DVDizzy Forum

I saw it today. I'm gonna quote one of the characters from the "Chernobyl" series for a review - not great, not terrible. I enjoyed the visuals and the voice acting, but the story was very chaotic, and some events taking place here make the characters in the first one (I mean the 2019 one) look kinda silly and ridiculous. The songs were okay, but not particularly memorable. However, I did enjoy the one that Taka and Mufasa sing early in the film.

Box Office: ‘Sonic 3’ Speeds to $62 Million Debut, ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ Gets Trampled With $35 Million
https://variety.com/2024/film/news/box- ... 236257432/

And thus the Aladdin sequel gives its final dying breaths before sinking into the abyss forever ...

I know nothing about the Sonic franchise but congratulations to Paramount.

And thus the Aladdin sequel gives its final dying breaths before sinking into the abyss forever ...

I think that's more hopeful wishing (and of course--trolling). A direct sequel always does better than a prequel, particularly if the title isn't the same as in this case. Disney overestimated that the general public would immediately recognize the name "Mufasa" (or that the few that did would want to see a backstory about the character anyway). They would've done better with a sequel that actually features the cast of characters in the original.

But this movie underperforming won't stop other sequels, particularly since it's not quite as humiliating as Alice Through the Looking Glass' performance. Much like WIR2 flopping didn't stop Moana 2, Frozen 2, Zootopia 2, etc. etc. Anyway, I say congratulations to Sonic 3, too. Not because I'm haunting a Disney forum as part of some kind of culture war, but because I surprisingly liked the first two Sonic films even though I had went into the first one expecting it to be awful and I never could muster any enthusiasm for this. If it had been Simba's Pride or something similar, that would've been different.

Disney's Divinity wrote: ↑Mon Dec 23, 2024 2:42 am

And thus the Aladdin sequel gives its final dying breaths before sinking into the abyss forever ...

I think that's more hopeful wishing (and of course--trolling). A direct sequel always does better than a prequel, particularly if the title isn't the same as in this case. Disney overestimated that the general public would immediately recognize the name "Mufasa" (or that the few that did would want to see a backstory about the character anyway). They would've done better with a sequel that actually features the cast of characters in the original.

But this movie underperforming won't stop other sequels, particularly since it's not quite as humiliating as Alice Through the Looking Glass' performance. Much like WIR2 flopping didn't stop Moana 2, Frozen 2, Zootopia 2, etc. etc. Anyway, I say congratulations to Sonic 3, too. Not because I'm haunting a Disney forum as part of some kind of culture war, but because I surprisingly liked the first two Sonic films even though I had went into the first one expecting it to be awful and I never could muster any enthusiasm for this. If it had been Simba's Pride or something similar, that would've been different.

In Spain they used the name "Mufasa: El Rey León" (Mufasa: The Lion King) to make it more attractive to audience but let's be honest, this movie should have been at Disney Plus. They thought that they were going to make tons of money from it but it seems that it's not going to be this way and I'm glad about it. Let's hope that after SW all the LA sequels get cancelled including sequels and prequels.

That isn't going to happen.

Disney's Divinity wrote: ↑Mon Dec 23, 2024 3:13 am That isn't going to happen.

If they are so stupid to still making movies that flop on box office then they deserve all the flops that they have

Disney's Divinity wrote: ↑Mon Dec 23, 2024 2:42 am

And thus the Aladdin sequel gives its final dying breaths before sinking into the abyss forever ...

I think that's more hopeful wishing (and of course--trolling). A direct sequel always does better than a prequel, particularly if the title isn't the same as in this case. Disney overestimated that the general public would immediately recognize the name "Mufasa" (or that the few that did would want to see a backstory about the character anyway). They would've done better with a sequel that actually features the cast of characters in the original.

But this movie underperforming won't stop other sequels, particularly since it's not quite as humiliating as Alice Through the Looking Glass' performance. Much like WIR2 flopping didn't stop Moana 2, Frozen 2, Zootopia 2, etc. etc. Anyway, I say congratulations to Sonic 3, too. Not because I'm haunting a Disney forum as part of some kind of culture war, but because I surprisingly liked the first two Sonic films even though I had went into the first one expecting it to be awful and I never could muster any enthusiasm for this. If it had been Simba's Pride or something similar, that would've been different.

Wreck-It Ralph 2 didn’t flop, it was a success with more than triple its $175M budget with $529M worldwide.

