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Disney is gearing up to release Mufasa The Lion King, the highly anticipated follow-up to 2019's adaptation of The Lion King. Set to be released on December 20, 2024, the film is a prequel that will depict the story of Mufasa before he became the leader of his pride.
The 1994 animated film remains a beloved classic, but it contained many mistakes that were corrected in the 2019 version. However, the new film too was not without its faults and contained many errors. With the upcoming movie, Disney has the opportunity to right some of the wrongs it made in the past.
In this article, we explore some of the mistakes the live-action Mufasa The Lion King film could choose to fix.
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Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the Disney film, The Lion King.
Five mistakes Mufasa The Lion King needs to fix
1) Continuity errors
The 2019 film had one of the best visual effects seen in a Disney live-action film with its photo-realistic animals and their movements.
However, its uncanny resemblance to real life doesn't take away the fact that it's still an animated film that has to be created frame by frame. Therefore, the presence of continuity errors in The Lion King is shocking.
In the 2019 film, when Mufasa is teaching Simba a lesson, it's still very light all around. However, by the time Simba approaches him, it's almost dark. In another scene towards the end of the film, Scar walks on top of Pride Rock and approaches the embers on the floor.
However, vanother shot shows him approaching the embers again from a greater distance. Moreover, in many instances, the eyes of the animals do not react when walking from shade to sunlight.
The upcoming Mufasa The Lion King film needs to be mindful of making such continuity errors again.
2) Young Pumbaa
In Mufasa The Lion King, Seth Rogen reprises his role as Pumbaa. As a comic relief and Timon's partner-in-crime, Pumbaa is a beloved character who takes on a young Simba under his wing. His reprisal indicates that Pumbaa will definitely appear in the new movie.
One big mistake the 2019 film makes regarding Pumbaa is his younger version seen through a flashback. While Pumbaa is a warthog, the younger version of him depicted in the film is a juvenile wild boar.
If Mufasa The Lion King decides to portray a young Pumbaa again, they need to fix his character design so that it stays true to his species.
3) Expressions
One of the major gripes about the 2019 film was the lack of emotions in the faces of the animal characters.
In a bid to make them look photo-realistic, the animals were stripped away of their emotive expressions. That resulted in many emotional scenes being undercut by the deadpan expressions of the characters with the voice-acting doing most of the work.
To make an impact during emotionally charged scenes, the creators need to find the perfect balance between realism and animation so that the animals can convey their feelings through appropriate facial expressions.
4) Animal inaccuracies
While casual viewers may not have noticed anything wrong with the animals in the original film and its 2019 version, there are several inaccuracies that cripple those films.
One glaring error that most audiences might not even notice is the lion's roar. The roar made by adult Simba atop Pride Rock is the typical loud roar wrongly depicted in most films and is not representative of the real sound made by lions in the wild.
Moreover, Simba could not have survived on bugs alone as is seen in the films because actual lions are required to eat animal meat. Moreover, Rafiki's appearance makes him resemble a female mandrill rather than a male one.
Many such errors permeate throughout the film, including the presence of animals that would geographically not be found there in real life. Although Mufasa The Lion King is a fictional story with talking animals, it cannot hurt to be factually correct.
5) Music
One of the major features of The Lion King films is that it's a musical, with its songs having made a mark on pop culture.
The renditions of the original Circle of Life and Hakuna Matata have become so iconic that they have been covered and referenced in various media throughout the years. Therefore, it was no surprise that fans were eagerly awaiting to hear the new version of Be Prepared, Scar's villain song that's known for its campiness.
However, the 2019 version of the song drew criticism from critics and fans alike. The new rendition lacked the emotion and personality of the original song, having been heavily cut down and performed in spoken-word style. The darker tone of the film along with the photo-realistic portrayal prevented the remake from being the pompous and bombastic musical number it was originally known for.
With the upcoming prequel also being a musical with new original songs, Mufasa The Lion King needs to give the audience an equally amazing song(s) accompanied by vivid visuals in order to make up for its 2019 disaster.
What is Mufasa The Lion King about? Plot details explored
As mentioned previously, the upcoming film is a prequel to The Lion King and will tell the story of Mufasa,
Simba's father whose death in the first film plays a major role. The absence of Mufasa, a kind and just leader, is felt throughout the film by Simba who aims to emulate the principles of his father.
According to Disney, the synopsis for Mufasa The Lion King reads:
"Mufasa: The Lion King enlists Rafiki to relay the legend of Mufasa to young lion cub Kiara, daughter of Simba and Nala, with Timon and Pumbaa lending their signature schtick. Told in flashbacks, the story introduces Mufasa as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka—the heir to a royal bloodline.
"The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of an extraordinary group of misfits searching for their destiny—their bonds will be tested as they work together to evade a threatening and deadly foe."
With Aaron Pierre as Mufasa and Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Taka/Scar, the actors join the returning cast of the 2019 film, which includes Donald Glover and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter. Also joining them are Mads Mikkelsen and Beyonce's daughter Blue Ivy in her feature film debut.
Mufasa The Lion King is set to be released on December 20, 2024. Meanwhile, the animated film from 1994 and its 2019 remake are available to watch on Disney+.
