KSL Movie Show review: ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ is a clever premise

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SALT LAKE CITY — There’s something to be said for setting the bar low in anticipation of a new but familiar story. After all, how many iterations of “The Lion King” should we be embracing?

It was with that sentiment that I arrived at the theater to watch this new Lion King. They refer to it as photorealistic animation, you know, where it looks ALMOST real, but is really a computer generation.

Initially, the dizzying action was a bit overwhelming. But soon, once the story was laid out, I thought, what a clever premise.

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Instead of telling a tangential Simba tale, how about a backstory on Mufasa and how he came to be? Go on. And what if that tale was told from the perspective of the wise old Rafiki (John Kani), who is left in charge of Kiara, the daughter of Simba and Nala who are away on pride business?

Hmmm, that could work. This way Mufasa’s granddaughter can learn about grandpa and his amazing adventures through the prophetic mandrill and his idiot pals. Yes, the ones and only, Pumbaa and Timon, voiced by the returning Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner.

So on a dark and stormy night, Rafiki begins his story of the young cub Mufasa being swept away in a flash flood to a faraway land. There, he is quickly befriended by another cub named Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). But since little Mufasa was not part of this pride, he was relegated to the care of the lionesses, who taught him how to hunt and be keenly aware of his surroundings. The pride’s leader Obasi (Lennie James), also Taka’s father, tried to get rid of Mufasa. The reason being that his mere presence was drawing attention away from the young prince, even though Mufasa did everything he could to uplift his adopted brother.

Regardless, Mufasa and Taka grew up and looked after each other, even when threatened by dear old dad and eventually some outsiders. A pride of white, cranky lions and their leader, voiced by the incomparable Mads Mikkelsen, determined to rule over all of the Pride Lands.

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Here’s where Mufasa (now voiced by Aaron Pierre) begins to truly develop his leadership skills. This creates a bit of jealousy from Taka, especially when a young lioness named Sarabi (Tiffany Boone) enters the picture.

That’s pretty much the setup, which I thought worked beautifully. Add to that the sweeping visuals, the stirring score with a handful of songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and you should have a successful formula for a blockbuster hit. (The jury’s still out on if the tunes will be catchy.)

I thought it worked. Giving a revered franchise a fresh coat of paint with new and interesting characters that we thought we already knew. Your steadfastness to the previously presented material will determine your enthusiasm or disappointment. I think, if you give it a chance, you could welcome it as a nice companion piece. If not, it could be a long two hours.

MUFASA: THE LION KING (A-) Rated PG for action/violence, peril and some thematic elements. Featuring the voices of Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Tiffany Boone, Mads Mikkelsen and Blue Ivy Carter – with returning voices of John Kani, Seth Rogen, Donald Glover and Beyoncé. Directed by Barry Jenkins (“Moonlight” “If Beale Street Could Talk”) – filmed in South Africa and Disney Animation Studios. Running time: 120 minutes.

The KSL Movie Show with Andy Farnsworth and Steve Salles airs Fridays on KSL NewsRadio from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Follow the show on Facebook, and join The KSL Movie Show Club for exclusive perks by texting MOVIE to 57500. Message and data rates may apply. Text STOP to cancel. Message frequency varies.