NEW YORK (OSV News) – As strained as it is bloodsoaked and morally wayward, the would-be action adventure “Kraven the Hunter” (Columbia) is a hopeless dud. On the upside, moviegoers misguided enough to patronize the film will likely be too bored to be much corrupted by it.

After a brief slice of mayhem set in the present day, director J.C. Chandor’s brutish origin story for the titular Marvel Comics character carries us back to the unhappy youth of his alter ego, Sergei Kravinoff (Levi Miller). Both mild-mannered Sergei and his equally gentle half-brother Dimitri (Billy Barratt) live in fear of their Russian gangster dad, Nikolai (Russell Crowe).

Determined to toughen both lads up, Nikolai forces them to join him on an African safari, during which Sergei has a near-fatal encounter with a lion. Yet a magical potion given to him by a stranger named Calypso (Diaana Babnicova) — a girl his own age to whom viewers have previously been introduced — not only revives Sergei but endows him with superpowers.

Once grown, and now played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Sergei uses his gifts to track down criminals to whom he doles out do-it-yourself justice, gaining him his nickname. The intense isolation of his undercover lifestyle is relieved only by his ongoing relationship with Dimitri (Fred Hechinger) and his newly-minted partnership with the adult version of Calypso (Ariana DeBose).

Calypso, a crusading attorney who is meant to serve as our ethical compass, briefly questions Sergei’s extra-legal methods. But this does nothing to stop his sequential rampages. Throw in the fact that Calypso’s family features a long line of tarot card-carrying witches and it’s clear that
cinephiles of any sense will not feel a yen for “Kraven.”

The film contains excessive graphic violence with much gore, benignly viewed vigilantism, an occult theme, a few uses of profanity and several instances each of rough language and crude talk. The OSV News classification is O — morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

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Big Bird might soon ask: “Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?”

After a nearly decadelong run with HBO, the group that produces “Sesame Street” is seeking a new television partner to continue production and distribution of the beloved program. One of the world’s most recognizable children’s shows will launch its 55th season next month — the final season under its expiring HBO deal.

HBO’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, no longer will help finance production of new original “Sesame Street” episodes. This fall, the company structured a new licensing agreement with Sesame Workshop that enables the company to continue to play older “Sesame Street” episodes on HBO and its streaming service, Max, through 2027.

“It has been a wonderful, creative experience working with everyone at Sesame Street on the iconic children’s series and we are thrilled to be able to keep some of the library series on Max in the U.S.,” Warner Bros. Discovery said in a statement.

However, the Muppet characters no longer hit a sweet spot for the cost-conscious David Zaslav-run media company.

“Based on consumer usage and feedback, we’ve had to prioritize our focus on stories for adults and families,” Warner Bros. Discovery said in its statement. “New episodes from Sesame Street, at this time, are not as core to our strategy.”

This means another fork in the road for Cookie Monster, Elmo and Bert and Ernie.

The New York-based nonprofit, Sesame Workshop, which produces the show, declined to discuss future plans or talks with other potential distributors.

“We will continue to invest in our best-in-class programming and look forward to announcing our new distribution plans in the coming months, ensuring that ‘Sesame Street’ reaches as many children as possible for generations to come,” Sesame Workshop said in a statement.

Industry experts expect more sunny days for the show.

“There are very few intellectual properties like ‘Sesame Street,’ made in the last 100 years, that are still worth investing in,” said Russell Hicks, an independent producer and former Nickelodeon content president. “It’s a classic property with classic characters that have generational appeal: Who doesn’t love Oscar the Grouch or Cookie Monster?”

A decade ago, HBO executives were thrilled to land the iconic characters as the network geared up for a big push into streaming. The executives wanted a kid-friendly franchise to complement their decidedly adult fare that included “Game of Thrones” and “Veep.”

HBO’s 2015 deal also threw a financial lifeline to Sesame Workshop, which has produced the show since 1969. At the time, the nonprofit’s executives were grasping for resources to cover the expense of revitalizing and producing new episodes of the show beyond fees from longtime public broadcaster PBS.

In an unusual arrangement, HBO licensed first-run shows and allowed those episodes to air on PBS nine months after their HBO debut. The goal was to ensure that “Sesame Street” remained widely available and allow PBS to stay true to its public-service mission.

HBO executives had big plans for the franchise, even producing a talk show — “Not Too Late Show With Elmo” — which featured the furry red monster interacting with real-life celebrities, including the Jonas Brothers. The Elmo show was canceled after two seasons.

“Sesame Street” is reentering the cluttered market at a tumultuous time. Media executives have become laser-focused on returns on programming investments and the bottom line.

The show’s license fee could be dampened, industry insiders said, because “Sesame Street” is available on numerous platforms, including PBS, streaming service Max and a YouTube channel with 25 million subscribers.

Another complication: preschool kids don’t typically differentiate between an original episode from library content. What’s old may feel new to them.

Securing a new partner will be critical to Sesame Workshop, which relies heavily on the distribution fees that it receives for “Sesame Street” to finance its operations and fund numerous children’s educational programs.

The nonprofit group collected $99 million in program distribution fees in 2022, compared with $148 million a year earlier, according to recent tax filings.

In 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery programmers removed more than 200 “Sesame Street” episodes from the company’s streaming service as part of a widespread corporate cost-cutting.

Now it may be up to another streaming service, such as Apple TV+, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ or NBCUniversal’s Peacock, to rescue the show.

Apple TV+ has dipped into nostalgic programming, securing rights to another Jim Henson-created Muppet band, “Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock.” The Apple service also scooped up rights to Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts characters.

