Early reactions to Mufasa: The Lion King are positive

Lin-Manuel Miranda's songs and the film's hyper-realistic photography won over critics.

A few days before its release in theaters, on December 18 in France, Mufasa: The Lion King was shown to American journalists last night. So what is the live action film, directed by Barry Jenkins and thought of as a prequel to the live remake of Jon Favreau (released in 2019)? The first reactions are largely positive.

Variety's review ignites: “It's the perfect prequel.”writes Jazz Tangcay. “So beautifully designed. The songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda and the music by Nicholas Britell are absolutely divine and sound very pleasant to our ears. Pure joy.”

Journalist Dana Abercrombie assures that this story about the origins of Mufasa East “a story worth telling that makes you wonder what destiny is. Expertly written and directed, it adds a new dimension to the franchise, including exploring a little more about the characters we love and thought we knew. The visual effects are stunning.”

The ComicBook.com reviewer admits that he never found this film to be essential, but “the animation is amazing, Lin-Manuel Miranda's songs are infectious, and the vocal performances make this Mufasa better than the 2019 version of Lion King“.

Dempsey Pillot of Cinefied also finds that the film “ist really good! But that's normal from Barry Jenkins, right? A biblical exploration of destiny, brilliantly disguised as an origin story on Mufasa and Scar. Entertaining, visually stunning, and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s music did not disappoint!”

We also note some returns less enthusiastic about this prequel “bloody shock“, writes Michael J. Lee, who validates the “Stunning visuals and cinematography”but believes that Mufasa is dotted “mediocre songs which do not advance a very artificial story (…) At least there is humor which brings a little lightness.”

LaughingPlace reviewer finds the film “suffers quite a bit from the side effects of the prequels”but he concedes that the result “works as enjoyable (if semi-tragic) family entertainment with just enough drama, adventure and laughs to fill out a slightly overly long film.”