Thumper_93 wrote: If they are so stupid to still making movies that flop on box office then they deserve all the flops that they have

You know the Moana remake won't flop, so... I can see L&S doing at least moderately well, snd eventually the inevitable Frozen remake will do well barring racebends, So it's a waste of time hoping they'll go away just because they aren't guaranteed successes. Christopher Robin and Mary Poppins Returns also flopped while things like Aladdin, Alice, Maleficent, and so on were massive, it didn't put an end to them.

If anything, I sort of expect them to start all over with another Cinderella in 5-10 years.

I saw the movie today. Frankly, while it wasn`t a bad movie by any means, it felt like cheap fanfiction. It felt rather like a direct-to-video/streaming property rather than a theatrical product. Due to how it was a origin story. The visuals were great and while the expressions on the faces were an improvement over the uncanny expressions of the 2019 remake, it still looked strange to see the lions smiling. As for the songs, I liked I`ve Always Wanted a Brother, We Go Together, Tell Me It`s You and Brother Betrayed. As for the voices, Anika Noni Rose was essentially the most recognizable of the new cast. As for the Kiros and the other lions, they were bland and frankly, it seemed even more jarring to have them singing. The way Taka and Mufasa were introduced to each other was a little rushed. The way Pride Rock was shaped in the climax was funny and cute on the nose.
Frankly, Kiara was an little improvement, as she was improved and less annoying (as she was one of my gripes with Simba`s Pride, as she was a reckless brat with a contrived and unbelievable character arc). While the parts with Timon and Pumbaa were anachronistic, they were tolerable enough. However, my only gripes with the story were how Taka/Scar`s change of heart at the end felt contrived and mandatory. Due to how it`s well known that Taka is going to turn evil at the end. The other gripe is the introduction of Kiara`s little brother at the end. While it was never confirmed that it actually was Kion, it was a minor gripe how the movie introduced him randomly, without a true, believable setup. All in all, Mufasa was not a bad movie, but frankly, it felt like needless, fanficky property.

Disney's Divinity wrote: ↑Mon Dec 23, 2024 10:40 am

Thumper_93 wrote: If they are so stupid to still making movies that flop on box office then they deserve all the flops that they have

You know the Moana remake won't flop, so... I can see L&S doing at least moderately well, snd eventually the inevitable Frozen remake will do well barring racebends, So it's a waste of time hoping they'll go away just because they aren't guaranteed successes. Christopher Robin and Mary Poppins Returns also flopped while things like Aladdin, Alice, Maleficent, and so on were massive, it didn't put an end to them.

If anything, I sort of expect them to start all over with another Cinderella in 5-10 years.

Yes, Moana and Lilo & Stitch can do great numbers but it's useless if the rest of the movies are not doing it well. TLM did it really bad the when they had great expectations on it. Mufasa is not doing a great box office as they expected and it doesn't looks like it's going to improove with all the sucessful movies that are now on theaters. Snow White trailer has even more dislikes than TLM and the movie is on it's way to be a completly flop. We also have all the Disney+ releases that they did (Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Lady and the Trump). We don't actually know if these movies were a success at the platform but all the merchandise was a flop having a 80% of discount in their products(Peter Pan). How are they going to sell their LA merchandise to companies when all the things that they've made are having bad resaults? EvenMattel is having problem with Disney with SN LA... Yes, they can make great numbers with the Moana and Lilo releases but at this moment LA films are not working as they expected to do and that's a fact.
About Frozen we don't know how well it would work. It is a franchiste that is going to have 2 more movies, it has the broadway show that's right now in some countries and coming soon to Disney+. A LA movie is not announced yet and we don't know how well it would do because people can get saturated about it.
A few years ago it was crazy to think that all the direct-to-video sequel will end and they finally did it. Nothing last forever

Frankly, with regards to the live action remakes, I was really thinking that Snow White, Lilo and Stitch and Moana would be the last ones. Who knows, we'll still need to see how these three will perform, and maybe that will influence the remakes' future.

Here’s my Out of theatre reaction: https://youtube.com/shorts/U5He4PAJdr8? ... yau3O3r9sY

SPOILERS AHEAD! I tried my best to tag everything, but I may have missed some so proceed with caution!

It was very okay. I did not realize Anika Noni Rose and Keith David were playing Mufasa’s parents— what a joy! Disney should use Keith David like they did Tony Jay and David Ogden Stiers back in the day— put that man’s voice in everything!! His voice conveyed so much warmth here. Very different from his turns as Dr Facilier and even Goliath.

