Mufasa
February 7 –13
7:00 pm nightly
1:30 Saturday & Sunday Matinées
PG — 1 hr 55min
2024 ‧ Kids & Family, Adventure, Drama
Black Excellence month pick

Disney’s 1994 animated blockbuster The Lion King was a classic hero’s journey, following Simba, a young lion who must avenge his fallen father, the wise, noble king Mufasa. The studio’s equally commercially successful “live-action” 2019 remake — which incorporated photorealistic animation to lend a lifelike texture to these wild animals — followed in its predecessors’ narrative pawprints, so it should be little surprise that the new prequel is a comparably mythic tale. Barry Jenkins’ new ‘Lion King’ prequel, which includes the film debut of Beyoncé’s daughter Blue Ivy Carter, puts a Shakespearean spin on a familiar tale.
Mufasa: The Lion King is a prequel about the origins of the title character, the magnificent and doomed father of the title character in The Lion King. It follows him on an epic journey after he’s washed away from his own family down a river and deposited among another pride of lions, then sent on yet another journey with his adoptive brother Taka to locate a promised land described in fables. Disney’s stunning photorealistic live-action rendering transforms the savannah into a breathtaking playground, with sweeping vistas, fiery sunsets and jaw-dropping action.
The movie is a technological step up from 2019’s The Lion King, finding new ways to make the creatures expressive and emotionally available to us while also somehow convincing us that they are indeed animals, whose every talon, whisker, and hair seems as real as imagery in a nature documentary. For kids of all ages, music has been a Lion King staple as it moved from screen to stage with a Broadway show. The new Mufasa songs boost the movie’s character development and overall grandeur, plus work well in concert with snippets from the OG Elton John/Tim Rice tunes. Between its dazzling landscapes and dreamy close-ups, Mufasa is a fitfully stylish, stirring addition to the legacy of one of Disney’s crowning glories.
Directed by:
Academy award winning director Barry Jenkins
Music by:
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Starring voice cast includes:
Beyonce, Donald Glover, and Folake Olowofoyeku