Barry Jenkins knows people were skeptical about his decision to direct Mufasa: The Lion King, a live-action prequel to the beloved franchise. This is the type he gave us Medicine for Melancholy and Moonlight, two seminal indie texts about romance, self-discovery and intimacy. He gave it to us If Beale Street could talk, one of my favorite movies of all time. a film that heartbreakingly unravels the ways in which love can heal us and systems can break us. Jenkins’ filmography might not have been able to predict his pivot to completing a Disney blockbuster, but if you know his work, you could have predicted one thing: Mufasa he would be bursting with emotion and, as I put it to Jenkins himself when I interviewed him in San Diego for the film’s press day, “big feelings.”
“I just like big feelings,” Jenkins told me while sitting nearby Lin-Manuel Mirandaacclaimed director, musical genius, Broadway legend and of Mufasa composer. “I didn’t realize how powerful a musical is for big emotions until I made Knee High. I’m in favor of musicians, in favor of great emotions.” When you really think about it, Jenkins’ storytelling style – delving into longing, vulnerability and tenderness – lends itself perfectly to the musical genre. And yet, he knows that when the project was first announced, people couldn’t wrap their heads around the idea. “I’m excited for people to see the film,” he said after acknowledging the backlash but declining to join in: “No reaction to the backlash,” he said with a smile. “What [people] If they haven’t seen the movie it’s this idea of big feelings, your words, that I like. I just tried to rush and fill this movie with as many big emotions as I could, using a whole new set of tools. The toolset is the only thing different. The feelings are the same.”
As someone who has seen the movie, I agree. Mufasa it will make you toucheven if you were skeptical after watching Jon Favreau The Lion King (2019), which took some of the soul out of the original 1994 version we grew up with. The photorealism of the animals fell away, taking the magic and wonder out of the story we know and love. Mufasa it benefits from having no original to compare it to, and from the technological advancements since 2019. The animals are more expressive, the cinematography is stunning, and Jenkins’ direction is full of heart. Additionally, its cast delivers performances that aren’t overshadowed by the visuals. In fact, the film’s impressive technology works well with the commitment each voice actor brings to their characters. Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr. they’re Mufasa and Taka (before he became Scar), and both young men continue to earn their status as Hollywood stars and certified internet darlings by backing up their good looks (have you seen these men!?) with undeniable talent.
Mufasa it’s an origin story about how a lion becomes king and how a precocious child becomes a villain, but mostly, it’s about inheritance. The story goes like this: Mufasa is separated from his parents in an opening sequence of a flood that sweeps him into Taka’s royal family and is adopted by them. Taka’s dad is a king who believes power is built through deception. Mufasa clings to the lessons his parents taught him and Taka’s connection to their brotherly bond once jealousy gets in the way. And of course, at the center of their conflict is a girl: Sarabi (Tiffany Boone), who continues to be Mufasa’s companion, but Scar saw her first. The plot thickens. The story is told to Kiara (Simba and Nala’s daughter, voiced by Blue Ivy Carter who is really good in that role) via Rafiki (John Kani) and Timon and Pumbaa (Billy Eichner and Seth Rogan respectively and respectfully, the duo’s screen time should have been cut in half). As the story unfolds, it’s clear that both Mufasa and Scar are fighting for their place in the world, and each believes their own path is the right one. So when I spoke with Pierre and Harrison Jr., I asked them to defend their characters’ views.
I just tried to rush and fill this movie with as many big emotions as I could, using a whole new set of tools. The toolset is the only thing different. The feelings are the same.
Barry Jenkins
“At the end of the day, I was the rightful heir. I was a prince!” Harrison Jr. said passionately. “I tried to invite you to my house. I let you win an entire match and then you want to sit there and do what you did. I won’t say what he did, but you know what you did…. What goes around comes back. Beyoncé definitely said that,” Harrison Jr. said with a laugh. Pierre took a more diplomatic route and discussed the scene in the film where Mufasa tries to talk to Taka about his relationship with Sarabi. “We tried to have a conversation about the matter in question, but the conversation did not end up being a reality. We didn’t end up having this conversation. And as opposed to waiting for that moment to have the conversation, someone fought back, instead of being patient and waiting for that moment when we could have wrapped it up, but that’s okay,” said Pierre, speaking for his character. “Love [Taka]and I celebrate him, and I will always exalt him.” See, big feelings!
