Critics are calling ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ a ‘contrived cash-in’ that’s ‘blankly corporate,’ but it’s still better than 2019’s ‘The Lion King’ remake

• “Mufasa: The Lion King,” directed by Barry Jenkins, opens in theaters on Friday.
• It’s a prequel and sequel to Jon Favreau’s 2019 remake of the 1994 animated movie “The Lion King.”
• The movie has a 60% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.

“Mufasa: The Lion King” is the latest addition to Disney’s growing collection of modern films, and critics have mixed reviews about it.

The movie, in theaters this Friday, comes five years after Jon Favreau’s “The Lion King” remake was widely criticized for its uncanny, photorealistic animation.

In “Mufasa,” Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins (“Moonlight” and “If Beale Street Could Talk”) tells the origin story of the two lions and adoptive brothers Mufasa, Simba’s dad; and Taka, who will become the “Lion King” villain known as Scar. The story is framed around the wise mandrill named Rafiki recounting the history to Kiara, voiced by Blue Ivy Carter.

Jenkins tries to infuse the film with his signature style, but the limitations of photorealistic visuals, unmemorable original songs, and cheap attempts at nostalgia and laughs hinder the movie.

Ultimately, Clarisse Loughrey wrote at The Independent, the movie is “yet another damning case study of the fragility of the artist’s voice in the modern studio machine.”

At the time of publication, “Mufasa” has a critics score of 60%, with some calling it a “contrived cash-in” and “blankly corporate” film.

But despite its shortcomings, “Mufasa” is likely to perform well at the box office this holiday season. Variety and Deadline reported that the movie is tracking for a global opening of $180 million. Only time will tell if it’ll catch up to the success of Favreau’s “Lion King” remake, which made $1.6 billion globally despite middling reviews (it holds a 51% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes).

Here’s what critics are saying about “Mufasa.”