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Mufasa is a character from the 1994 Disney film The Lion King

Role in the film[]

Mufasa is first seen during the Circle of Life sequence, where all the animals come to the presentation of Simba. He stands regally atop Pride Rock as it's king and regards Zazu's respect with a warm smile. Rafiki appears and the two embrace before going to check with Sarabi. He nuzzles her as they view their son, watching the mandrill annoint the cub and trust Rafiki with their child. The two smile at each other as Simba is presented.

Later Mufasa demands Scar drop Zazu, after the former tries to eat the latter and confronts his brother about being absent to his sons presentation. Scar is disrespectful, something the King responds in hostility to. When he dominates Scar, Mufasa ponders what to do with the younger lion at which Zazu suggest turning him into a throw rug. The King laughs and they take their leave

Once Simba gets a few weeks old, he rouses his father and Mufasa takes his son to Pride Rock's summit to show him the kingdom; Everything the light touches. He tells Simba everything the light touches belongs to them and when he is king all of it will be passed on to him. Simba asks about the Shadowy Place and Mufasa warns him not to go there. Simba replies he though a king could do whatever he wants and Mufasa explains there's more to being king than having your way all the time. He goes on to explain the circle of life to his cub, that the antelope may be food for them but when they die they become the grass, which the antelope eat.

Zazu appears and explains gives Mufasa The Morning Report. Mufasa notices Simba's attempts at pouncing and uses the majordomo as target practice for his son. He laughs when Simba succeeds but reports from the underground, via a mole, that hyenas have tresspassed in the lands turns his carefree demeanor serious and he leaps over Simba to fix the problem. He orders Zazu to take Simba home and refuses Simba's request to go with him.

When Simba and Nala go into the elephant graveyard and encounter three hyenas, Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed, he saves them in the knick of time and gives his son a lesson about bravery after order Zazu to take Nala home. He tells his cub being brave doesn't mean looking for trouble, plays with his son and tells him about The Great Kings of the Past when Simba asks if they'll always be together.

Mufasa is last seen alive during the stampede, intentionally caused by the Hyenas who were working for Scar. He notes the herd being on the move was odd, and rushes to save Simba when Scar reports him being down there. Mufasa jumps into the mess of hooves without hesitation after Zazu locates the cub clinging to a weak branch. He catches Simba in mid air when the branch is broken by a Wildebeest, taking a hit in the process. Simba is flung into the stampede along when Mufasa is tagged by yet another Wildebeest but he quickly grabs his son and moves him to safety. A Wildebeest drags him back into the chaos but with a powerful leap Mufasa clings to and scales the ways of the gorge only to meet Scar at it's top and to be thrown back, and to his death, in the Stampede

When Simba is an adult, Rafiki tells him Mufasa is still alive. Eager to see his father again, Simba follows the mandrill and is dissapointed to see only his reflection, but when instructed to look harder, he stares into the very eyes of his father. Mufasa's voice hovers above him, and he curiously looks up to meet his father's ghost. The Ghost accuses Simba of forgetting him, something Simba vehemently refuses, but the ghost counters Simba has forgotten who he is and in turn has forgotten his father. He demands Simba go back, to which Simba asks "How can I go back? I'm not who I used to be." Mufasa recedes into the clouds with a series of "Remebers."

The last time Mufasa is heard, Simba has defeated Scar and is taking his place as the rightful king.

The Lion King II: Simba's pride[]

Mufasa only makes two visual appearances in Simba's Pride. Once, his spirit is seen watching over Kiara's presentation with the song, "He Lives in You", attributing to him. Second, Mufasa is seen in Simba's nightmare which is a re-imagining of his own death scene. Mufasa is crying for his son's help so he won't fall into the wildebeest stampede below. However, Simba is stopped by Scar who pierces his paw with his claws while his other paw is unable to reach his father's paw. Unable to hang on any later, Mufasa falls. In the film, he tells his old friend Rafiki through the wind about his plan to make Kiara and Kovu fall in love with each other. He is also mentioned during the exile of Kovu, where Kiara yells at Simba "You will never be Mufasa!", possibly referring to the fact, in Kiara's eyes, Mufasa may have forgiven Kovu and seen the ambush was not his fault. Simba is taken aback and, most likely, hurt by the statement for a moment, suggesting he had been trying to live up to the "greatness" Mufasa had achieved in his time as ruler of the Pridelands. At the end of Simba's Pride, he says, "Well done, my son. We are one." toward Simba praising his son's wisdom and leadership as king.

The Lion King 1 1/2[]

In this film, Mufasa makes a few brief, non-speaking appearances.

The Lion King Musical[]

In the musical productions, Mufasa's role is much larger in the musical than in the first film. Mufasa is given new songs to sing such as "The Morning Report" and "They Live in You" to which he tells young Simba about the Great Kings of the Past who are watching over them from the stars. There is also an scene in which Mufasa tells Zazu about Simba's daring behavior. Zazu then reminds him on his early years as a young cub. In Mufasa's Death he lied down on stage and Simba cried for help. In the song "He Lives in You", Mufasa apeared as a ghost and tells Simba to go back to the Pridelands. Finally, Mufasa says "REMEMBER!" before Simba roars as the new king of his kingdom.

Samuel E. Wright portrayed Mufasa in the Original Broadway Cast, while Correll John portrayed him in the London West End Cast.

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