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Credit: DisneyIn 1994, Disney created true movie magic when it released The Lion King, a film that would become an icon of Disney animation and one of the studio’s most successful animated movies ever. The movie tells the story of Simba, a young lion cub who flees from his home in the Pride Lands after being convinced by his evil Uncle Scar that his father Mufasa’s death was his fault.
On his journey, Simba meets Timon and Pumbaa — a meerkat and a warthog who have become best friends. They raise Simba and teach him to embrace the “Hakuna Matata” way of life. However, when Simba’s childhood friend finds him, he must return to the Pride Lands, defeat Scar, and become the king he was always meant to be.
Related: ‘The Lion King’ Shared Cinematic Universe: Movies, TV Shows, and More Explained
The success of The Lion King spawned an entire franchise that, while not as fruitful as the original film, has still made Disney billions of dollars.
Over the years, Disney has created multiple movies after The Lion King, including The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride (1998) and The Lion King 1 1/2 (2004), as well as a 2019 live-action remake of the original film. There have also been multiple television shows — The Lion King’s Timon & Pumbaa and The Lion Guard — as well as the massively successful Lion King on Broadway.
Related: Lin Manuel Miranda Reveals Dream ‘Lion King’ Project
On December 20, Disney’s newest Lion King project — Mufasa: The Lion King — hit theaters nationwide. The film received a lot of backlash and negative attention before it was even released, and it has not performed at the box office the way Disney had hoped. So far, the film has grossed $122 million at the global box office, far below what Disney had predicted and needed.
Disney went all in on marketing and advertising Mufasa: The Lion King, but it appears that someone on the marketing team may have slipped up and accidentally told fans NOT to see the new movie.
X (formerly Twitter) user Gratuitous Theme Parks shared an image of an email he received from Disney. The email tried to play off of the iconic phrase “Hakuna Matata”, which means no worries. However, they accidentally ended up saying, “No Mufasa.”
Okay, Disney! I won’t watch #Mufasa. 🙄
Okay, Disney! I won’t watch #Mufasa. 🙄 pic.twitter.com/CFuwfEjU2c
— Gratuitous Theme Parks (@GratThemeParks) December 20, 2024
Many commenters thought that the email was actually some pretty interesting foreshadowing. Sonic The Hedgehog 3 was released on the same day as Mufasa and the Lion King prequel, and fans were much more interested in seeing the third Sonic installment.
Overall, Mufasa: The Lion King is performing relatively well, with an 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from fans, but only a 56% rating from critics. Sonic The Hedgehog 3, on the other hand, as an 87% critics rating and a wildly impressive 98% audience score.
Have you seen Mufasa: The Lion King? Does it stand up in terms of what should be expected from Disney? Or should moviegoers skip it and see something else instead? Let us know in the comments!