SAN DIEGO – Fox 2’s Margie Ellisor traveled to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park to sit down with the stars of the new live-action film “Mufasa: The Lion King.”

“Mufasa: The Lion King” is the prequel film to the award-winning 1994 film “The Lion King.” The film follows the journey of Mufasa (voiced by actor Aaron Pierre) as he tries to find his way after becoming an orphan. On the way, Mufasa meets new friends Taka, later known as Scar (voiced by Kelvin Harrison Jr.) and Sarabi (voiced by Tiffany Boone), who set out to find their fate.

During the interview, Ellisor had the opportunity to speak with Pierre about portraying a youthful version of the iconic character Mufasa.

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“There were elements of uncertainty, elements of not knowing what the future holds in navigation and how to deal with it,” Pierre said. “I just let that flow into my performance instead of allowing that nervousness to be something that stops me.”

Actor Kelvin Harrison Jr. spoke about his character Taka and how his character develops over the course of the film as an heir to a royal bloodline.

“He’s trying to figure out who he is in the context of his father’s shadow,” Harrison Jr. says. “He’s trying to figure out how to love, how to appreciate life and how to find inner strength. But he’s not communicating yet either.”

In the interview, actress Tiffany Boone talked about her character Sarabi and how she was able to build a connection with her.

“I think I have a big heart and I could start crying at just about any moment,” Boone said. “She’s just on the verge of bursting into tears all the time. She handles it with confidence, so I related to that a lot.”

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Although the film is a prequel to Mufasa’s journey, the film will also feature the return of Timon and Pumba (played by Billy Eichner and Seth Rogan), who provide comedic variety throughout the film.

“We heard it was about Mufasa’s origin story, so I didn’t think Timon and Pumba would be there,” Eichner said. “We worked our way in there with brute force,” Rogan added.

Just in time for the holidays, “Mufasa: The Lion King” hits the big screen on Friday, December 20th.

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