Disney has had a pretty good year so far with Marvel’s “Deadpool and Wolverine,” Pixar’s “Inside Out 2,” and “Moana 2.”
But trouble is brewing.
Tomorrow night, Barry Jenkins’ “Mufasa,” an off shoot of “The Lion King,” heads to theaters with a lot of question marks.
Right now, “Mufasa” is largely panned on Rotten Tomatoes at 59. More reviews are coming but they are likely to pull down the average.
Yesterday, the score for “Mufasa,” which has a long, tangled history, failed to make the Oscars short list. This doesn’t bode well for a musical! Only one song, “Tell Me It’s You,” made the short list for songs. Written by Lin Manuel Miranda, but not sung by Beyonce — who’s in the movie. It’s a nice song by Miranda, but the recording is unremarkable.
“Mufasa” has other issues. It’s not done with regular animation and it’s not live action. It’s “photorealistically animated,” which is off putting from the looks of the trailer. Whether or not the audience — particularly children — will take to it remains to be seen.
The budget for “Mufasa,” which regurgitates the classic animated film to some degree, is a staggering $200 to $250 million. No matter how well it does this weekend and over the holidays, that number may be too much for it to succeed.
So everyone waits until the public sees “Mufasa” on Thursday night and there’s some measure of audience interest. “Wicked” and “Moana 2” have been seen by millions, so “Mufasa” could fill the hole left by them for families.
