The first trailer for ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ is being criticized on social media. Directed by filmmaker Barry Jenkins and scheduled for release in December 2024, the film is set before the events of ‘The Lion King’ (2019) – computer graphics version of the classic cartoon ‘The Lion King’ (1994).
Criticisms shared on social media are mainly focused on the quality of the computer graphics used in the film. With the intention of portraying a “realistic” version of talking animals, the result would have been a “rubbery” and uninspired version of reality.
“It would have been much cooler if it was just a traditional animation…”, lamented one person on X, formerly Twitter. “I already didn’t like the computer graphics of 2019, so I’m not embarking on this new one… Certainly a cartoon would have been better”, said another. “A lion in computer graphics is just stupid,” said a third.
“The 2019 film was already boring, I almost left the cinema halfway through. I have no intention of returning to this universe and computer graphics are super low…”, someone else shared.
It remains to be seen whether the criticism will result in changes to the film. It is worth remembering the case of ‘Sonic: The Movie’ (2020). Criticism of the work’s first trailer prompted the film’s producers to change the character’s features on the eve of its release.
The official synopsis of ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ reports that the work will show the baboon Rafiki telling Kiara, daughter of Simba and Nala, the story of her grandfather, Mufasa. Donald Glover and Beyoncé returned to dubbing Simba and Nala, as they did in 2019. The singer’s daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, made her debut in a blockbuster voicing little Kiara.
One of the new additions to the sequel is Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen, in an undisclosed role.
‘The Lion King’ from 1994 was nominated for four Oscars and won two statuettes in 1995: best original song, ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight’, by Elton John; and best original soundtrack. The 2019 film competed in the best special effects category.
Watch the trailer for ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ below:
