Disney’s Big Bet Flops, Blocks Fans Expressing Their Disappointment

If audience reception is any indicator, Disney’s next big project—Mufasa: The Lion King—might just fall flat on its face. 

One of the primary sentiments that characterized the response to practically every Disney movie that was released in 2023 was disappointment. It sounds harsh, but it’s true. 

Unfortunately, at the moment, Disney finds itself caught between an incredibly polarized audience. Some believe that the Mouse House is pandering to a “woke” audience, and others feel Disney isn’t doing enough with respect to representation. 

Credit: Walt Disney Pictures

Read More: Disney Asks Fans if They Will Be Watching ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’, Immediately Regrets It

However, while the politics of it all is quite complicated, at present, Disney is actually being mocked by guests on the release of their trailer for the upcoming Lion King prequel, Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King. 

A young Mufasa in Mufasa: The Lion King / Credit: Disney

Just two days ago, Disney released the trailer for the highly-anticipated movie. That the movie was in production had been revealed back in 2022 during the D23 Expo in September. Since then, fans have been looking greatly forward to the first sneak peek at the movie. 

But many were sorely disappointed with what they saw and didn’t hesitate to express their frustration— until Disney blocked them from doing so. 

After hours of negative comments on the trailer teaser, Disney ended up turning off comments on the YouTube video, stopping people from expressing their irritation with the changes Disney made. 

As many might already know, Disney retconned a lot of the story from the animated version, asserting that Mufasa was a lion born without “a drop of nobility” in his blood. Further, as we found out only recently, Mufasa and Scar aren’t even actually brothers. 

In fact, the theory is Scar was originally set to be King of the Pride Lands, and presumably, a young Mufasa usurps the throne.    

But fans aren’t having this. Before Disney disabled comments, they ripped apart the trailer’s inconsistencies, from seeing freezing ice in the African continent to the changed canon. 

A still from Mufasa: The Lion King / Credit: Disney

“Without a drop of nobility” so this movie literally retcons Mufasa’s whole conversation with Simba, making him the first king of the Pride Lands, one wrote. 

“This should be the origin story of Scar. I’m imagining Mufasa scratching his face singing ‘I can’t wait to be king.’” Another added. 

A third said, “Ah yes, the famous snowy, icy winters of central Africa.” 

Yet another fan demanded, “‘Who asked for this?’ is a question that needs to be put before greenlighting movies.”  

Mufasa and Simba in the 2019 live-action remake of The Lion King / Credit: Walt Disney Pictures

Fans are so unhappy they even questioned director Barry Jenkins’ intentions in doing the movie.

One posted on X, stating, “Barry, You’re too good and talented for this Iger’s soulless machine.”

Jenkins, however, as one might imagine, spoke out in support of the film. 

He responded, “There is nothing soulless about The Lion King. For decades children have sat in theaters all over the world experiencing collective grief for the first time, engaging Shakespeare for the first time, across aisles in myriad languages. A most potent vessel for communal empathy.”

Rafiki in The Lion King / Credit: Walt Disney Pictures

Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King stars Aaron Pierre as eventual King Mufasa, Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Scar, Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, John Kani as Rafiki, Billy Eichner as Timon, along with Bill Hader, Beyoncé, and Blue-Ivy Carter Knowles. Lin-Manuel Miranda is writing original songs for the film. 

What do you think of the new ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ trailer? Let Disney Dining know in the comments.