Musafa: The Lion King [Disney]

MUFASA: THE LION KING
Directed by Barry Jenkins
Certificate: PG
☆☆☆

A TRIP to the plains of Africa and the kingdom of lions with Disney guarantees two things: some landmark views and some very cute animals.

This catch-the-Christmas-market film does both gloriously.

This Lion King prequel gets full marks for visionary animation, and who wouldn’t want to spend time in the company of talking lion cubs?

But while director Barry Jenkins has got those must-have Disney elements right, the rest of the film has a pungent whiff about it that even a pack of hyenas would think twice before consuming.

A muddle of a plot shows a lack of respect towards the viewers it’s aimed at. Children are not simpletons and they don’t need an unoriginal story that has every scene a set piece. And it is this key factor this good-looking jaunt lacks: a story that is engaging, entertaining and original.

While this instalment of the franchise isn’t a complete turkey, it could have been a savannah-sized movie. Instead, it’s nothing more than a safari park.

The original Lion King draws on Hamlet, in essence: a king is killed by treacherous brother, who usurps him. His son discovers the deed and vows revenge.

We’ve had the live action remake, and the stage show, so what else can be wrung from the franchise?

That is the motivation behind this.

We start with Simba’s dad, the unfortunate Mufasa (Aaron Pierre), whose destiny is to be murdered by his own brother, Scar (Kelvin Harris Jnr).

We learn how, as a cub, Mufasa was swept away from his pride in a flood, rescued by Scar, and raised as his brother.

But Scar’s dad, the king of the pride, says Mufasa is bad news and after some cat politics, and trials and tribulations of pride life, a common danger appears in the shape of a gang of white lions. These bad guys want to eat all the other lions and take over their lands.

So Mufasa and Scar set out to escape the baddies and discover a utopia over the horizon. En route, they meet Nala (Beyoncé) who provides a love interest for the youngsters and causes plot friction.

The invading white lions speak with a hint of Russian accents – their leader is a feline Putin. There are other simplistic but nourishing ideas of how we are stronger when we stand together, with the elephants, giraffes, gazelles and the like joining with Mufasa to see off the Ruskies.