I think the story works in isolation, in this one film, the idea that Mufasa and Scar are not biological brothers, the idea that Mufasa is not descended from royalty, works for this one film. But when you think about that in relation to the original film and remake that dynamic just doesn’t make sense anymore. I don’t know that the original TLK team had a detailed background written for Mufasa, but from the material that was included in the film, it really feels like Mufasa is the latest in a long line of kings… he has a regal bearing that feels inherited. And I feel like you lose a lot of the pathos around Scar’s betrayal if he is not the biological brother of Mufasa and uncle of Simba. I mean— apply that to Hamlet. If Claudius is just a good friend of the King, who then kills the King and starts screwing Gertrude, well, you get why Hamlet would be upset… but when it’s Hamlet’s uncle… that’s a lot more personal, isn’t it? I also think the TLK/Hamlet story is about the upturning of the “natural order” of things… it’s not just the Circle of Life as depicted in the film, it’s the idea that the son inherits from the father and Scar/Claudius upsets that order. It matters that Scar is in the line because he’s skipping his place. And I just think it’s weakened if Scar isn’t actually in the line of succession… It actually makes Scar’s motivation from the original film less justifiable and more messy. In the OG films, doesn’t Scar say Simba displaced him in the line? Why would he think that when he and Mufasa aren’t related? But okay, lets say Mufasa does chose to adopt Scar as his heir (it seems like some time passes between the ending of Mufasa and the start of TLK, maybe Mufasa and Sarabi had trouble conceiving and Mufasa needed to name a successor). Why in the hell would Mufasa adopt Scar into the line of succession after he already tried to murder him??? Mufasa already looks kinda stupid here for not banishing Taka after the events of this film, but if he made him his heir presumptive in place of a natural heir before the birth of Simba he really is incredibly stupid.

If Scar is not related to Mufasa he really has no claim to the throne, he’s not skipping up the line of succession, he’s obliterating it. He’s not really a Richard III figure anymore, he’s just a usurper. More like a Macbeth, I guess?? I don’t know, the more I think about it, it just seems that was a really poor choice and kinda a surprising fumble to make. I knew of this change going in, but I was kinda hoping there’d be a twist reveal it was a fake out. That somehow Mufasa and Scar really were biologically related, that Mufasa really did have royal blood.

I know I’m overthinking this, but I spent half of 2024 hyper fixating on the Tudors and the Wars of the Roses so this stuff is very much on my mind! Lol

I really appreciate their attempt to write a new story, though. I enjoyed seeing more of Mufasa and Sarabi. I thought Kiros was actually sometimes a very menacing villain. I thought his song sucked. Speaking of the music, I enjoyed a few of the songs but I don’t think Mufasa comes anywhere close to the heights LMM achieved with Hamilton or Encanto. And there is no song that rivals anything from the original film. (Although I just read that apparently the songs are going viral on TikTok now??) All my favorites were at the start of the film.

Another thing I appreciated was how open they were about the brutality of the animal world. There’s a line “Go for the throat, Mufasa!” lol And this is also a bit weird, I guess, but there was lots of talk about adult lions eating cub Mufasa at the beginning, which I think is realistic animal behavior. But it also reminds me of the brutality in old fairy tales where even human children are at risk of being devoured. I don’t know— I thought it was a surprising choice to include that I wouldn’t have expected out of Disney today.

It was an okay movie and it was the only one that worked for my whole family (none of us play video games and my sister and I are the only Robert Eggers fans, lol!).

Mooky wrote: ↑Fri Dec 20, 2024 10:29 amI didn't find Timon and Pumbaa grating, they even managed to get a few chuckles out of me. Your mileage may vary though.

Personally, they did not work here for me. Which was disappointing because I remember Rogan and Eichner were the surprise best in show for me in the remake. I don’t know, the framing device had me wishing I was rewatching TLK 1 1/2.

PatchofBlue wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2024 6:50 pm The character motivations were a bit limp. I can't believe that the thing that ultimately turned Taka/Scar was Sarabi choosing Mufasa over him. The whole thing was very 8th grade.

I had the same initial reaction as soon as Scar started singing about Sarabi. But then again, this does appear to be his first experience with romance and unlike Mufasa, Scar was not raised among the lionesses. So I can understand Scar being very upset… but yes, I agree that it doesn’t really make a lot of sense that that’s what makes him into a turncoat. Maybe if there’d been a time jump, maybe if Scar had been lusting after Sarabi for years. IDK.

