Warning: SPOILERS for Mufasa: The Lion KingDisney’s latest box-office megahit, Mufasa: The Lion King, provides an origin story for one of the most popular tragic heroes in cinematic history. Serving as a prequel to 2019’s pH๏τorealist adaptation of The Lion King, the movie explains how the original king of Pride Rock came to reach the Pride Lands, prior to the birth of his son, Simba. In doing so, however, it places a question mark over the very essence of Mufasa’s kingdom.
With Mufasa still a child, his parents sing to him about a place where “the water flows, the grᴀss is high”, and their small pride can take its rightful place at the head of the animal kingdom. The song ranks highly among those in Mufasa: The Lion King thanks to Anika Noni Rose’s powerful vocal performance. But it also introduces a new idea into the story which risks inconsistency with the long-established lore of arguably Disney’s best-loved franchise of recent times.
Mufasa: The Lion King Gives The Pride Lands A New Name As Milele
Milele Appears To Be Mythical Until Mufasa Actually Reaches It
“Call it Milele,” Afia, mother of the young Mufasa, sings to him. “If it lives in you, it lives in me.” She’s referring to the mythical kingdom she and her partner Masego are trying to reach with their cub. The word “milele” means “forever” in Swahili, the same East-African language which gave rise to the original Lion King song “Hakuna Matata”, and Afia sings about it as a place analogous to the biblical kingdom of Heaven. Yet later in the movie, Milele appears to be a place on Earth, within (a very long) walking distance of where Mufasa was born.
After a flood tears the pride apart, killing Mufasa’s dad in a heartbreaking similarity with his own fate later in life, the young lion is forced to leave his home, and begin his long journey to Pride Rock. Along the way, he picks up the adoptive brother who’ll eventually name himself Scar, and the mandrill Rafiki, who believes Milele to be a real place. As it turns out, what Rafiki calls “Milele” are the same Pride Lands Mufasa comes to rule as king, once he defeats a pride of white lions known as the Outsiders at the climax of his origin story.
The Pride Lands Not Being Known As Milele Is Odd For Mufasa’s Story
Milele Is Hardly Mentioned During The Movie’s Climax And Doesn’t Feature In The Lion King Itself
Still, the name “Milele” is hardly mentioned after Mufasa, Scar, Rafiki and the rest of their group arrive at the place known as the Pride Lands throughout The Lion King. The ending of Mufasa: The Lion King instead emphasizes the creation of the symbolic throne of the lion’s new kingdom, Pride Rock, on top of the collapsed cave where the film’s climactic fight scene took place.
“If Mufasa: The Lion King‘s story structure and characterizations occasionally falter, the gorgeous visuals and resonant soundtrack make up for it.” – Rachel Labonte – ScreenRant’s Review of Mufasa: The Lion King
It seems especially odd that the story doesn’t return to the name “Milele” when Mufasa is reunited with his mother Afia in the movie’s closing moments. It was Afia who first sang to him about a kingdom resembling the place they have both now found, a place which Rafiki claims to be Milele itself. Afia sharing an affirmation with her son that they had indeed reached Milele could have been an opportunity for the film to complete Mufasa’s circle of life. On the other hand, it would have raised questions about why “Milele” is never mentioned in The Lion King.
Why The Pride Lands Aren’t Called Milele In The Lion King
The Pride Lands Are The Real Kingdom Ruled By Mufasa And His Pride
It’s clear that Jeff Nathanson, the writer of both 2019 Lion King and Mustafa: The Lion King, hadn’t come up with the idea of Milele prior to working on this latest movie, which explains why it hadn’t featured at all in Disney’s highest-grossing animated franchise before now. However, the way Milele is portrayed in the film suggests there may be another reason why the word isn’t overly emphasized in its final act.
When Afia sang, “If it lives in you, it lives in me,” it sounded as though she was describing a spiritual metaphor, rather than an actual place. What’s more, Rafiki’s quest to find Milele appears as a religious experience involving prophetic visions rather than a journey to a material destination.
Yes, the journey of Mufasa and other characters in Mufasa: The Lion King is completed once they reach what Rafiki calls “Milele”, and what then become known as the Pride Lands. But it could be that the Pride Lands are simply a physical manifestation or embodiment of the idea of Milele. The filmmakers deliberately leave this question open to interpretation, while leaving themselves a loophole to explain why Milele never features in The Lion King.
