My Lion King Forum

From what I've heard, Mufasa has a pretty big role in the musical in comparision to the movie, which isn't saying much. While he does die halfway through, his role in that first half is pretty short, not just compared to characters who appear throughout but also compared to Timon and Pumbaa, who only appear in the second half, yet manage to steal almost the entire thing.

Personally, I don't really care, since the hyenas are my favorites, but what do you think?

How the film was going, his presence really wasn't needed too much more. As long as they established a clear bond between father and son and you got the idea he was a good ruler - which we do - that was enough really. I mean his presence lingers throughout the film to the end even in death, so I feel he did have a decent enough time in the film.

Even though he is only in about 50% of the movie (or maybe even less than that), it was still enough time to establish a strong father figure and then have him ripped away to lay the groundwork for the main part of the story. Even though Mufasa isn't physically there, his presence is still felt in a way. Simba remembers him when he is beneath the stars with Timon and Pumbaa. Scar is so desperate to try to out do him (and so scared that he can't) that he has banned all mention of his brother's name. Sarabi tells Scar "if you were half the King Mufasa was", showing he remains an important figure to her and probably the other lionesses. There's a ton more I could mention...

So, you see that despite not actually being there, his character is sort of going on in the background and influencing the story.

You're right, but it's onscreen moments that really matter to me.

The question should actually be: Would it have been necessary for Mufasa to have more appearances in the movie? And to that, I say no. He simply doesn't need to have more appearances then he already does. He is in the movie long enough for the viewers to recognize a strong personality and father-figure in him to Simba, and that's all we really should expect because he isn't the main protoganist at all, but Simba is.

Personally, I really missed Mufasa in the second half of the movie. But, was he needed then? And was he truly gone? I don't think so. His presence was felt in the air, Simba was feeling it all along, and so did we. The story was based on Hamlet, so it's quite interesting that they left him alive even this long (considering that Hamlet Sr. was dead from the start).

Just like people above me said, Mufasa was present quite enough for us to see what kind of ruler he was (really good one), and the relationship he shared with Simba, which was obviously really strong. That was probably convenient to the plot, since we could see WHY everyone was so devastated about the state in Pride Lands, and we could also see Simba's inner state, which was just as chaotic. He does appear later too, it's not like he totally disappeared (ghost scene), and he takes form as spiritual guide of Simba's. I think that was simply what his role was supposed to be in the movie, and they did it the best possible way.

I feel like the directors really did cover it all, just in a short amount of time. You get Mufasa and his family relations in the opening scene, along with Him and Simba. Again with Simba during the pouncing scene. And lastly of coarse with the disciplining scene. And if you want to count it, the movie also showed how much he cared for his son right before his death.

If they did end up covering more, then it should have been focused around the ruling of the PL. You don't really get the effect of how stressful it was to have a job like that, so I think that could have added some more depth to Muffy.

I would have wanted him to personally, but he did serve his purpose in the film and the circle of life.

It's weird, thoughl because he's so prominent when he is onscreen, that it doesn't make sense that they give him like, 10 minutes of screentime at best.

Characters can be important even if they didn't get a lot of screen time, such as other things are important. Simba and Nala falling in love? Thinking on that as I type, it displeases me how little of that there was on screen. A song's length... What is it, three minutes? Three minutes for them to fall in love after being apart for so long? Shouldn't they - or at least Nala - take more time to be shocked from finding out her best firend who she thought was dead, is alive and well? I get that the song was a way to condense it, but it's still short screen time. So, yes, Mufasa didn't have a lot of screen time, but the minutes he did have portrayed him wonderfully, just like other scenes and characters!