Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Mufasa: The Lion King.

Mufasa: The Lion King establishes how the тιтular pride leader first came into contact with several characters from the original movie, but one interesting connection between Mufasa and Rafiki never receives much attention. As the cast of Mufasa travels across Africa to seek safe harbor in the fabled land of Milele, the film digs into several previously unexplored aspects of each character’s backstory. In doing so, however, the movie inserts a few details that feel as if they could have warranted even further exploration.

A key aspect of the film is how it establishes Mufasa and Simba’s family tree, such as how Scar came to be regarded as Simba’s “uncle.” Shortly before Mufasa: The Lion King’s ending, Rafiki and Mufasa also come to regard each other as brothers. It’s a very touching moment in the film, but it also calls to light the fact that Mufasa and Rafiki never actually seem to bond over one of the strongest connections between them.

Mufasa: The Lion King Reveals That Rafiki And Mufasa Are Both Strays

Rafiki Is The Only Mandrill In A Troop Of Baboons

A good deal of Rafiki’s backstory is revealed through Mufasa: The Lion King’s Easter eggs, such as the discovery of his ancient tree or the origin of his trademark walking stick. But the most interesting revelation is that, despite his ᴀssertiveness about the fact that he’s a mandrill, Rafiki once lived with a troop of the same baboons for which he’s often mistaken. Much like Mufasa, Rafiki was a stray orphan in a community that despised him. Unlike Mufasa, he wasn’t ostracized merely for being a stray but rather for his mystic visions and bizarre personality.

The details of how Rafiki came to lose his family and live as an outsider are never really explained, although they don’t need to be unless Disney decides to make further Lion King spinoffs. But the details of Rafiki’s origins aren’t vital to the narrative at hand. What’s more important is that Rafiki never shares his origins with Mufasa on screen. Given their similar histories, this could have been a huge bonding moment for the two. By leaving it out, Mufasa misses the chance to strengthen their friendship while also weakening the impact of one scene in particular.

Having Rafiki Tell Mufasa His Backstory Would Justify His “Brother” Line

Their Long-Lasting Bond Deserved More Development

It technically wouldn’t be fair to say that Mufasa never learns Rafiki’s backstory at all, since Mufasa: The Lion King’s timeline sets it years before the original movie. It’s also possible that Rafiki shares his story off-screen, since the movie doesn’t document every step of their journey. Nonetheless, Rafiki calling Mufasa his brother would feel more earned if audiences saw them bond over their similar pasts. Thanks to his visions, it would seem that Rafiki seems to already know Mufasa’s story. But a friendship built on one friend having psychic intel about the other is a bit of a one-way street.

As portrayed in the movie, the only thing Rafiki and Mufasa really have in common is the desire to seek lost family in the Pride Lands of Milele. Other than that, Mufasa: The Lion King generally depicts the relationship between Rafiki and Mufasa as that between a mentor and his student. And to be fair, their relationship doesn’t actually need to be anything else to explain why they stayed friends over the years. But if Disney wanted to establish them as more, one bonding moment over their shared history as strays was all the movie needed.