the film lacks the wit to make it sing.
Indeed, it’s a surprise there isn’t more wit throughout. The screenwriter is Jeff Nathanson, whose credits include not just the 2019 remake but also the wonderful Catch Me If You Can (2002). But this time he somehow contrives to make the banter between Timon the meerkat (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa the warthog (Seth Rogen) more tiresome than funny.
Most of the songs, though written by Broadway superstar Lin-Manuel Miranda, are decidedly forgettable. Of course he has a mighty act to follow: Tim Rice nailed the lyrics perfectly back in 1994. But this isn’t even tepid, reheated Rice.
As Mufasa and Taka seek the Elysian, sun-drenched lands known as Milele, the chase rather oddly takes them across a snowy mountain range.
In response to pedants everywhere, concerned about the unexpected arrival of Himalayan-style avalanches in sub-Saharan Africa, I suppose the filmmakers might make the point that meerkats and warthogs don’t buddy up in real life, either. Or maybe it’s their mischievous nod to climate change. Either way, it’s a bit weird.
Still, the objective of all this, narrative-wise, is to show us how Mufasa overcame a traumatic cubhood to grow into a heroic king, and also what became of Taka, who, in a climactic fight and no spoiler intended, acquires a nasty facial… scar. In that respect, the film does its job.
It’s a safe bet for a family outing to the pictures these Christmas holidays. But it’s not as good as the 2019 movie, and not a whisker on the magnificent original.
