Mustafa: The Lion King (PG, 118 min.)
Verdict: does its job
Amazingly, three decades have passed since we first saw The Lion King, the joyful animated musical that, after a lackluster few years, reminded us that Disney could still create enchanting cinematic magic.
My children, all born in the 1990s, grew up hearing the words to Tim Rice/Elton John songs, like catechisms. To them, Jeremy Irons’ fruity baritone menace as Scar defined villainy, while Mufasa (James Earl Jones) was synonymous with courage. As soon as they were old enough, we took them to see the stage version.
Those memories of The Lion King were so precious that they shied away from the idea of seeing the heavily digitized 2019 remake, even though I assured them it was fun.
But they would be right to avert this over-the-top sequel.
Mufasa: The Lion King (dedicated to Jones, who died in September) goes out of its way to make us feel the love tonight – to paraphrase one of the original song titles.
It is sometimes spectacular to see, with all those computer-controlled bells and whistles that together bring the African savannah to life. Yet the film, directed by Barry Jenkins (who made the 2016 Oscar-winning film Moonlight), is affected by a bit of leonine laryngitis. No matter how hard he tries, he never really roars.
Mufasa: The Lion King is making an effort to make us feel the love tonight
Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) reaches adolescence as the adopted son of the kind lioness Eshe (Thandiwe Newton),
Mufasa and Taka escape – with the Outsiders, led by the crabby Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen), in hot pursuit.
Although it is a sequel in that the adult Simba (voiced by Donald Glover) is now King of the Pride Lands, it is actually a prequel in that the wise mandrill Rafiki (John Kani) tells the harrowing life story of Simba’s late father , Mufasa, to his wide-eyed granddaughter, Princess Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter, herself the daughter of what passes for American royalty Beyoncé and Jay-Z). Beyoncé is also back in the voice cast, as Simba’s queen, Nala.
Anyway, after Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) is swept away by the raging waters far from his parents Afia and Masego, he reaches adolescence as the adopted son of the kind lioness Eshe (Thandiwe Newton), whose unpleasant partner Obasi (Lennie James) is less well disposed. a ‘lost one’.
Mufasa forms a strong brotherly bond with Eshe’s natural son Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), which grows stronger when a belligerent army of lions, the so-called ‘Outsiders’, arrive to conquer Obasi’s pride. Mufasa and Taka escape – with the Outsiders, led by the crabby Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen), in hot pursuit.
This all moves along nicely, and as the pursuers close in, there’s a scene on the cliff that’s perhaps meant to evoke Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969), though the film lacks the humor to make it sing.
It is indeed a surprise that there isn’t more humor in the whole story. The screenwriter is Jeff Nathanson, whose credits include not only the 2019 remake but also the wonderful Catch Me If You Can (2002). But this time he somehow manages to make the banter between Timon the meerkat (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa the warthog (Seth Rogen) more tiresome than funny.
Most of the songs, though written by Broadway superstar Lin-Manuel Miranda, are decidedly forgettable. Of course, he still has a mighty act to follow: Tim Rice perfectly nailed the lyrics in 1994. But this isn’t even lukewarm, reheated Rice.
As Mufasa and Taka search for the Elysian, sun-drenched land known as Milele, the chase strangely takes them across a snow-capped mountain range.
He somehow manages to make the banter between Timon the meerkat (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa the warthog (Seth Rogen) more tiresome than funny.
Wise mandrill Rafiki (John Kani) tells the moving life story of Simba’s late father, Mufasa, to his wide-eyed granddaughter, Princess Kiara
In response to pedants everywhere concerned about the unexpected arrival of Himalayan-style avalanches in sub-Saharan Africa, I think the filmmakers could make the point that meerkats and warthogs don’t get along in real life either . Or maybe it’s their mischievous nod to climate change. Anyway, it’s a bit weird.
Still, the point of all this, narratively speaking, is to show us how Mufasa overcame a traumatic childhood to become a heroic king, as well as what happened to Taka, who in a climactic battle and without any spoiler was intended, gets into a bad situation. face…scar. In that respect the film does its job.
It’s a safe bet for a family photoshoot this Christmas holiday. But it’s not as good as the 2019 film, and not a blemish on the wonderful original.
Mufasa: The Lion King is now in theaters.
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (U, 70 minutes)
Verdict: Simply flawless
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, on the other hand, lives up to all the previous features of the clay animation studio Aardman: it is another triumph of pure British folly, fused with pure British genius.
Except he’s now voiced by Ben Whitehead, who replaces the late Peter Sallis but looks a lot like him, Wallace is his usual self, living with Gromit on West Wallaby Street, surrounded by a plethora of crazy Heath Robinson-style gadgets , just to get him up in the morning.
He remains a civilian hero after the events of The Wrong Pants (1993), in which he foiled sinister criminal mastermind (and penguin) Feathers McGraw’s diabolical plan to steal a priceless blue diamond.
Feathers are still safely minted in the zoo – ‘literally a bird’ – but now uses his devilish cunning to take revenge on Wallace and pinch the gem again.
Computer hacking is one of Feathers’ many nefarious skills, so when Wallace invents a robotic garden gnome named Norbot (Reece Shearsmith), who is rented out to the neighbors to do odd jobs, the mischievous penguin devises a way to reprogram the computer. always cheerful Norbot if downright evil.
Needless to add, Feathers also escapes from captivity, again by attaching a red rubber glove to his head and pretending to be a chicken.
Wallace is his usual self, living with Gromit on West Wallaby Street, surrounded by a plethora of crazy Heath Robinson-style gadgets just to get him up in the morning.
Feathers are still safely minted in the zoo – ‘literally a bird’ – but now uses his devilish cunning to take revenge on Wallace and pinch the gem again.
Dumb Chief Inspector Mackintosh (Peter Kay, reprising his role in The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit) has a smarter sidekick, PC Mukherjee (Lauren Patel)
With Norbot causing garden-related destruction across the city, Wallace’s name is mud. So when the diamond goes missing again, he inevitably becomes the prime suspect.
Luckily, dim-witted Chief Inspector Mackintosh (Peter Kay, reprising his role in The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit) has a smarter sidekick, PC Mukherjee (Lauren Patel), while Wallace of course has the ever-resourceful Gromit, who takes his reading material (A Room Of One’s Own by Virginia Woof) to save the reputation of his unfortunate master.
The adventure culminates in a canal boat chase across the Yorkshire/Lancashire border, one of the most cherishingly funny action scenes I’ve seen in years, on par with the epic train chase in The Wrong Pants.
Northerners in particular (and I write as a proud Lancastrian) will enjoy the jokes (‘No Parkin’ made me laugh out loud), while film literates will also indulge in gloriously tongue-in-cheek references to the Bond films, The Italian Job, even the African queen. What a huge and welcome Christmas treat!
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is in selected cinemas and will be available on BBC1 and BBC iPlayer on Christmas Day.