Mufasa: The Lion King first reactions call it the "perfect prequel" and "a story that deserves to be told"

The first reactions for Mufasa: The Lion King, a prequel to the 2019 photorealistic film, are here - and they're overwhelmingly positive.

The upcoming film, directed by Barry Jenkins, tells the origin stories of Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) and his brother Scar (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) prior to the events of The Lion King.The cast includes Blue Ivy Carter as Kiara, Beyonce as Nala, Donald Glover as Simba, and Billy Eichner as Timon. Lin-Manuel Miranda provided the music for the film, including original songs.

'#MufasaTheLionKing is the perfect prequel," wrote Variety editor Jazz Tangcay. "So beautifully crafted. The songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda and the score are absolutely divine and music to the ears. Pure joy."

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"I’ll be the first to admit that a Lion King prequel was not something I was asking for, but the animation is incredible, the songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda are infectious, and the vocal performances make #Mufasa - dare I say - better than the 2019 version of Lion King," ComicBook's Chris Killian said.

"#MufasaTheLionKing left me speechless. It's a story that deserves to be told that makes you question what is destiny. Expertly written & crafted, it adds to #TheLionKing franchise by adding more dimension to the characters we love & thought we knew. The visual effects are astounding," praised Dana Abercrombie.

"#Mufasa is a fantastic prequel that outdoes the first photorealistic The Lion King movie by a mile with an original and engaging story, better facial animation, and fun songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. It ties nicely to the previous film's story and you get to see how it all started," John Nguyen tweeted.

Mufasa: The Lion King is set to hit theaters on December 20. For more, check out our lists of upcoming movies and movie release dates.