Disney Needs To Bring The Lion King Franchise Back To Its Roots After Mufasa

After Mufasa: The Lion King, Disney should bring The Lion King franchise back to its roots. The franchise began with the release of The Lion King in 1994, which proved to be an immense critical and commercial success that has stood the test of time. The franchise released two more animated movies, with The Lion King II: Simba's Pride in 1998 and The Lion King 1½ in 2004, both of which were direct-to-video. In 2019, the franchise returned to theaters with the "live-action" Lion King remake, followed by the story of Mufasa: The Lion King in 2024.

Mufasa acts as both a sequel and prequel to the 2019 Lion King, as Rafiki tells Simba and Nala's daughter, Kiara, about the origins of her grandfather and uncle, Scar. After Mufasa's mixed reviews and an opening weekend that performed below expectations, Mufasa's box office has bounced back, and done well for Disney, having grossed $543 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo) as its theatrical run continues. Despite the movie's financial success, the franchise should make a change before making its next movie.

Disney Should Make Another Animated The Lion King Movie Next

The Franchise Is Overdue For An Animated Movie

After making two "live-action" Lion King movies, the franchise's next movie should be animated. It has been 21 years since The Lion King1½ was released, which was the last time the franchise had an animated movie. Much of the original movie's success is due to The Lion King's soundtrack, story, and characters, but it is also rooted in the beautiful animation. Through animation, the characters are emotionally expressive and easier to connect to, and the settings are far more vibrant and visually appealing.

Mufasa did improve on the 2019 Lion King by making the photorealistic animals more expressive and by telling an original story instead of just being a remake. Nevertheless, Mufasa still lacks the visual colors and style of its animated predecessors. This can be amended by making the next Lion King movie animated, which will return to the roots of the 1994 movie, and one of the major elements that enabled the franchise to become a hit in the first place.

A New Animated The Lion King Movie Is Better Than More "Live-Action" Films

This Change Offers Numerous Benefits

Despite the improvements in Mufasa, the animals in Disney's "live-action" movies will never be as expressive and easy to connect to as they are in animation. Instead of trying to continue perfecting the "live-action" photorealistic animation, Disney should bring The Lion King back to more traditional animation. Given how long it has been since the last animated Lion King movie, this will be more exciting than continuing down the franchise's current path.

The Lion King Movies	Release Year
The Lion King	1994
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride	1998
The Lion King 1½	2004
The Lion King	2019
Mufasa: The Lion King	2024

Mufasa: The Lion King's ending set up several potential sequels and spinoffs, most notably continuing to follow Kiara and Simba and Nala's son. While any followup on these stories is expected to happen in "live-action," they could be continued through more traditional animation instead. Going back to animation can also provide the franchise with more creative freedom and not make them beholden to continuing the style or stories of Mufasa: The Lion King.

Source: Box Office Mojo