Why So Blu?

Mufasa: The Lion King (4K UHD Steelbook Review)

2019’s The Lion King was a technical marvel for the time.  It’s lip-sync was a little creepy with talking animals looking a bit off, but the CGI otherwise was undeniable.  The billion dollars the film made was no slouch either.  When Barry Jenkins signed on for the inevitable follow-up, this time a prequel, I know I wasn’t the only one that was curious to see what would happen.  Cue Mufasa: The Lion King. Much to my surprise, the visual flare of Jenkins works well with a mega budget and a bevy of stars.  Read more about the “live-action” prequel inside the review and find out more about the once and future Lion King.

Film

As Simba (Donald Glover) and Nala (Beyonce) journey to an oasis to have their second cub, they leave their first-born Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter) in the care of Rafiki (John Kani), Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa (Seth Rogen).  During a rainstorm, a scared Kiara hides in a cave and the trio of babysitters follow her.  To offer comfort, Rafiki offers to tell Kiara all about her grandfather, Mufasa the former great King of the Pride lands.

The story begins at Mufasa’s birth.  Orphaned as a young cub, he is found by Taka, another cub.  Taka brings Mufasa to his pride where his mother Eshe (Thandiwe Newton) takes him in with love.  Obasi (Lennie James) the leader of the pride refuses to be open to an outsider and banishes Mufasa to stay with the females.  Mufasa thrives with the females and learns not only how to be a strong male lion, but a skilled hunter.

Mufasa becomes close to Taka and through the years Mufasa’s sensitivity makes him a great asset to his adoptive pride.  He has heightened senses and can help them sniff out their next meal or danger.  When The Outsiders, a pride of white lions led by Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen) comes to take over the territory that Obasi’s pride inhabits, Mufasa ends up killing Kiros’ son.  Seeking revenge, Mufasa along with Taka and their new friends Sarabi, Zazu, and Rafiki must flee to safety.

Safety is in a mythical land known as Milele.  This is a place Mufasa’s birth mother claims to have been from, and Rafiki says his brother lives.  The group climbs over snowy mountains and through caves all while The Outsiders are on their trail.  When Mufasa and crew finally find Milele, in fact not a myth, The Outsiders catch them and cause chaos.  In the insanity, a stampede is caused leading the animals of Milele to mistrust the newcomers.  Will they find a way to trust Mufasa and drive The Outsiders away, or will the darker forces prevail over the paradise-like lands of Milele.

Mufasa: The Lion King has a story to tell that we have seen before.  Not unlike either the animated or the “live action” Lion King films, death causes the confident and kind lion cub to flee his homeland.  There is an ensuing journey where there are moments of laughter and revelation and a few bits of drama and even romance to come through too.  In this case we have a few twists that tie this prequel to its predecessor and those twists are interesting.

I found the relationship that forms between Mufasa and Taka to be the most interesting and engrossing of the film.  Their adoptive brotherhood is adorable, and they share a camaraderie that is refreshing on-screen. The pair are inseparable almost to the very end, when Taka reveals some unsavory methods of survival.  We also see how Mufasa and Sarabi fall in love, leading to the birth of Simba, which essentially ends this film.

I don’t believe that Mufasa: The Lion King is an essential film.  It’s entertaining and very beautiful to look at. Barry Jenkins is still an exceptional filmmaker. Even with a massive budget and an established property to work with, he manages to make something soulful. There are some missteps here and there that keep things from being exceptional.

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s music just barely misses the mark here.  One song between Simba and Taka is the one saving grace, but the rest is unmemorable.  A few of the scenes take on a bit of confusion because they are light on character development.  This is namely apparent with The Outsiders, who seemingly come out of nowhere.  There is also some loose ends on how exactly Rafiki becomes entangled with the lions so quickly too. These may just be my gripes though.

There are other things to praise about Mufasa: The Lion King though.  Visually, the film is remarkable.  Gorgeous vistas and landscapes are evident throughout the film.  The CGI imagery is flawlessly rendered and placed with the real footage that was filmed and yes, the talking animals do not look creepy like they did in 2019.  The voice acting is also very good for the whole 2 hour runtime.  I do believe also that the film fully deserved to rake in its $700 million box office.  While there isn’t an essential or original plot here, an entertaining escape is here within the film.