The chemistry between Pierre and Harrison Jr. (who was also playing Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. at Genius: MLK/X series this year) shines on screen and adds to the dynamic between Mufasa and Taka. There is a push and pull between beloved brothers and rival enemies. “We just had a lot of fun doing it,” Pierre said of forming the relationship with Harrison Jr. It also shed more light on how Harrison Jr. entered his character’s headspace. “One of my favorite moments was one of our first read-throughs of the script. And I think at that time, Kelvin was deep in it Knight — which is a beautiful movie, by the way — and he had his seats and everything, and he had all of Scar’s physicality. He imagined this perch. He had taken off his shoes and I loved seeing that. I always draw inspiration from my brother here.”
We just had a lot of fun doing it… I always draw inspiration from my brother.
Aaron Pierre on Kelvin Harrison Jr.
One of my favorite moments in the movie is watching Taka, through his wound and suspicions of betrayal, become Scar. His voice deepens and quivers with malice. His stance drops menacingly. He is slowly transformed from a naive wannabe prince who follows his brother to his scar”Be prepared” (Jeremy Irons song became a classic and Chiwetel Ejiofor deftly taken on in the remake), a small power-hungry lion. It’s thrilling to watch and proves that even behind all the theatrics of photorealistic live-action technology, Mufasa he is able to show the subtle development of a character with depth and nuance. It was a tall order and I know the reviews will be mixed, but I think they nailed it.
“Yes, there are many, a lot of pressure,” Boone, who plays Sarabi, told me about taking on such beloved characters steeped in nostalgia. “We’re people who grew up obsessed with this movie and we love these characters. So there is pressure, but it is a great honor. And I think we all felt we were in safe hands with Barry [Jenkins] so we can do our best and bring this to a new generation of kids. And so yes, pressure all day, every day, but here we are. We made it. You know, 30 years later, we made it, and it’s out there. It’s not my job anymore,” he laughed.
Boone made a couple of points that I loved and think are important to consider: one, that this is a children’s movie, and two, that it’s not the cast’s (or creators’) job to accept it. When I review films for children, I think sometimes my peers forget that these films are not for adults who may have fond memories of the IP.
Of course, if you go inside Mufasa waiting to hit like The Lion King of our youth did, you may be disappointed. Songs don’t slap as hard (there is no clear equivalent to “I can’t wait to be king“or”You can feel the love tonight”), but they’re catchy enough to get stuck in your head. And the story of two young lads trying to wrestle with coming to power and coming to power, looking like heritage in the face along with sadness and terrifying expectations is powerful and pure enough that as you watch this mammoth of a film — it certainly you’ve imagined as a deliberate cash grab — remember that Barry Jenkins, a formidable director, found a way to keep the soul in the story while he also had some fun. Some have called Jenkins Mufasa a sellout symbol, but I saw it as a valiant attempt by one of our brightest talents to put something wholesome and light into the world. After all the gravitas and gravitas he gave us, I think we can let him have that. A long time from now, when Jenkins looks back on his legacy, I don’t think he’ll regret making the whimsical children’s film that made so many people feel big emotions.
When I asked Jenkins about the legacy, he was evasive. “I am totally against that kind of thinking,” he said. “I try to look right here, right in front of me at all times, especially when I’m creating something and especially something as expansive as this. [But] the legacy thing was something that I felt was really interesting to unpack and disconnect in that way, just taking away Mufasa’s life, Scar’s life and breaking it down into this thing, and it was really intense, and it changed a little bit and became this other. It was really intense. And when you step back and look at it from 30,000 feet, it’s like, Oh, that’s why this legacy is so impressive. It was the journey. I like to make things like this. I love creating art this way.”
Miranda admitted he thought about the legacy, but said he “got all the legacy out of my system in Hamilton.” The musical won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and 11 Tony Awards. “I was kind of like, OK, the first line of my obituary is done. So what else do I want to do? And how do I choose which one to work on, knowing that whatever comes my way, it’s “Hamilton, creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda”? For me, the answer is that I only say yes to projects that I know I’ll learn a lot from working on, and I knew I’d learn a lot from working with Barry, who I think is one of our great storytellers. ”
Finally, Mufasa is better than its predecessor (The Lion King2019), so beautiful to look at it will leave you staring at the screen in wonder, and such a fun journey to go on with its characters that you’ll realize only Barry Jenkins could have turned a Disney prequel, no one asked in a deep exploration of brotherhood, leadership and family.
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