I keep thinking, too, that the story behind Scar’s name also sucked. I don’t know… either I had head canon, or I read somewhere years ago that Scar got the “scar” in childhood and it became a cruel nickname that stuck. Isn’t that a better story than the explanation we got in this film? I actually gasped when Mufasa said he wouldn’t call “Taka” by his name anymore because I thought Mufasa was about to invent Scar’s nickname. But instead we find out Scar named himself. The cruelty of coining the nickname might have seemed out of character for Mufasa, but what a good justification for Scar to resent Mufasa even more. I don’t think it works as well if Scar chose it himself. :/

PatchofBlue wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2024 6:50 pm I was confused at why they decided that Mufasa would see his mother again but not his father. Like, why go in halfway like that?

I think the movie wanted Mufasa’s journey to reflect Simba’s as much as possible. So because Simba’s father died and his mother survived so does Mufasa’s.

I don’t think that was the right choice, either.

DisneyFan09 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 23, 2024 11:23 am The other gripe is the introduction of Kiara`s little brother at the end. While it was never confirmed that it actually was Kion, it was a minor gripe how the movie introduced him randomly, without a true, believable setup.

Hmm… I didn’t have an issue with this. It seemed pretty clear to me at the start of the film that Nala was visibly pregnant and looking for a place to nest and give birth. I don’t know much about big cat behavior, but I remember the cat I had as a kid who had kittens! lol When it was time, she found a hiding place to give birth. I was fully expecting Kiara to get a sibling at the end. By the way, I thought Blue Ivy did pretty good work for a nepo baby!

UmbrellaFish wrote: ↑Wed Dec 25, 2024 5:22 pm I don’t know that the original TLK team had a detailed background written for Mufasa, but from the material that was included in the film, it really feels like Mufasa is the latest in a long line of kings… he has a regal bearing that feels inherited. And I feel like you lose a lot of the pathos around Scar’s betrayal if he is not the biological brother of Mufasa and uncle of Simba. I mean— apply that to Hamlet. If Claudius is just a good friend of the King, who then kills the King and starts screwing Gertrude, well, you get why Hamlet would be upset… but when it’s Hamlet’s uncle… that’s a lot more personal, isn’t it? I also think the TLK/Hamlet story is about the upturning of the “natural order” of things… it’s not just the Circle of Life as depicted in the film, it’s the idea that the son inherits from the father and Scar/Claudius upsets that order. It matters that Scar is in the line because he’s skipping his place. And I just think it’s weakened if Scar isn’t actually in the line of succession… It actually makes Scar’s motivation from the original film less justifiable and more messy. In the OG films, doesn’t Scar say Simba displaced him in the line? Why would he think that when he and Mufasa aren’t related? But okay, lets say Mufasa does chose to adopt Scar as his heir (it seems like some time passes between the ending of Mufasa and the start of TLK, maybe Mufasa and Sarabi had trouble conceiving and Mufasa needed to name a successor). Why in the hell would Mufasa adopt Scar into the line of succession after he already tried to murder him??? Mufasa already looks kinda stupid here for not banishing Taka after the events of this film, but if he made him his heir presumptive in place of a natural heir before the birth of Simba he really is incredibly stupid.

If Scar is not related to Mufasa he really has no claim to the throne, he’s not skipping up the line of succession, he’s obliterating it. He’s not really a Richard III figure anymore, he’s just a usurper. More like a Macbeth, I guess?? I don’t know, the more I think about it, it just seems that was a really poor choice and kinda a surprising fumble to make. I knew of this change going in, but I was kinda hoping there’d be a twist reveal it was a fake out. That somehow Mufasa and Scar really were biologically related, that Mufasa really did have royal blood.

That's something I hadn't thought about, but now I'll get to mull it over. Even relations by adoption felt close enough for the betrayal to still be a deep cut for Simba and Mufasa, but your observations about the natural succession and whatnot do throw an interesting wrench in the gear.

Anyways, the movie apparently had a Christmas boost, though we'll see how sustainable it is. I didn't imagine this would be a movie that would have legs.

Christmas Box Office: ‘Mufasa’ Tops ‘Sonic 3’ With $14.7 Million, ‘Nosferatu’ Opens Strong With $11.5 Million
https://variety.com/2024/film/news/mufa ... 236259995/

Christmas moviegoers visited the Pride Lands in force over the holidays, propelling Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” to the top of the charts. The family friendly adventure dominated ticket sales, earning $14.7 million to capture the box office crown. That pushed its domestic tally to $64.3 million. Globally, the prequel to “The Lion King” has earned $197.7 million after adding $18.8 million from international markets on Wednesday. Stateside, the film is on pace to generate more than $50 million over the five-day holiday frame.
_________
Speeding in at No. 3, Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” which had topped the weekend box office, ceded ground to “Mufasa.” The latest entry in the film franchise earned $10.3 million on Wednesday from more than 3,700 North American theaters, bringing its domestic haul to $88 million. Paramount feels there’s more life in this spiky haired hedgehog, having recently given the go-ahead to another sequel that will open in 2027. “Sonic” is based on a Sega video game series, which has been around since the early ’90s.

