Pre-Production took place in 2020 during the height of COVID-19 restrictions. With the filmmaking teams spread across London, New York, and Los Angeles, they turned to Virtual Reality to develop the film. VR enabled the collaborative exploration of virtual environments from afar, bridging physical distance and replicating key aspects of traditional live-action processes, enabling the team to navigate digital spaces like real locations. By 2021, with COVID restrictions lifted, the team convened in Los Angeles for a year-long virtual production shoot. They employed VP stages to capture the performances of some of he characters, while the cinematographer operated a virtual camera within the digital environment.

“To create a blueprint for our final animationour motion capture shoot involved multiple performers playing Mufasa, Sarabi, Taka, Rafiki and even Zazu” says Production VFX Supervisor Adam Valdez. “They wore motion capture suits, and through a process we call ‘QuadCap,’ their movements were mapped onto digital lion characters. This technology aligned the performers’ head and spine movements to the lion’s head and neck, their legs to the lion’s front legs, and simulated the lion’s back legs and hips to follow. Barry could then watch a live feed of the lions on screen through Unreal Engine, allowing him to give real-time performance and camera notes to the actors and DP.”

“We added facial expressions and lip sync to enhance characters performances.” says Animation Supervisor Dan Fotheringham, “then Barry could ‘walk through’ the recorded sequence in VR making notes before we could wrap it up to be shot virtually. Performances with complex animal mechanics, like fighting or leaping were then integrated into the Quadcap performances and into the virtual sets, creating a complete ‘master scene’ that Barry and James could shoot from any angle.” This innovative blending of live-action filmmaking techniques and visual effects became a defining feature of the entire production.

MPC’s VFX and Animation teams spread across four continents worked together to craft the film’s final photoreal visual effects and animation. MPC’s Environment artists created a journey influenced by locations across the African continent. Scouting trips provided essential reference material for recreating the continent’s flora and fauna. Using techniques like photogrammetry and hand-sculpting, MPC artists meticulously built plains, canyons and forests crafting every detail—from rocks to blades of grass. Landscapes were sculpted and enriched with rivers, trees, and plants using custom scattering tools to mimic nature’s complexity. “A crucial step in the process was optimizing the rendering of these vast environments.” says MPC VFX Supervisor Audrey Ferrara. “To handle the scale of these huge environments, we had to develop new tools to increase efficiency. The landscapes became integral to telling Mufasa’s journey, serving as much a geographic as a spiritual backdrop.” In the end Mufasa’s world would span 107 square miles, about the size of Salt Lake City, Utah.

MPC’s acclaimed Character Lab team meticulously crafted over 118 unique animals for the film, including Mufasa, Scar, Pumbaa, Timon, and Rafiki. Each character was built from the ground up, starting with bone and muscle structure, and brought to life with incredibly detailed fur and realistic textures. Creating lifelike fur was a significant challenge for MPC’s team, but their in-house grooming system, Loma, helped achieve photorealism in each character’s appearance.

“Loma enabled us to create characters with an unprecedented number of hairs” says MPC Character Supervisor Klaus Skovbo. “Mufasa’s mane has 600,000 hairs on his ears, 6.2 million on his legs, and 9 million covering his body. Loma also enabled us to simulate the effects of natural elements like wind and water allowing the fur to react to its environment. It streamlines the transition between different fur conditions, seamlessly shifting from dry to wet textures with remarkable realism.”

The intricate subtleties and expressiveness of the film’s characters were pushed to new levels, with MPC’s Animators devoting many months to perfecting shots. To capture authentic and nuanced performances, the team studied hours of footage of real animals in motion, paying close attention to body mechanics, muscle movement, and how subtle shifts in posture could convey mood or intention. Animators often acted out facial expressions themselves, using their own performances as references to infuse the characters with genuine emotion. This blend of real-world research and performance ensured that each animal moved and reacted in a way that felt not only believable, but emotionally resonant MPC’s FX team simulated effects like wind, rain, snow, and fire to bring the scenes to life. Meanwhile, CG lighters and compositors worked together to match the colors and mood, ensuring the VFX seamlessly integrated and appeared photorealistic.

As 2024 arrived, the film was in the homestretch, with shots receiving a full-resolution treatment for 3d cinemas.  Unlike films that rely on artificial layering to achieve a rudimentary sense of depth, here a fully digital world was rendered from two cameras, replicating human vision. The result is an immersive experience with vivid detail and breathtaking depth, enhancing the visual impact in every scene.