Mufasa: The Lion King, released on December 20, 2024, is a 2024 American musical drama film directed by Barry Jenkins. It is the sequel and prequel to The Lion King (2019). 

It premiered on December 9, 2024, in Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, the film has grossed $343 million. The soundtrack was composed by Lin-Manual Miranda. 

The film was about Mufasa, Simba’s father, his origin story, and his journey from being an outsider to becoming a leader. Some aspects of this film clash with the original film. In the original film, Mufasa explains to Simba that all the past kings are connected and are there to guide him down his path. However in the 2024 film Mufasa: The Lion King, Mufasa was considered a stray and he wasn’t a part of the royal bloodline. A lot of fans were outraged by this fact, “In the original Lion King film, it is implied that the two lions are brothers by blood, with their sibling rivalry being a central driver of the story”.

A lot of fans also complained that the CGI was low-effort. They stated that it seemed very unemotional and detached and it was described as very painful to watch.

I really enjoyed watching this film, it was fun to watch and the soundtrack was amazing. I was a little intrigued by the fact that they decided to change it a little from the original story, but later when I watched it I strongly believed that the slight change made it way better. Mufasa’s story of going from a stray with no family to a king was very inspiring and it probably wouldn’t have been as inspiring if he was of royal blood. I also really liked Scar’s, or as described in the film, Taka’s, story and how they took the chance to show viewers that “Villains aren’t born, they’re made”.

I strongly recommend this to anyone who hasn’t watched it already. Its available on Disney+ and HBO Max.