It came as a bit of a surprise when arthouse auteur Barry Jenkins was announced as the director of Mufasa: The Lion King, the prequel to the 2019 computer animated remake of the 1994 classic. Though Disney has snagged a handful of well respected directors to helm their live-action remakes, Jenkins was a different level. Would he simply use the project as a springboard to make another passion film, or would he find a way to inject his style and humanity past the Mouse House’s tight leash? Though there are bright flashes where it feels like Jenkins prevailed, the film is ultimately plagued by a mixture of everything that’s hurt Disney in recent years.

Though technically touted as a “live-action” film, Mufasa features more photorealistic animals singing, dancing, and talking through another Shakespearean tale. Familiar characters like Timon (Billy Eichner), Pumbaa (Seth Rogen), and Rafiki (John Kani) feature prominently, but the film mostly tells the story of the first lion king, Mufasa (Braelyn Rankins when younger, Aaron Pierre as an adult). Prequels often suffer the same problem inherent in the storytelling device – that is, the drama is slightly neutered when we essentially already know the fates of the major characters.

Mufasa: The Lion King isn’t immune to this problem, but the film beats its mostly risible peers by simply being an original story (written by Jeff Nathanson). After a flood – pointedly shot to recall the wildebeest stampede from The Lion King – separates young Mufasa from his parents (voiced by Keith David and Anika Noni Rose), he’s orphaned and wanders the Serengeti in search of a fabled land of plenty. Eventually he’s rescued by Taka (Theo Somolu when younger, Kelvin Harrison Jr. as an adult), the young prince of a small pride led by Obasi (Lennie James), who hates outsiders. Through a series of confrontations, Taka and Mufasa are forced to go on the run from a rival pride of white lions, led by Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen).

The pseudo road trip adventure serves the film well, but it’s brought to a screeching halt whenever it comes back to the present day. That’s right, the film is told as a flashback by Rafiki to Timon, Pumbaa, and Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter), the daughter of Nala and Simba (Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Donald Glover). Eichner and Rogen are fun enough, and bring a light, metatextual humor to Mufasa, but the bit mostly just feels like Disney trying to placate Beyoncé by giving her daughter a prominent speaking role.

In fact, the film really only gets interesting whenever it doesn’t feel hampered down by trying to connect to the greater Lion King world, or set up a reference to something we already know. Taka and Mufasa’s bond is strong, but it’s thrown into chaos when Sarabi (Tiffany Boone) and Zazu (Preston Nyman) joins them and romantic entanglements ensue. There’s an understated theme within Mufasa: The Lion King about strays and loners coming together to overcome the odds, but Disney doesn’t seem terribly interested in exploring that beneath the surface.

Yes, Mufasa: The Lion King looks amazing, just as its predecessor did. There are moments where the eye can easily be tricked into believing you’re seeing real animals. That is, until they start singing and dancing to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s forgettable songs. There’s nothing terribly egregious within the soundtrack, but nothing nearly as enduring as “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” or “I Just Can’t Wait to be King”. Though I suppose this is good news for parents, who won’t have to worry about their kids consistently begging to listen to the music, a la Frozen or Moana.

More than ten years into the experiment and Disney’s live-action remakes continue to fail to justify their own existence. At least Mufasa: The Lion King isn’t another dull-retread like so many of the studio’s other recent sequels. But to be truly optimistic about the film, you have to look beyond the screen: The advanced technology could be used to create something visually dazzling that we’ve never seen before, and to put more money in the hands of Barry Jenkins to use as he sees fit. Hopefully that’s enough to get you through the film itself.

Mufasa: The Lion King will premiere in theaters nationwide on December 20.

OSCAR POTENTIAL:

• The film made the Oscar shortlist for Best Visual Effects. Since the 2019 version received a nomination, a repeat could be possible, but I get the impression that Academy voters have little interest in rewarding something they’ve essentially already seen before.