Early on Mufasa: The Lion KingOne shot quickly sets the new film apart from the other CGI-heavy spins on classic Disney cartoons. Just before a cast of familiar characters begins to tell the titular patriarch’s origin story, his young granddaughter jumps onto the screen. For a moment, the photorealistic cub casts a warm, open look at the audience – and we are immediately reminded that this is a Barry Jenkins production.

Highlighting this archetypal Jenkins image, in which a subject directly returns the viewer’s gaze, aptly captures the tension of the creative pairing that brought the film to life. Mufasa: The Lion King follows the original The Lion King eerie 2019 revamp that had felt like an obvious nostalgia play – the continuation of an ongoing trend in which studios like Disney recreate films from their archive and capitalize on placing a familiar piece of intellectual property at the box office. So it was a surprising development when Jenkins, an author best known for weighty features like Moonlight And If Beale Street could talkhas been announced as the director of a new prequel revolving around protagonist Simba’s father.

In its most fascinating moments Mufasa makes a clear case for how Jenkins has elevated the latest entry in the “Disney live-action remake assembly line,” as my colleague David Sims called it. The new film follows young Mufasa (voiced by Aaron Pierre) after an accidental separation from his parents, as a spirited cub named Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) saves the wayward lion’s life. The two see each other as brothers, although Taka is a prince and his father insists that Mufasa is nothing more than an outsider who poses a threat to their family’s royal line – a suspicion that is partly justified than Mufasa actually believes the power comes to rule the country. (Eventually Taka becomes Scar, the pugnacious and devious villain of The Lion King.)

The new film seems to really delve into the interiority of its characters; The animals are much more believably expressive this time around, CGI and all. And with Jenkins at the helm, Mufasa: The Lion King is also a significant visual improvement compared to 2019 Lion Kingis a pale, almost frame-perfect recreation of the 1994 animated film. The director’s lively, dynamic scenes emphasize the drama of animal fights with an eye on how nature shapes their power struggles. Bright, sun-drenched pans over the savannah and idyllic visions of flower-covered fields contrast sharply with ominous images of unfamiliar terrain.

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These images are particularly striking in IMAX. Each unexpected descent into a flooded gorge or strenuous hike up an icy mountain underscores the lions’ vulnerability to the elements — or the vital importance of their connection to the land, a common thread that echoes Jenkins’ approach in his 2021 TV adaptation The subway. In some quieter scenes, Mufasa speaks about his surroundings and with awe and insight Mufasa draws artful observations about how outsiders can learn from their dream family.

But still. Despite these high-cultural flourishes Mufasa never goes beyond its original purpose as a glittering Hollywood product. Consider the double casting of Beyoncé as lioness Nala and Beyoncé’s daughter Blue Ivy Carter as Nala’s daughter Kiara—less a creative choice and more a promotional opportunity. And unlike many other IP-driven franchise films directed by respected filmmakers for major studios, Mufasa is committed to conveying many of its narrative and emotional beats through original songs. Like the 2019 remake, there is nowhere MufasaThe hollow artistic center is more evident than during these musical sequences, which highlight the upper limits of CGI storytelling – quite frankly, these animals just don’t look like they’re singing – and the fundamental implausibility of the Disney remakes that depend on it .

MufasaThe singing scenes clearly lack the playfulness that made previous Disney soundtracks so memorable, in part because live-action production is simply less likely to produce fantastical, dreamlike images than animation. Without that spirit, the new film’s songs, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, rival not only the enthusiasm and passion of the 1994 original, but also two direct-to-video animated sequels from 1998 and 2004. The 2019 Lion Kingat least offered the appeal of Beyoncé’s imperfect but catchy companion album, but the music of Mufasa is largely flat. It’s one thing to see an animated meerkat and warthog confidently recite a Swahili phrase and hum along to a grumpy cartoon lion cub – but there’s nothing there Fun about watching real-looking animals sing. And three decades after “Hakuna Matata,” the new lyrics still sound like an African proverb: “We Go Together,” one of the songs, begins with Rafiki singing: “If you want to go fast, go alone… But if you want to go far go / We go together.”

In a current one vulture In the interview, Jenkins acknowledged that all-digital filmmaking posed a significant challenge for him and longtime collaborators such as cinematographer James Laxton, who was instrumental in establishing the director’s signature aesthetic. After the strenuous shoot on location The subway In Georgia, Jenkins said work is underway Mufasa offered him the opportunity to realize a large-scale project in the stable, controlled environment of a virtual production studio. (Of course, a Disney-sized check was also included.) But such an environment doesn’t lend itself to improvisation—a key feature of Jenkins’ typical filmmaking that can conflict with the priorities of a studio interested in efficiency. “I want to work differently again, where I want to get everything physically There“, said the director about his contribution.Mufasa Plans. “How can these people, this light, this environment come together to create a moving, beautiful image that creates a text that is deep enough, dense enough, rich enough to speak to someone?”

Mufasa speaks, but more as a whisper than a roar. By demystifying his protagonist and offering some compassion to the much-maligned Scar, Jenkins achieves a lot with a film that would otherwise have been even less compelling. And this is a children’s film, after all – for those old enough to watch the scarier parts of the film, the expressiveness of the animals may help provide some valuable lessons about family and forgiveness. For the rest of us, however, the most important lesson is Mufasa is far less productive: even the most talented director can’t make someone else’s unoriginal idea shine.