Just read the following that I must say is literally one of the best comments maybe even the best that I’ve ever read online and the kind of attitude you should be having towards this kind of thing:https://www.reddit.com/r/lionking/comme ... ame=iossmf

I just came back from seeing this. I did not see the 2019 remake. I enjoyed it. At first I had completely mixed thoughts, but ended up clapping at the end. While they are not *my* Timon & Pumbaa, and I was nervous about the framing device, they got some laughs out of me. I also thought that Blue Ivy Carter did a really good job with Kiara; I was impressed.

I think the lineage thing makes sense in my head. Without Taka saving Mufasa, Taka would be in line to be king. Without Mufasa spending so much time with Taka's mom and feeling super close with her and saving her life, Taka's dad would not have accepted Mufasa. But Mufasa "marries" Sarabi, and Sarabi is a princess, so like Taka isn't king of his own pride, and he didn't marry the princess to be king of that tribe...I'm super sleepy so I don't know if I'm even understanding any confusion.

I've heard "I've Always Wanted a Brother" a few times, and the way they say "brother" still bothers me, but less so. It's a super catchy song. I think besides that song, I didn't listen to any other songs before going to the theater. I really liked "Milele"- super pretty. "We Go Together" is really catchy as well. "Tell Me It's You" is also pretty. "Bye Bye" was pretty catchy, too. I agree that it was a little jarring seeing the photorealistic animals sing (I didn't see the 2019 film so it was new to me), but I mean it's an animated film so it's fine.

I don't think it's a perfect film, but I enjoyed it a heck of a lot more than I was expecting. I liked the relationships between the characters, whether the parents or the lions or the other animals. I liked the music.

But I was wondering, and maybe I'll find the answer in one of my open windows on the computer, but Who animated this movie (and the 2019 movie)? Not WDAS. I read the above-posted Barry Jenkins interview, but it didn't specify who animated it. Did Disney farm it out to a VFX company or did in-house, non-WDAS animators work on it?

*edit* MPC did the animation? Like, I guess because Disney hired for the script/storyboard/director/producers/music, etc, it's a Disney film, and more of one than let's say Valiant or The Wild, but it's an animated "Disney" film not animated by anyone at Disney...? I'm trying to make sense of it in my head.

https://www.technicolor.com/studios/mpc/ (https://www.technicolor.com/news/mufasa ... fx-oscars/)

Interesting to hear about Mufasa's turn around at the box office. I'm only happy because I'd like to see them do a TLK2 and Aladdin 2 that partly uses Simba's Pride and The Return of Jafar / King of Thieves as their basis. I feel like those have room for decent base plots they can mess around with. I know it's very unlikely, but I wouldn't even mind them using Mirage or Mozenrath from the series as villain fodder for sequels. I know the biggest question for both films are about the music. Personally, I wouldn't mind some of the sequel songs like "We Are One" and "Love Will Find a Way" from TLK2 and "Forget About Love" and "Out of Thin Air" from the Aladdin sequels (among others). From there, I would love a full soundtrack in line with "Speechless" and Menken with P&P or even just P&P if Disney really has this thing against bringing Menken back. I mean, Miranda didn't come back for Moana 2 and that was a WDAS sequel, not a live-action remake sequel.

I suppose if they made a Tangled remake and it was successful, they could use Cassandra and Zhan Tiri for a sequel story in that case.

The film has been shortlisted for a Razzie Award.

Worst Prequel, Remake, Sequel or Rip-Off

Argylle
The Crow
Joker: Folie a Deux
Kraven the Hunter
Megamind vs. the Doom Syndicate
The Mouse Trap
Mufasa: The Lion King
Rebel Moon: Part Two

Source: https://www.goldderby.com/forum/movies/ ... 1206070127

Kind of an odd rant, I have my youtube settings set to notify me whenever disney uploads anything, and good lord are they spamming us with mufassa stuff. lol
I know its my own fault, but like, can they ease off a bit? I just feel like they are going harder on the promo with this than most of their past films.