Mufasa: The Lion King

Story

Young Kiara (voice of Blue Ivy Carter), the little daughter of Simba (voice of Donald Glover) and Nala (voice of Beyoncé Knowles-Carter), is left with their faithful friends Timon (voice of Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa (voice of Seth Rogan) while her parents are briefly away. Frightened by a storm, Kiara is told a story to help her overcome her fears.

The story is about a young cub called Mufasa (voice of Aaron Pierre) who lives a happy life with his parents on an African plain. It begins with the trio gazing out over a drought-stricken landscape…

The parent parents tell their young cub, Mufasa, about a legendary place beyond the light that has all they could ever need, where all the animals live in peace and where the light goes on forever.

When a flash flood carries Mufasa away from his loving parents, he encounters Taka (voice of Kelvin Harrison Jr.), another lion cub who has always wanted a brother and who is heir to the distant kingdom Mufasa has floated to. Convincing his mother Eshe (voice of Thandiwe Newton) to take Mufasa in, Taka proudly leads his would-be brother to the pride. His father Obasi (voice of Lenny James) doesn’t want his son anywhere near an unworthy stray and forces Mufasa to live with the females. As the cubs grow, Mufasa learns the ways of the females as well as the males, building a skillset that will save their lives in the days ahead.

A group of evil, white lions, led by their brutal king Kiros (voice of Mads Mikkelsen), descend on the savannah, annihilating every pride they encounter. When they attack Eshe, Mufasa saves her life while Taka runs away. In order to save his son, Obasi orders Taka and Mufasa to go far away and to never come back. They head toward the legendary paradise Mufasa’s mother told him of so long ago and are joined on their journey by a solitary lioness called Sarabi (voice of Tiffany Boone), her loyal scout Zazu (voice of Preston Nyman) and a magical, ostracised mandrill named Rafiki (voice of John Kani). Together this motley crew must outwit the white lions, who track them relentlessly, if they have any hope of reaching freedom and finding what they seek.

Themes

Children separated from parents; power; elitism; ostracism; revenge; deceit; survival at any cost; jealousy and an ‘Us and Them’ mentality

Violence

Mufasa: The Lion King has some violence. For example:

Timon and Pumbaa share a recollection of a fierce battle on a clifftop surrounded by fire where they push a scarred lion over the edge.
An elephant is carried by a flood into a dam, which explodes apart and washes Mufasa away.
Mufasa is nearly eaten by a crocodile as he tries to get out of a river.
White lions attack Mufasa and Eshe, who are out hunting. Eshe is nearly killed.
When Kiros learns that his son was killed, he lets the rest of the white lions kill the lion who came back to inform him about what happened. He then vows revenge on Mufasa.
The white lions sing a song about killing everybody.
The white lions circle Obasi’s pride. It is clear that they don’t stand a chance against them and the death of Taka’s family is a foregone conclusion.
The white lions chase and track Mufasa and Taka with unrelenting determination. There are many close calls as they are almost caught on multiple occasions.
Sarabi admits that she lost her entire pride to the white lions.
Sarabi knocks a beehive down in order to start a stampede to evade the white lions.
Mufasa is hit and knocked aside by an elephant in a stampede.
A couple of white lions are hit and crushed by elephants in a stampede.
Sarabi is hit by an elephant and knocked unconscious. Mufasa drags her to safety and shields her with his body as a stampede continues around them.
Taka falls down a mountain and, in anger, seeks an alliance with the white lions to destroy Mufasa.
Kiros attacks Mufasa, then 3 lions attack Mufasa at the same time, dragging him over a cliff by his leg until he falls into a deep ravine.
Kiros attacks and nearly kills Mufasa.
Taka tries to save Mufasa at the last moment and is hit and cut across his eye and then violently attacked.
When the white lions declare it’s time for extermination and go after the little lion cubs, other animals rise up and fight back against the white lions.
Taka and Mufasa attack Kiros. Mufasa and Kiros fall into the water and are nearly crushed by falling boulders that rain down on top of them. Kiros is eventually pinned down by a huge rock that drags him to the bottom of the watery gorge.

Sexual references

Mufasa: The Lion King has some sexual references. For example:

A character says, ‘we are naked animals’.
Taka has a crush on Sarabi and tries to get her to like him.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

There’s no substance use in Mufasa: The Lion King.

Nudity and sexual activity

There’s no nudity and sexual activity in Mufasa: The Lion King.

Product placement

There’s no product placement in Mufasa: The Lion King.

Coarse language

Mufasa: The Lion King has some coarse language. For example, ‘snob’.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Mufasa: The Lion King is a musical adventure that provides the backstory of the characters we’ve come to love in Disney’s classic The Lion King. The movie features amazing graphics, stunning cinematography and fabulous special effects, and is best suited to viewers over 8 years.

These are the main messages from Mufasa: The Lion King:

Everything in the world is connected and we all have a place in the circle of life.
It’s important to follow our dreams and our hearts.
It’s important to focus on what we can become, rather than what we were.

Values in Mufasa: The Lion King that you could reinforce with your children include teamwork, friendship, forgiveness, courage and trust.

Mufasa: The Lion King could also give you the chance to talk with your children about the real-life consequences of situations like these:

letting anger control your actions
believing that you’re better than others because of who your family is or what bloodline you come from
ostracising someone because they’re different
thinking only of yourself and looking out for your own good while others suffer.