Mufasa: A Mix of Good and Bad

by Christopher O’Hare

Some people may have seen The Lion King. It’s the story of Simba, the cub of the king of a part of the savannah called the Pride Lands, Mufasa. After his uncle Scar kills Mufasa and takes the place as king, Simba runs away to the jungle where he meets Pumbaa, a warthog, and Timon, a meerkat. Eventually, he goes back and defeats Scar, becoming king of the Pride Lands. Now, after earning $988,389,726 dollars worldwide, getting a live action version, and becoming a Broadway show, the famous movie is getting something very unique.

Mufasa is a live-action prequel to The Lion King, telling the story of Mufasa, a cub who is separated from their family because of a flood, and Taka, the heir to the throne who saves Mufasa’s life. When Mufasa’s new family is attacked by outsiders, Mufasa, in self defense, kills a lion named Kiro’s son, leading to Kiro trying to kill Mufasa. Mufasa and Taka go on an adventure that ends with Mufasa becoming king of the Pride lands.

Mufasa has succeeded in some ways and not succeeded in other ways. It has made $543,216,145 dollars, making it the ninth highest grossing movie from 2024. It has clearly succeeded in money, but its ratings tell a different story. It has a 57% on Rotten Tomatoes, a 6.7/10 on IMDb, and a 56% on Metacritic. Based on this information, Mufasa is a mixed bag in success, doing amazingly in making money, but not as great in its reviews.

However, just because the reviews haven’t been very good, doesn’t mean no one liked it. For example, when Hadley Hill of 605 was asked if she liked Mufasa, she said “ Yes. It’s very fun and also, sad, and I feel like that’s what people want, like, happiness and sadness at the same time.”

Molly O’Hare of 605 had a similar response to this question, saying “It was interesting and I really liked the graphics and I really liked the suspense and how it didn’t take too much away from the original.” However, when asked what she would change about the movie, she said “Um, I think I would’ve preferred it if it was in an animated style.”

Overall, the movie, like its success, was a mixed bag, with some ways it could improve, but mostly good things.

Mufasa even has nominees for some awards such as the Casting Society of America, the Satellite Awards for best visual effects, and the Image awards. It was even shortlisted for  Best Original Song and Best Visual Effects at the Academy Awards, more commonly known as The Oscars. However not all these awards are good, since it was also a nominee for the Razzie awards for worst remake, rip-off or sequel. 

Overall, Mufasa seems to be better than it is worse. It has made a lot of money, and students at MS447 seem to like it. So why don't you go see it? You may like it, you may not, it’s like trail mix. It has many things that you eat, but it’s up to you on your opinion on each part.