YMS: The Lion King (Part 1) | Mufasa Voice Acting 1994 vs 2019

Date: April 24, 2022

[ritenac]

‘Nobody messes with your dad’
1994: Warm laugh, playful tone yet reassuring to son who just went through a life threatening ordeal.
2019: Arrogant matter of fact statement

[Garyfan]

0:48 1994 Mufasa: sounds concerned and worried for his son

2019 Mufasa: sounds very confused, as if he doesn't even know who Simba is

[Laiser]

It's crazy how a little tone infliction can change how a line comes off, like Mufasa saying "That's cause nobody messes with your dad" in the original comes off as playful because he chuckles right before delivering the line and when he says the line its warm and embracing, not to mention the animation helps the expression of the characters. The 2019 version makes it sound like Mufasa is kind of arrogant, because the line delivery is stale and lack of facial expression makes it seem less friendly

[dylanmcartoonell]

James Earl Jones wasn’t even THAT young when he did the original, he was like 60! They really thought he’d have the same commanding presence at fucking 90?!

[michaelstrong]

The way he said "You put Nala in danger" in the remake made it sound like he doesn't care if Nala was eaten by the hyenas.

[coffeecatzz]

The "Is that a challenge?" is SO much better in the original. The way Earl Jones did that line in the original was so much more intimidating.

[SuperdreadnoughtLiebe]

It’s pretty amazing how they managed to butcher each and every character for a movie which Jon Favreau has the gall to imply is an improvement over the original.

[noodles_poodles]

This is why The Lion King didn’t need a remake

[sebastianbarrios]

JON: "James is better now because wisdom or something"
Mufasa 2019:*repeats the same lines but now it feels tired*

[lulucalliope]

In the 2019 version, he sounds SO bored. "Oh jeez, I've already done this shit, why are we doing this again?"

[Sours]

It's not even just Mufasa. Every other character in these clips sounds stilted.

0:47 - Original!Scar sounds genuinely scared, he's out of breath, really putting on a convincing act. 2019!Scar sounds like a side character in a musical. (not to mention Original!Mufasa sounds scared for his son and 2019!Mufasa sounds like he's trying to remember who Simba is.)
0:56 - Original!Zazu has a pronounced attitude in his voice and movements. We immediately see as an audience that he's a pompous, snarky sort of person (Rowan Atkinson's niche tbh). 2019!Zazu gets one word, which is barked, with no movement whatsoever to suggest attitude.
1:12 . Original!Simba sounds like a kid. 2019!Simba sounds like an NPC in a point-and-click adventure game.


I'm sure I'm not the first person to point all of this out but holy hell. You could put Oblivion music over the whole thing and it'd fit right in. I've seen middle school theater productions with more emotion and energy than 2019!Lion King.

[djy]

My god it just gets funnier the longer it goes on

[JTCurtisMusic]

As much as everyone's talking about the remake in the comments, I'm more focusing on how brilliant the performance and design is from the original 1994 film. Jones' voice carries so much commanding authority, the voice of a God, but still a relatable father with many complex emotions. Also huge credit to the animators who brought this performance to life. This simple 2D drawing feels so real.

[lucasandersons]

Its crazy how its the same guy in both instances but one sounds like its actually Mufassa talking while the other sounds like a guy reading his lines before he performs.

[horset]

I think one of the biggest differences I pick up is that in the original many voice lines are further amplified by the subtle inclusion of various animal growls, moans, and roars.
Something which the 2019 remake very weirdly lacks!

[YouCantDeleteDenzelL]

1994: Mufasa is not to be fucked with, but he also loves his son dearly.

2019: Lol Scar doesn't need to do anything; Mufasa is 5 seconds away from dying

[KEBJD]

he perpetually sounds like he's about to sleep

[HectorLopez]

Vader: Search your feelings you know it to be true.
Luke: NOOO! Nooo…
Vader: yEs

[spegynmerbles]

This is why they used an ai for his voice in obi Wan, I love James and he was an amazing voice actor, but he has definitely gotten old and his voice has as well

[nabilkhan]

"yEs" "Schgar halp me!" "Simba?" SOUDA