Where to watch
Now playing in theaters
Mufasa, an orphaned lion cub, meets Taka, a royal heir, and together they embark on a journey to find their destiny.
Trailer
Why watch this film?
Rafiki relays the legend of Mufasa to lion cub Kiara, daughter of Simba and Nala. Told in flashbacks, the story introduces Mufasa as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka—the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion a journey of misfits searching for their destiny and working together to evade a threatening and deadly foe.
"Mufasa: The Lion King is a film with unexpected paths. It starts with the general idea, from the story of Simba's father, Mufasa, in his childhood and youth, when he becomes a stray lion. Another curious point is the direction, which was carried out by the renowned Barry Jenkins, from Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk. It's a film with several visual limitations, which hadn't been so apparent in The Lion King, but which now arise from a tiredness of this realistic look of animals -- it looks even more like a National Geographic musical. Still, it's a film that opens up space for fans to have fun with origin stories, from Rafiki's staff to Scar's scar. A film more aimed at fans, without much space beyond that."