‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ Trailer Chronicles an Orphan’s Rise to Becoming a King

Jon Favreau’s photorealistic animated retelling of of 1994’s The Lion King was one of the highest grossing Disney live-action adaptations of an animated classic. Of course, earning $1.6 billion would be more than enough to get the studio’s interest in pursuing more stories. But rather than a direct sequel, the studio has tasked director Barry Jenkins helm Mufasa: The Lion King, a photorealistic animated prequel that chronicles the young lives of orphans and outsiders Mufasa and Scar, the former of whom would be king. And Disney has released the first trailer for the upcoming film.

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The Circle of Life of “He Lives in You” from ‘The Lion King’

The long anticipated, photo-realistic animated version of The Lion King comes out this week, but the soundtrack was released last Friday. Most of the songs from the original 1994 film are on the list, with the exception of a few additions; one of them being, arguably, one of the most underrated songs to come out of Disney: “He Lives In You.” Continue reading “The Circle of Life of “He Lives in You” from ‘The Lion King’”

In Which I Seek My Father

The Lion King. Disney. Safe bet,” I hear my mom say in the other room. And with that, my family is off to the movies.

Movies seem safe. An escape, a way to forget about everything that has just happened.

The Lion King opened in June, but it’s now October. Only one small theater near us is still playing it, but tickets are only a couple of dollars. The theater is empty except for my mother, my brother, my sister, and me. My sister has just turned six. My brother is seven. I am thirteen.

The lights dim and the film begins. Everything is fine. This feels good; it’s a nice escape. The colors are bright, the music pleasant.

And then…

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