Critics are calling 'Mufasa: The Lion King' a 'contrived cash-in' that's 'blankly corporate,' but it's still better than 2019's 'The Lion King' remake

"'Mufasa' opens with a brief, but effective tribute to the icon. As a result, his presence lingers over the whole project." — Rachel Labonte, Screen Rant

"That it opens by paying tribute to the late, great James Earl Jones, known to several generations as the booming voice of Mufasa, rather than simply closing with a dedication, is an early sign that reverence for what came before will be the name of the game." — David Fear, Rolling Stone

"Pierre and Harrison are strong actors committed to the material, and while it'd be nice for Disney to imagine a villain not played by Mikkelsen for once, he's yet to turn in an ineffective performance." — Clarisse Loughrey, The Independent

"Whilst Pierre is no James Earl Jones (but then again, who is?), at least he makes the character his own to feel invested in Mufasa's journey as a reluctant leader who becomes the king we know and love." — Kelechi Ehenulo, Total Film

"Jenkins at least addresses of the central issues of Jon Favreau's 'The Lion King,' namely, that lions aren't very expressive animals." — Witney Seibold, Slash Film

"As opposed to Favreau's cast in 'The Lion King,' the elephants, giraffes, and birds here don't look like pieces of melted plastic." — Robert Daniels, IGN

"The characters in 'Mufasa' look plausible, but more expressive. The camerawork takes full advantage of the animated medium, flying across the screen with energy and wonder instead of limiting itself to what might have been possible in real life." — William Bibbiani, TheWrap

"Impressive though it may be intellectually, the reality of watching these animals for two hours is a somewhat numbing and dull experience despite the best efforts of director Barry Jenkins." — Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press

"Jenkins calls for far more nuance and expressivity in the virtual animals' facial performances, which helps us identify with their emotions, even as it pushes the characters toward the uncanny valley — especially when they speak or open their mouths to sing." — Peter Debruge, Variety

"There is just no way for the face of a photorealistic lion — 'live action,' in Disney's controversial parlance — to convey the pain of a brother's deep betrayal, or express a moving grief over a lost family." — Petrana Radulovic, Polygon

"The framing device feels like a mistake, serving mostly to delay and interrupt the main attraction, which is Mufasa's origin story." — Peter Debruge, Variety

"Though they add comedic relief to a surprisingly heavy story, their meta jokes and constant asides break up the flow of Rafiki's earnest storytelling in the present day." — Rachel Labonte, Screen Rant

"The story Rafiki tells Kiara is so thematically rich that the frequent shifts back to present day, usually involving some lighthearted Timon jokes, don't do the narrative momentum many favors." — Brian Truitt, USA Today

"Nothing in 'Mufasa' plays more like a desperate studio note than these comic relief characters, who inject self-aware jokes and gross-out humor in a shameless attempt to entertain immature audience members who can't focus on a well-told story without constant reassurance that they're being pandered to and the filmmakers haven't forgotten about 'Hakuna Matata.'" — William Bibbiani, TheWrap

"Even Lin-Manuel Miranda's new songs play like off-brand substitutes for each of Elton John's originals — and only one, the 'I Just Can't Wait to be King' stand-in, makes an impression on its own terms." — Robbie Collin, The Telegraph

"While the visuals during these sequences are solid, the songs themselves follow a trend in recent Disney musicals in the sense that all the songs are just...OK. None of the seven original songs in the film are flat-out terrible, but they're also not particularly memorable either." — Aidan Kelley, Collider

"None of the songs here are overtly terrible, but they all blur into an indistinguishable 'Lin-Manuel Miranda Presents: The Lion King!' concept album, with all Miranda's stylistic hallmarks. He sure has a signature style, but it's hard to reconcile that style into a movie that already has its own iconic soundtrack. The new songs feel forced and out of place." — Petrana Radulovic, Polygon

"The studio obligation for brand reassurance and nostalgia bait is constantly at odds with Jenkins' vision, especially when they're not emotionally earned." — Kelechi Ehenulo, Total Film

"It's a shame Jenkins wasn't able to personalize it more, but, as they say, that's just the nature of the beast." — Dan Jolin, Empire

"Jenkins' pivot to a big-budget, kid-friendly project for a major studio was always intriguing. But in hindsight, it's hard to imagine he ever really stood a chance at revolutionizing from within Disney's so-called 'live-action' money machine." — Alison Foreman, IndieWire

"The Barry Jenkins-directed project is mostly a site of strained encounters between a visionary helmer and his corporate shareholders." — Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter