The Problem With "Mufasa" From the Perspective of Someone Who Has Not Seen It

     It is no secret that the Disney company has become a media giant in the past few decades. The feel-good family focused brand has created animated films, live action films, TV shows, live entertainment, musicals, cruises, theme parks, and its very own streaming service. Valued at 196.76 billion dollars, you would think that company has got their formula all figured out. You would of course, be wrong.

      If you have been keeping up with Disney's recent films, you would be aware that in the past decade or so the company has decided that if something worked once it will work again, and has begun to create live action remakes of their most popular animated movies. General consensus would put these movies in the range from "Not Bad" to "The Worst Thing I Have Ever Seen With My Eyes" (Dumbo).  I could go on about all of the ways Disney has screwed up by playing off of adults nostalgia for the classics, and how these films will be their end if they don't get a clue, but today I want to focus on their most recent cash grab that nobody asked for. I am of course, talking about Mufasa (2024). 

    For context, I have not seen the movie, so if you are reading this ready to come to the defense of Blue Ivy's voice acting skills or something, leave a note in the comments. 

    Firstly, this was a film nobody asked for. The original Lion King is widely considered to be one of Disney's all time best films. Incredible music, stunning animation, and lovable characters all support the plot of Shakespeare's Hamlet to create a classic and timeless movie. I can understand the desire to continue to capitalize on such a great success with the additions of Lion King 1.5, and The Lion King 2. Even though 1.5 has some memorable moments, neither of these films lived up to the quality of the original, and have not stood the test of time. There are tragically few straight to VHS Disney sequels worth a watch. If those movies were not complete box office successes, why do we think that doing a CGI prequel decades later would be a smart idea? Why would you go see a worse version of a classic favorite for $11.90? Is there a single Disney remake that is even comparable to the source material? Let me know in the comments what you think. 

    This brings me to my second and most important point. The live action Lion King remake and Mufasa are not live action. I know that it what they want us to think, but it is all just CGI. It's just less fun animation, and it looks weird when they try to make the animals have human facial expressions. I would have had the utmost respect if Disney had actually done this live action and just followed lions around with cameras trying to piece a plot together with what they got guy-on-a-buffalo style. But they took the coward's way out and just made the whole entire movie CGI. Zero creativity and risk. 

    Lastly, I just want Disney to try new things. There was a period of time that it seemed like they could not miss, and they just were cranking out hit after hit. Now it feels rare to see a truly creative and clever movie come from the Mouse. I suppose that is what happens when business men are put in positions of creative power. They can only focus on what has worked in the past and play it safe. But as a very wise mandrill once said, "The past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it".