Disney has faced major backlash for terrible movies recently, and Mufasa is no exception to the company’s newfound reputation. Disney’s saga of horrible, rushed movies started with an absolute joke of a movie called Wish. It was supposed to be a heartwarming movie in commemoration of Disney’s 100th Anniversary; however, it ended up being a waste of an hour and thirty minutes. Disney’s Wish is full of plot holes and unnecessary characters that are developed but never used. The villain song, which constitutes the movie’s overall theme, sounds jolly and pop-like in contrast to the dark themes of other Disney songs such as Hellfire, Be Prepared, and Poor Unfortunate Souls. Furthermore, the Wish movie seems rushed in plot and character development, coming across as random and unfinished. For example, the villain Magnifico’s character development starts out of nowhere and seems unprompted, for he invites the heroine, Asha, to his office and suddenly turns evil.
Mufasa is no stranger to the rushed nature of Disney movies. It is the prequel to The Lion King, telling the story of Simba’s dad. The movie starts with Mufasa being washed down a river due to a flood and away from his parents. He then proceeds to be adopted by a lion pride. Why can’t he just walk up the river and find his parents? Why is he randomly being adopted? I guess we’ll never know. Furthermore, there are useless moments in the movie that make it long and boring. Later on in the story, there are various cliches that could be seen by a mile away, and when the overarching villain Scar is introduced, the viewer can’t help but pity him. Scar’s villain development is so quick and depthless that the audience can’t understand why he is the villain. If anything, the movie justifies his ‘evil’-ness. Having your lover stolen by your brother would push anyone to resentment…
Deservingly, Wish and Mufasa have received IMDb ratings of 5.6 and 6.7 respectively. This is very underwhelming for Disney whose stocks have witnessed a steady decline since 2021. Disney movies used to be magical and heartwarming, but they are now predictable and boring. People should just read a book or watch other movies rather than waste their time on another failed attempt by Disney at success. Will the company step up their game, or spearhead another cinematic disaster at the expense of their already tenuous reputation?
