Starring: Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Beyoncé, Blue Ivy Carter, Donald Glover, John Kani
Story: Disney live-action musical drama prequel to The Lion King (2019) directed by Barry Jenkins and written by Jeff Nathanson. Mufasa: The Lion King (2024) appoints Rafiki (John Kani) to relay the legend of Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) to young lion cub Kiara, daughter of Simba and Nala (Donald Glover and Beyoncé). Through flashbacks, we follow Mufasa’s journey from an orphaned cub to his bond with Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), as they and their group of misfits face challenges and a deadly foe together.
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Top Quotes
Mufasa: Look at the stars. Whenever you feel alone, the great kings of the past will always be up there to guide you. And so will I.
Rafiki: [to Kiara] It’s time I tell you a story. A story of a cub, not much bigger than you. A lion born without a drop of nobility in his blood. A lion who would change our lives forever.
Rafiki: This story begins far beyond the mountains and the shadows. On the other side of the light. In this place, everything was dying of thirst as twenty full moons had passed without a single drop of water. But when the skies finally opened, destiny would reign.
Mufasa: I’m not a stray. I’m just lost.
Eshe: To be lost is to learn the way.
Eshe: [referring to Taka] To be a true king, he must earn it. Don’t take that away from him.
Taka: I have one more secret, Mufasa. I always wanted a brother.
Obasi: [to Mufasa and Taka] You two will never be brothers. Now go back to the females and stay away from my son.
Obasi: One day, he will betray you. That is what strays do.
Taka: Mufasa would never betray me.
Mufasa: Well, maybe I like being a stray, you know. No rules, no responsibility. I’m the lucky one, Eshe.
Eshe: What do you mean, Mufasa?
Mufasa: I never have to be like Taka. I never have to be king.
Timon: Those vultures will take everything we have.
Pumbaa: Which, technically, is nothing. Look at us. We’re naked animals.
Timon: No wonder I’m always freezing.
Obasi: Deceit is a tool of a great king. Taka, it’s what kings must do.
Taka: But I’m not a king. I’m just your son.
Mufasa: Where will we go, Eshe? Without you, I have no home.
Eshe: Mufasa, you and Taka together. That is home.
Eshe: Taka, your moment of courage will come. Now both of you go. Go and find your place in the Circle of Life.
Kiros: There will be one ruler. One Lion King.
Mufasa: [to Taka] They live in you now. Follow me, brother. We have to move together.
Taka: We’re alive! I did it! I saved us!
Mufasa: [as they see a lion chasing after them] You were saying?
Timon: So, just to be clear. We’re not in this story?
Timon: [to Rafiki] Can I make one small suggestion? Less childhood trauma, more meerkat.
Sarabi: Circle of Life and fairy tale herds. You’re chasing something that doesn’t exist.
Zazu: He makes a valid point, Your Highness. But, on the other hand, he’s a starving lion, he wants to eat me, so I am slightly torn.
Junia: You can’t survive on your own.
Rafiki: Nobody can. And yet, here we are.
Rafiki: The eye never forgets what the heart has seen.
Rafiki: A flea can trouble a lion more than a lion can trouble a flea.
Rafiki: It is easy to doubt everything when you know nothing.
Rafiki: Sometimes, a dream is all you have. The only truth that lives in you.
Rafiki: A single stick may smoke, but it will never burn.
Rafiki: You cannot tell the story of Mufasa without the story of Rafiki.
Pumbaa: I’m the only one with a fragrance around here. It’s called “Pumbaa by Pumbaa,” and from what I hear, it’s pretty gross.
Mufasa: You’re sitting on a rock with your eyes closed.
Rafiki: My eyes are open. It is my lids that are closed.
Rafiki: Your journey is not a dream, Mufasa. Your mother is guiding you, and where you are going, a family awaits.
Rafiki: The earth divided is now a choice. Around or down? The decision is yours.
Mufasa: [to Taka, referring to Sarabi] Listen when she speaks. Males have trouble with that one.
Zazu: Just to be clear, I never signed up for this!
Mufasa: [referring to Taka] Did he just say she smells like a duck?
Rafiki: And you call me a baboon?
Rafiki: Sometimes, when the people most like you don’t love you, it is a hurt that can cause the greatest pain. And this pain can lead you to hate everything.
Sarabi: I see you, Mufasa.
Mufasa: I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Sarabi: Now, that part, I believe. Because, smart as you are, you have a way of seeing everything but yourself.
Taka: I need to thank you. You kept your word to Eshe and Obasi. You saved me, Mufasa. And I will never forget what you’ve done, my brother.
Rafiki: We are nearing destiny, Mufasa. And so, the earth must shake.
Taka: I’m the son of a king. But Sarabi chose you. Just like Mother. Just like my own father. I saved you and you betrayed me!
Mufasa: I’m your brother. Fight with me!
Taka: You stole my destiny.
Mufasa: I am Mufasa, a stray with no pride, and yet I stand before you. Head unbowed. I know you’re afraid, but trust me. Nothing will change if we remain isolated to our own tribes without concern for the fate of others.
Mufasa: Every being has a place in the Circle of Life. My breath is your breath. Your fight is my fight. I will not bend to evil, and neither should you.
Rafiki: Mufasa, you have brought them together. You helped them see in themselves what they considered unseeable. Nothing is more kingly.
Rafiki: [to Mufasa] Don’t you see, my brother? It is not what you were, it is what you have become. The King of Milele. My brother, something beautiful awaits you.
Mufasa: Where’s Father?
Afia: He lives in you now. He lives in you.
Taka: Mufasa, please forgive me.
Zazu: You must banish him, Sire.
Mufasa: As long as I am king, my brother will have a place here.
Taka: Brother, I am so…
Mufasa: But I won’t ever say your name again. I can’t. I won’t.
Taka: Then call me Scar. So I will never forget what I have done.
Kiara: I wish I could meet my grandfather.
Rafiki: As Mufasa once told your father, look into the heavens, Kiara. The great kings of the past will always be there waiting for you.
Kiara: I don’t want him to go, Rafiki. I don’t want it to end.
Rafiki: Don’t you see, Kiara? Mufasa lives in you. He lives in you.
Timon: It was perfect.
Pumbaa: You could not improve on it.
Timon: That said, I do have notes.
Pumbaa: Some suggestions. Take them or leave them. But take them.