Cover Ben&Ben’s Paolo and Miguel Benjamin interview the people behind ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ (Photo: courtesy of Disney)
Ben&Ben’s Paolo and Miguel Benjamin interview the people behind ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ (Photo: courtesy of Disney)
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Ben&Ben’s vocalists, Miguel and Paolo Benjamin, interview the people behind Disney’s newest musical film, ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’
Despite being busy with rehearsals for their upcoming concert, The Traveller Across Dimensions, Ben&Ben’s Miguel Benjamin and Paolo Benjamin travelled to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in California to interview the stars behind Disney’s latest musical drama, Mufasa: The Lion King. In an intimate conversation with director Barry Jenkins, composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, and cast members Aaron Pierre (plays Mufasa), Tiffany Boone (plays Sarabi) and Kelvin Harrison Jr (plays Taka), the twins were able to catch a glimpse into what it took to produce a film of this calibre.
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As a prequel to Disney’s 2019 film The Lion King, Mufasa: The Lion King tells the story of a young Mufasa as he meets Taka. From here, the audience sees how the titular character becomes king of the Pride Lands and the father of Simba. Themed around misfits and outcasts, Jenkins reveals to Miguel and Paolo that the movie’s script is something very special to him because of how each character feels.
“They don’t feel like they’re part of the circle of life. It’s something that they have to earn their way into through their experiences. Mufasa is literally an outsider and Taka starts to feel like one. Kiros is literally an outsider and Rafiki is an outsider in his tribe but it means different things to each character,” says Jenkins.
As for the songs, Miranda’s creative process took a lot of reading the script and listening to church spirituals for chord progressions. He also mentions that some songs were built on impulse. “For Bye Bye, I called Barry and said ‘I know we don’t have a villain song, but I’m hearing dance hall underneath Mads Mikkelsen’s voice and I think those are going to be two weird tastes that work great together…’ Some of the song titles began as lines of dialogue. I Always Wanted a Brother felt like such a specific sentence and that was a line that Taka said in the script and I said ‘That’s my song title’,” shares Miranda.
You want to honour those impulses. You have these assignments and you daydream and think and listen until you have this sort of alchemy.
Starting the interview with Pierre, Boone, and Harrison Jr., the three cast members were excited to hear about Paolo and Miguel’s music career—requesting them to sing a song for them to which they sang the chorus of Leaves.
From here, the two asked the cast what they thought about Mufasa’s choices, how they channelled their energy for a stellar performance, and how the film parallels real life. “I think that the journey Mufasa took was the only journey there was to take. He had moments of success and made some mistakes but he took what he learned and brought it with him,” shares Pierre.
Harrison Jr. mentions that his iconic sequence in Brother Betrayed where Taka transforms into Scar was his audition scene. “I just wanted to have fun and play and give a little bit of what we love from the original film. To find that venom, envy and rage in him [Taka] was sweet to me and I just tapped into that,” shares Harrison Jr.
The film also explores themes of powerful women—being the ones hunting for and raising the cubs—and for Boone, the same rings true in real life. “I was raised by a single mother. She is my guiding light in life and anytime I’m lost, she’s my North Star. My family is a bunch of strong women, so whenever I’m playing a mother or a character who is so strong but still vulnerable and has so much wisdom, I look to them for inspiration,” she says.
The opportunity to speak with the filmmakers and cast was not just a professional milestone for the two, but also a personal one. As the movie touches on the dynamics of family, both Paolo and Miguel are able to see themselves in the two protagonists. “We felt we could relate well to the theme of brotherhood portrayed in the film because of the fact that we’re twins and we grew up really close to each other, much like Mufasa and Taka,” says Miguel.
After the interview, Miguel and Paolo then gave everyone some Filipino dried mangoes and unreleased copies of their latest album, The Traveller Across Dimensions.
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About
Gabriel found his passion for writing through poetry in high school. He sharpened his skills at Ateneo de Manila University and hopes to write a play worthy of Broadway one day. A self-proclaimed geek, he loves to spend his free time playing video games and board games. When he's not clicking heads on Valorant or roleplaying as a barbarian in Dungeons and Dragons, you can find him exploring art galleries or watching stage plays.
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A creative writer who writes about anything and everything, Gabriel loves to dive deep into the arts and culture scene—as well as going on long road trips for travel pieces.
You can reach him on Instagram at @gbohol for any leads, casual conversations or game invites.
