Mufasa: The Lion King review – "It's no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie"

If Jon Favreau's 2019 live-action version of The Lion King left you with a painful scar (get it?), then at least Barry Jenkins' directorial effort Mufasa: The Lion King provides the plaster. Favreau's shot-for-shot attempt was completely soulless, lacking the emotion of the classic animated film, ultimately failing to justify its existence despite the star power of Donald Glover and Beyoncé.

And while it showcased the boundless technology resembling a nature documentary that David Attenborough would be proud of, to echo Jeff Goldblum's Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park: "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, that they didn't stop to think if they should."

As harsh as that sentiment is, we are talking about The Lion King here. The epic, award-winning 1994 film that came at the height of the Disney animated renaissance, traumatizing a generation of '90s kids in the process.

Release date: December 20

Available: In theaters

Director: Barry Jenkins

Runtime: 1h 40 min

Fast-forward to 2024 and the studio has strayed from that legacy, intent on remaking all their animated films into live action (or in the case of The Lion King, a photorealistic virtual production).

Even with the elite talent of Barry Jenkins at the helm (with a career forged by masterpieces such as The Underground Railroad, If Beale Street Could Talk, and the Academy Award winning Moonlight), everything still pales in comparison to the original, no matter how much money is thrown at the screen.

Mufasa doesn't make a strong enough case for its necessity, but to judge the 2024 prequel on its own merits, or at least for the parts that do work, Jenkins' fingerprints are all over the story's direction.