The famously beloved company, Disney, has released the new film, “Mufasa: The Lion King.” This new movie was released on Dec. 20, 2024, and has gotten a lot of attention since it was released. The new film is a prequel to the iconic movie, “The Lion King,” and presents how Mufasa, a lost and orphaned cub, meets a lion named Taka. Ever since meeting, they are determined to go on their journey to discover their unknown destinies. Their bond shows how determined and resilient they are, even through the difficulties they were put through. Many people have loved what the filmmakers produced. Mufasa has been known to be another entertaining movie to watch with family. To add on, Mufasa shows viewers to be positive and determined to do anything. Overcoming fears is also another message that was shown in the film. Overall, this movie was very much enjoyed and inspiring to see.
“Mufasa: The Lion King” includes a very diverse and talented cast including the famous singer, Beyonce, who voices Nala (Simba’s wife), and her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter who voices Kiara (Simba & Nala’s daughter). Aaron Pierre voices the title role of Mufasa who is strong, kind-hearted, and a wise leader while Kelvin Harrison Jr. voices his brother Taka who is selfish & jealous of Mufasa. Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen voices the comedic duo of Pumba and Timon, and Mads Mikkelsen voices Kiros, the villain of the movie. Following is the director, Barry Jenkins, who produced the movie with Mark Ceryak, Genevieve Hofmeyr, and Adele Romanski. Finally, the admired singer and songwriter, Lin Manuel Miranda, produced and created the songs in the movie.
“I thought that the cast was very well chosen and a very talented group of people that portrayed the characters and storyline very well,” Karlie Yonemoto, a sophomore at Mark Keppel expressed.
The songs that Lin Manuel Miranda composed for the movie are all melodious and enjoyed to the point where a couple of them went viral when the movie was released. One of the most popular songs in the movie is called, “I Always Wanted a Brother,” talking about the brotherly love that Taka and Mufasa have for each other when they first meet. After the debut of the movie, this song went viral on social media platforms, mainly Instagram and TikTok. Many people (mostly sisters) would include their brothers in the video and do a dance showing the love they have for their brother. Other songs shown in the movie include “Milele,” “Bye Bye,” “We Go Together,” “Tell Me It’s You,” and “Brother Betrayed.” The mother of Mufasa, Afia (Anika Noni Rose) sings the song “Milele,” which focuses on the peaceful place where all animals are trying to get to called Milele. Kiros is the singer of “Bye Bye,” which is the villain song and Taka sings “Brother Betrayed,” which shows the first time that Taka decides to become a villain and betrays Mufasa. Finally the song, “Tell Me It’s You,” is the love song between Mufasa and Sarabi where they express their love for each other for the first time.
“I’ve loved Lin Manuel Miranda for a while already so I was excited for the songs in the movie when I heard that he was producing them and he definitely did not disappoint,” Yuying Tan, a sophomore at Mark Keppel stated.
Viewers love Mufasa, claiming it is an enjoyable movie. Various messages are shown throughout the entire plot such as determination, resilience, and hard work, inspiring and influencing many people. The cast portrayed their roles excellently and were connected to the characters they were portraying. The movie scenes and the plot itself also played out very nicely, introducing a very fun and exciting movie to watch. Mufasa was a very well-thought movie that has gotten a lot of attention ever since it was released. The cast and producers hope to inspire viewers to always keep their heads up even under harsh circumstances. The message, the plot, the characters–everything runs flawlessly and is undoubtedly a great watch.
