Why Mufasa’s Death in OG The Lion King Traumatized Folake Olowofoyeka

Cheap flake is just like Our when it comes to watching Mufasa’s heartbreaking death in 1994 The Lion King.

“After that first The Lion King (film), I just never made myself emotionally available to any film again,” joked 41-year-old Olówófôyekù My Weekly in an exclusive interview promoting his new film, Mufasa: The Lion King. “After Musaf’s death in the original, I haven’t seen anything sadder.

original The Lion King is emotional for many people because of the tragic scene in which young Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) witnesses his father Mufasa (James Earl Jones ), fall into a stampede and die at the hands of his evil uncle Scar (Jeremy Irons).

“I’ve never been to America in my life. And I remember being so emotionally affected by the death mufasa, You know, it was such a great story,” Olówófôyekù said Our. “And at that time I already owned cats. family, pets. I still do. I actually have a cat, her name is Aishah. And she looks like my character,” she said. “He’s also a white cat with blue eyes… It’s just a full-circle moment in so many different ways.

Mufasa: The Lion King serves as a sequel to the 2019 live-action remake and tells an origin story from Mufasa. For Olówófôyekù, the films were personal as she watched the original film in her native home in Nigeria. Now “it’s a full-circle moment” to join the story, where she plays Amara, a member of the White Lioness and Akua’s sister (Joanna Jones) and Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen).

Olówófôyekù is the first Nigerian celebrity with a Nigerian accent to be included in films, and the actress explained that representing her culture has been a “bigger motive” for her in her career.

“Nigerians are not very expressive. We don’t feel much emotion,” Olówófôyekù said. “So I’d say maybe one or two people out of hundreds of family members who express their pride. But I’m sure they’re proud.”

Tracking Mufasa helped Olówófôyekù connect with her inner child—and it was a very different experience than in 1994. “In this case, I was like a big kid in a movie theater,” she said. “Mainly to hear my voice.” I was smiling through it all. I was dancing.”

The film features a star cast including Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Billy Eicher, Beyonce and she eats daughter Blue Ivy Carter. However, Olówófôyekù was unaware that Blue Ivy – or anyone else – was on board because “everything was top secret”.

“When they cast me, I didn’t even know who was in the movie. And we were kind of secluded in our private rooms to record with as little artwork as possible,” she said Our. “So I relied on my love for the feline species to portray her.

With reporting by Travis Cronin

Mufasa: The Lion King is in theaters now.