For a third week, “Mufasa: The Lion King” (Disney) has reigned supreme as the #1 film at the box office. Directed by Academy Award winner Barry Jenkins, “Mufasa” tells the origin story of how Mufasa and Scar/Taka came to be brothers.
When Mufasa (voiced by actors Braelyn Rankins and Aaron Pierre) was a young cub, a massive flood separated him from his birth parents. He’s rescued by Taka (voiced by actors Theo Somolu and Kelvin Harrison Jr.) who will later be known as “Scar.” While Taka sings (the now viral Lin-Manuel Miranda song) of how he’s always wanted a brother, Mufasa’s adoption into his family isn’t well received.
Taka’s father Obasi (actor Lennie James) is less than kind to Mufasa because he’s a “stray,” so Mufasa’s rearing is left up to Taka’s mother, Eshe (actress Thandiwe Newton) who happily teaches him invaluable leadership and life skills. As Mufasa and Taka become older, the difference in their upbringing creates strife in the brother’s relationship.
In an interview with the L.A. Sentinel, director Barry Jenkins gives insight into these iconic character’s mindsets.
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“It’s this idea of nature versus nurture because Mufasa, who’s not even of blood relation to this family, receives a level of nurturing where Ashay teaches him to be one with all the elements and that no animal is inherently better than the other,” Jenkins explained.
“Whereas Obasi is telling Taka, everything belongs to you, none of these people are on your level, and if need be, you can use deceit to get the things that you want.
“It’s unfortunate, and heartbreaking, but it’s easy to see how Mufasa evolves to become the best version of himself, and then you have Taka who evolved to become the worst version of himself. And bad parenting is at the center of it.”
Mufasa and Taka’s brotherhood doesn’t run into any issues until they meet Sarabi (voiced by actress Tiffany Boone). Taka is enamored with her and believes she’s meant to be his queen. However, when Sarabi discovers that it’s Mufasa, not Taka who protected her and saved her life during a stampede, she falls in love with Mufasa, and Taka feels deceived. So much so that he’s willing to betray Mufasa and deliver him to their enemy, the villainous lion Kiros (voiced by actor Mads Mikkelsen).
When asked about the relationship between Mufasa and Sarabi being at the center of Taka/Scar’s villain origin story, Jenkins shared, “It’s a love triangle, but I think that’s a symbol for so much more. Taka’s grown up being told that anything and everything he wants is his.
“And in this movie where we’re sort of unpacking or recontextualizing the idea of bloodlines and royal lineage because Sarabi is also a descendant from this royal bloodline. So, in Taka’s mind, of course, they’re going to be together,” he said.
“So, I think it’s about the broken heartedness because every day of Taka’s life he knew he was going to own everything and Mufasa has no right to any of this. So Sarabi becomes a trigger for all those different things, and I think that’s why Taka crashes out so badly.”
Articulating the complex emotions of animated lions is no easy feat but following the immense success of his audacious miniseries, “The Underground Railroad”(2021), Jenkins was up for the challenge. He reveals the multistep process of directing live-action animation.
“In phase one, you just direct the actors’ voices, in phase two you direct the storyboard artists. And then in phase three, you’re directing the physical blocking and the movement of the animators,” outlined Jenkins.
“So, you’re communicating the same vision to all those different people and visual effects artists through post [production]. On a [traditional] film set, you’re communicating with maybe seven people.
“But in this case, you’re communicating to hundreds of people and you’re trying to find the
language to consistently communicate the same image, the same energy, and the same spirit. That’s what I’ll always take away from this process.”
With 2025 marking 35 years since “The Lion King,” the beloved Disney classic, was first released in theatres, the Sentinel asked Jenkins what he hoped the latest generation of moviegoers would glean from his film.
“With the ‘Lion King,’ in every scene, there’s got to be something for someone who’s four years old, 94-years-old, and everything in between. There aren’t really any new generations for ‘The Lion King.’
“We’ve all experienced Mufasa and Scar in some way at some point. We’ve known them very simply as good people and bad people; this cat is good, and this cat is bad. My hope for what people take away from the film is that at our core, no one is born good or born bad,” the director said.
“We’re a series of choices, decisions, things that we make happen to other people, things that happen to us, and then how we respond. I hope that coming out of this film, people can see a very complex depiction of these characters and know that we can inspire someone to become the best or the worst version of themselves, which is what happens with Mufasa and Scar.”
Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” is currently in theaters.