Mufasa: The Lion King is built for kids 8-12 and families. There are a few moments too intense for kiddos that are younger.  If you’re a Disney fan, you will no doubt find something to enjoy in this continuation and origin of Mufasa and The Lion King story.  This Steelbook exclusive 4K UHD Blu-ray edition of the film is theway to experience Mufasa: The Lion King at home too.  The quality is incredible, and you can forgive the shortcomings of a movie like this when it looks as stunning as it does on disc.

Video

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 2160p

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

HDR: Dolby Vision

Layers: BD-66

Clarity/Detail: Mufasa: The Lion King debuts on 4K UHD Blu-ray with a Steelbook exclusive release.  Sony continues to release Disney’s content with exceptional Dolby Vision transfers these days.  Even on a dual layer disc, there is plenty of room for the gorgeous images to breathe. Colors are on full display, running the full gamut.  Details are spot on with animal fur being easy to spot by the individual hair. There is truly nothing to nitpick here.

Depth: There are vistas here and smaller scale moments in caves or on snowy mountains. Either way, lensing is neat and clean with no sense of blur or inconsistency in the camera work.

Black Levels: Black levels can go dark without crushing, with shadow detail in the many night scenes looking great.  It’s best to watch the movie in a dark room though, so you don’t fight with daylight to see those nighttime scenes.

Color Reproduction: Colors are astounding at time.  Sunny and bright during the day, the savannahs are golden and gorgeous.  The trees are green and lush.  The oasis where Simba and Nala await their new cub is also something special with gorgeous blue water and greenery.  Every lion has its own golden color too.  The white lions stand out as well.  Snow is brilliantly white.  Colors are just plain fantastic.

Flesh Tones: N/A

Noise/Artifacts: Flawless as can be.

Audio

Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, French Canadian Dolby Digital 5.1, and Spanish Dolby Digital Plus 7.1, French Dolby Digital Plus 7.1, German Dolby Digital Plus 7.1, Italian Dolby Digital 7.1

Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, German, Italian

Dynamics: A film with voice acting at the forefront with near constant outdoor noises and music. I would say you can’t find a more perfect candidate for a Dolby Atmos mix.  Mufasa: The Lion King makes a total truth teller out of me.  Sounding fantastic from start to finish, The height channels are subtle in the mix, and that’s just fine.  They amplifiy the surround activity and the musical score and that’s enough! Bass is refined and useful as needed too.  While it’s not quite reference grade, the mix is perfect for the film.

Height: Used as an appendix for the lower surround channels, the height speakers have activity in moments such as the flash flood early in the film, the foot race between Mufasa and Taka, and the Stampede near the end of the film.

Low Frequency Extension: Bass has time for music, moments of tension and some weather activity during the more action forward scenes.

Surround Sound Presentation: Surround sound channels encompass the surroundings of Africa that are always around us. Crickets, winds and rain appear and stay present as the movie moves through its runtime.  The surrounds are always active and it’s a treat to hear them always so busy.

Dialogue: Dialogue is clear and intelligible.

Extras

Extras for Mufasa: The Lion King come on the bundled 1080p Blu-ray that comes with the set.  A digital code is included in the steelbook also.  The included extras are similar to efforts from other recent Disney releases and are nice, short, and sweet.

Bonus Features:

• Finding Milele: The Making of Mufasa: The Lion King (13:53) – More of an homage to the original animated film from the cast and crew than a making of, but it’s sweet all the same.
• Songs of the Savanna (8:40) Barry Jenkins and Lin-Manuel Miranda talk the score of the film.
• Ostrich Eggs with Timon and Pumbaa (4:31) Hidden “Easter” Ostrich Eggs with the boys
• Outtakes (2:15)
• I Always Wanted A Brother IRL (1:17)
• Deleted Scenes (5:13)
• Protect The Pride (1:34)
• Song Selection: The one extra on both discs, that leads to a singalong version of the film.

Summary

I wouldn’t say Mufasa: The Lion King is essential to The Lion King saga.  It’s very well made, entertaining and not bad by any means.  The CGI work is a huge improvement over the 2019 film. The voice cast is fantastic and yes, Barry Jenkins continues to prove his exceptional skills as a director regardless of the material.  While this isn’t an essential film in my opinion, it’s still something worth a look, and this 4K presentation is beautiful on disc and in its collectible steelbook packaging. Fans need not hesitate, and the curious should also just jump right in and take a look too.  You just might be pleasantly surprised.

Get your copy of Mufasa: The Lion King HERE