Instead of airing on ABC, holiday classics featuring Charlie Brown, Linus and Snoopy are prominently featured on Apple’s streaming platform, sparking a Change.Org petition calling for the return of the characters to broadcast TV. An Apple spokesperson declined to comment.

Hicks said Disney could bolster its offerings with new educationally minded friends for Mickey Mouse, Woody the toy cowboy, or Winnie the Pooh. Twenty years ago, Disney acquired “The Muppets,” including Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy from the Jim Henson Co. in a deal then valued at $90 million. Disney declined to comment.

“Sesame Street,” has contemporary appeal because parents grew up with the gang. Over the years, new characters have been added to keep the show culturally relevant. And the characters have become social media stars, including Elmo, who caused a global sensation last January with an innocuous check-in post on X (formerly Twitter) asking: “How is everybody doing?”

In addition, programmers recognize that children’s programming is a key ingredient to recruit streaming subscribers.

“It’s an entrance point for mothers to come into a streaming service,” Hicks said. “Then they say: What else do you have for me?”

“Sesame Street” continues to be popular on public television, ranking fifth among PBS kids shows, according to Craig Reed, executive director of the Tucson-based consulting firm TRAC Media Services.

The show had about 2.2 million views on PBS stations and streaming platforms across the country in October, Reed said in an email to The Times, adding that three-quarters of the viewership came from video-on-demand platforms.

“The show has always used cultural and social issues in the storylines so that young kids can understand,” Reed said. “The show educates kids all over the world. … It could also be a worldwide loss if the program loses U.S. funding.”

The original ‘Lion King’ was the first film I ever saw in cinemas as a teeny child in the 90s, and it had a profound impact on me. 

The concept of the circle of life, the great kings of the past looking down and guiding us, that we all have our place in the world… it’s the closest I’ve ever gotten to having a religion.

It might make Mufasa my Jesus. Or would that be Simba? Either way, no offence intended. 

Mum tells me I used to run around as a four-year-old playing the character ‘Lion King’ – I hadn’t fully grasped the concept – and heartily sang ‘Hakuna Matata’ with the lyrics “it’s our problem-free…alosony…”

So it was a bit special to go and see ‘Mufasa’, the live-action prequel (and sequel?) to the OG ‘Lion King’ with my mum, as well as my nephew Ari and niece Ruby in tow. 

Although, I was apprehensive. I didn’t HATE the 2019 remake of ‘The Lion King’, but like many, I thought it was unnecessary. It was basically a shot-for-shot copy of the original with some new songs and fancy animation.

‘Mufasa’ promised to tell the origin story of the great king I grew up worshipping more than any Disney princess, and despite some serious flaws, I did love being told the tale.

Much like his son Simba, Mufasa’s early life is rocked by tragedy and heartbreak. I shed my first tear approximately 23 minutes in. Everyone’s favourite shaman monkey Rafiki recounts the story of Mufasa to his granddaughter (grandcub?) Kiara, along with Timon and Pumbaa, who occasionally chime in with comedic complaints about their minor roles in this movie. 

We already knew that Mufasa was set to be introduced as an orphaned cub, but watching that play out accompanied by the iconic notes of Hans Zimmer’s original Oscar-winning score sent me right back to my childhood and strapped me firmly back on the emotional rollercoaster of the first movie. 

I replayed Mufasa’s death scene in the 1994 version over and over on video tape, marvelling at the entirely new feelings those swelling orchestral crescendos made me feel as a child, trying to grapple with the idea of death, and worse – losing your parents.

Unfortunately, the rest of the music in ‘Mufasa’ didn’t prompt the same level of emotion. Hans Zimmer dropped out ahead of production, and while ‘Hamilton’ creator and ‘Moana’ songwriter Lin Manuel-Miranda is an exceptional talent, he just couldn’t compete with Elton John and Tim Rice’s epic bangers like ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight?’ and ‘Circle of Life’. 

Perhaps the biggest let down was the new villain song, sung by an ‘outsider’ giant white lion named Kiros, who despite being genuinely quite scary, was restrained by a jokey, peppy Broadway number called ‘Bye Bye’. It didn’t have a whisker of the operatic, ominous energy of Scar’s ‘Be Prepared’, a battle cry worthy of one of the greatest cartoon bad guys ever. 

Still, the film did a good job of answering questions some 30 years in the making – were Scar and Mufasa enemies from birth? (No) How did Mufasa and Sarabi fall in love? (Cheesily, of course) How did Scar get the injury that gave him his name? (You see it coming, but it’s still satisfying as hell). 

One particularly earth-shaking moment saw me and my 10-year-old nephew turn to each other and simultaneously yell ‘Pride Rock!’ as the familiar scenery of the original story started to come together, and my heart could have burst. 

This film had huge paw prints to fill, and I’m not sure it ever truly could have – especially not for a devotee like me – but it worked its way towards an ending that at least paid spectacular homage to the themes of the original. The last half hour left me an absolute blubbering mess, with my niece and nephew shooting me alarmed looks when they could tear their eyes away from the film’s climax. 

As Rafiki finished up his epic tale, Kiara mourned the grandfather she never knew, saying she “didn’t want him to go” after seeing a vision of him in the clouds so vivid she felt like he was there – just like Simba once did. 

I’ve felt the same hearing stories about my grandfather, who I also never met. Mum still gets visits from her late dad in her dreams, incredibly exhilarating and bittersweet. 

Of course, Rafiki would say none of these heroes of our past ever really leave us – and the magic of these universal, deeply relatable themes from ‘The Lion King’ still shines through by the end of ‘Mufasa’. 

The kids should go for the majestic creatures, close calls, comedic asides and vibrant visuals, but the grown ups should go for the kid they once were.

‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ hits cinemas Thursday 19th December.