Mufasa: The Lion King
Certificate: PG, 2 hours
Wallace and Gromit: Revenge on the Most Birds
Cert: H, 1 hour and 19 minutes
The great James Earl Jones, best known as the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars and Mufasa in The Lion King, passed away three months ago at the age of 93.
So it seems entirely fitting that Mufasa: The Lion King is not only dedicated to his memory, but also begins with those deep resonant notes that echo across the African savannah one last time.
What a tribute this turns out to be.
Yes, the photorealism that replaced the dated animation of the 1994 original still takes some getting used to, especially when Simba and the gang start talking and singing, but we’re getting there faster than the first time Disney tried it in 2019.
This prequel-cum-sequel has pretty much everything: adventure, humor, great danger, friendship, love and terrifying rivalry. It also features some great new songs, I hasten to add, courtesy of Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda.
With Simba temporarily leaving the pride to help the heavily pregnant Nala, the story unfolds almost entirely in flashback, as Pumbaa the warthog (still beautifully voiced by Seth Rogen) and Timon the meerkat (Billy Eichner) are put in charge of babysitting Simba and Nala. daughter, Kiara, voiced by Blue Ivy Carter, the 12-year-old daughter of Jay-Z and Beyonce.
With the young cub fearing an approaching storm, Rafiki, the mandrill, and blue-faced shaman (John Kani) decide to tell them all a story. It turns out to be the life story of Mufasa, from orphaned cub to celebrated lion king. What follows is an epic story of disaster, adoption and exile – and that’s just the first half hour.
A young Mufasa. Disney’s new photorealistic prequel is a perfect tribute to James Earl Jones
Yes, the photorealism that replaced the outdated animation of the 1994 original is still taking some getting used to, but we’re getting there faster than Disney’s first attempt in 2019
Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr are great as the voices of adoptive brothers Mufasa and Taka
Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr are great as the voices of adoptive brothers Mufasa and Taka, I loved Lennie James and Thandiwe Newton as the king and queen of a distant pride, and Mads Mikkelsen is utterly terrifying as the leader of a marauding band of albinos . lions.
It’s true that we never quite discover how Mufasa got its deep bass tones, but I had a fun time discovering pretty much everything else. You too.
For the second time in their 35-year history, Wallace And Gromit get the full-length feature film treatment with Wallace And Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, which turns out to be a rather delightful sequel to the hugely popular 1993 film, The Wrong Pants. .
Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is well worth seeing on the big screen either side of the Christmas Day screening on BBC
So, if you’re a fan of Feathers McGraw, the penguin master criminal who disguises himself as a chicken by wearing a red rubber glove on his head – and who isn’t? – this is a must. And well worth seeing on the big screen either side of the Christmas Day screening on BBC1.
Nick Park’s signature stop-motion animation may be a little smoother than it used to be, and there aren’t enough cheese jokes for my personal taste, but it’s lovely to have another outing with the indefatigable inventor Wallace – now voiced by Ben Whitehead The Death of Peter Sallis in 2017 – and his service dog Gromit, whose devotion is well tested by the arrival of Norbot, a house robot gnome.
Expect puns, movie references and a particularly good canal boat chase.