The Lion King (1994) is considered an animated classic. It was produced during Disney's so-called renaissance when the company was churning out hit-after-hit. One of the reasons it's considered a classic is because of the music by Elton John. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards. Three of which were for Best Original Song. "Circle of Life," "Hakuna Matata" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" were the tracks recognized with the latter winning the Oscar. Five years ago, Disney did a so-called, live-action remake and that 2019 blockbuster featured the same Elton John songs. However, Beyoncé who was one of the voices in that film created a separate music album, inspired by the film called The Lion King: The Gift (2019). That album was the basis for the film, directed by Beyoncé, called Black Is King (2020), which won Grammy and Emmy Awards. This film, directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins (If Beale Street Could Talk and Moonlight), is a prequel to that 2019 remake but it's the first in this franchise to add a bunch of new songs to the canon.
Lin-Manuel Miranda took the lead in crafting the songs here. He had help from others but Miranda seems to be the main creative force for the soundtrack. It's perhaps unfair to compare his work to one of the most iconic soundtracks created for an animated film, but unfortunately, that's where he is placed. One of Miranda's songs "Tell Me It's You" did make the shortlist for the 97th Academy Awards. It's the song in the film that's meant to be comparable to "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," and it's perfectly serviceable within the film itself but it doesn't pack the same emotional punch as that Elton John Oscar-winning song. It probably doesn't help that Elton John recorded a version of his song and gave it a pop-sound that has been indelibly marked in people's minds and memories. Beyoncé's voice does show up in this film. It's questionable if "Tell Me It's You" would have benefited from her doing a recorded version of it. Otherwise, the songs here aren't as memorable as Elton John's and they certainly didn't hit as well as those from Beyoncé's 2019 album.
This film is a prequel that focuses on the titular character and depicting how he became the leader that we know from the 1994 and 2019 installments. That journey to his leadership starts with Mufasa getting swept away in a flood. If anyone has seen the cartoon Flow (2024), which will likely get nominated for Best Animated Feature, then you know that it too opens with a tiny cat getting swept away in a flood. Because this film is a prequel and we know that Mufasa lives to have kids of his own, it wasn't as thrilling as the opening of Flow. However, most people know that the chief antagonist or outright villain in the original 1994 film and the 2019 remake is the character of Scar. This film's other job seems to be explaining the origins of that rivalry between Scar and Mufasa. This was reminiscent of Transformers One (2024), which was also a prequel dedicated to explaining the rivalry between its two main characters, a rivalry that started as friendship or a kind of brotherhood. Transformers One wasn't a great narrative, but its road to explaining the rivalry was more interesting than here.
Otherwise, the only thing that might be compelling about this film is the CGI effects that renders these life-like animals walking and talking. There are moments where that rendering seems so photo-realistic and has a texture that is so vivid that it's virtually impressive. I'm curious if Jenkins actually filmed anything on location because the textures are so vivid at times that it seems as if some of the vistas or scenery could have been shot on actual African lands.
Finally, Aaron Pierre (Rebel Ridge and Brother) voices Mufasa and Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Chevalier and Waves) voices Taka who later becomes Scar. It's notable because Pierre and Harrison worked together in a TV series that aired earlier this year. That series was Genius: MLK/X, where Harrison played Martin Luther King, Jr. and Pierre played Malcolm X. The two weren't rivals, but they were on opposing sides at times. Needless to say, their roles in that series were extremely more compelling than here.
Rated PG for action/violence and peril.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 58 mins.
In theaters.