Cast: Mahesh Babu, Satyadev, Brahmanandam, Ayyappa Sharma, RCM Raju, Ali, Shaking Sheshu 

Crew: 
Based on Disney's The Lion King by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, Linda Woolverton
Screenplay by Jeff Nathanson
Music by Dave Metzger, Nicholas Britell (score), Lin-Manuel Miranda (songs)
Editing by Joi McMillon 
Cinematography by James Laxton 
Directed by Barry Jenkins 
Produced by Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak

The Lion King has acquired a huge cult following among audiences worldwide as an animated feature. Later, Disney has decided to bring a "Live Action Animated verson" for the same in 2019 and it became a huge blockbuster as well. Now, they have decided to bring prequel to it featuring Mufasa's story. The movie released on 20th December worldwide with Mahesh Babu giving voice over to Mufasa in Telugu. Let's discuss about the film in detail. 

Plot: 
Mufasa (voiced by Mahesh Babu), an estranged lion cub, is always told by their parents to find Mulale, a place with lots of green pastures to live peacefully. He is saved by Taka (voiced by Satyadev), a royal cub. When white lions and their pride leader Kiros (voiced by Ayyappa Sharma) decide to attack Taka's parents and upon their advice, Mufasa, Taka run-away and take on a journey to find Mulale. Did they? Watch the movie to know more. 

Analysis: 
The Lion King became a cult classic due to its music, fun adventure style of storytelling and strong emotional connect. Here, Mufasa misses such connection. Everything seems to be forced rather than organic. The character dynamics and the change in their behavior doesn't really sit well. 

We feel like we already know the story and where it is heading within few minutes into the film. While the animation is great and a huge improvement from the The Lion King, the characters' journey doesn't really inspire us. 

It almost seems like makers tried to match beat to beat with original and written the story. Even the emotional beats don't completely land due to the rushy nature in screenplay. 

Mahesh Babu, Ayyappa Sharma, Satyadev bring characters to life with their voice acting. Still, the songs and story don't really have such strength to make us sit through. 

In Conclusion: 
Mufasa feels unnecessary prequel! 

Rating: 2.25/5