A new prequel to The Lion King, exploring Mufasa's early life, has sparked diverse reactions. While Disney aims for a holiday treat and fans anticipate a deluxe experience, director Barry Jenkins' involvement raises concerns about artistic integrity in a commercial project.
Broadly speaking, three sets of people care about Mufasa : The Lion King , though one will never see it. By far the largest group are followers of the story beloved to millions from the 1994 Disney animation, passable 2019 remake, and globally franchised Broadway musical. Their hope for this high-end prequel is straightforward: a deluxe holiday treat. And that simple wish is shared by the second interested party: Disney chief executive Bob Iger and his litter of hungry executives.
But then there are fans of Barry Jenkins, the American director whose out-of-nowhere Moonlight won the 2017 Best Picture Oscar. That film announced him as a revelatory talent steeped in the poetry of cinema. Now he has made a movie about a hero whose likeness is already on sale at the Disney Store. (“This huggable soft toy will rule over your personal Pride Lands.”) That choice has drawn fierce criticism. “Soulless”, one former admirer told Jenkins after he shared the trailer on social media. Clearly, the arthouse camp will be boycotting. It might be best, lest their heads explode at the sight of cutesy cub Kiara, daughter of the royal Simba, left with animal babysitters at the start of the film. Actual eight-year-olds will aww, while their parents squint at the techno-witchcraft that lets a hyper-realistic mandrill speak like a human. But everyone needs to pay attention. The opening is just a framing device for the flashback at the heart of the movie: the early life story of Kiara’s grandfather Mufasa, before Disney made him a star. The clunk of the prologue hints at the challenges facing the film if it is to be seen as more than a corporate cash grab. (Which is what it is, of course.) The point of IP this precious is to recycle the familiar — but also whip up enough new ideas to justify not simply being dumped on Disney+. Jenkins’ answer is a whole lot of movie. The young Mufasa is soon torn from his family and raised with surrogate
Mufasa The Lion King Barry Jenkins Disney Prequel
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