Sir Elton John says the ‘magic and joy were lost’ in the ‘Lion King’ remake
The remake featured the voices of Donald Glover, Beyoncé, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner and James Earl Jones
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
Sir Elton John says the ‘magic and joy were lost’ in the Lion King remake.
The iconic singer wrote five original songs for the 1994 classic – including ‘Hakuna Matata’, ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight’, ‘Be Prepared’, ‘I Just Can’t Want To Be King’ and ‘Circle of Life’, with lyricist Tim Rice.
This year, Disney released a remake of the classic animation and although it was a box office smash, John admitted he was ‘hugely disappointed’ with the film.
Speaking to GQ Magazine, John said: “The new version of The Lion King was a huge disappointment to me, because I believe they messed the music up.
“Music was so much a part of the original and the music in the current film didn’t have the same impact. The magic and joy were lost.
“The soundtrack hasn’t had nearly the same impact in the charts that it had 25 years ago, when it was the bestselling album of the year.
“The new soundtrack fell out of the charts so quickly, despite the massive box-office success.
“I wish I’d been invited to the party more, but the creative vision for the film and its music was different this time around and I wasn’t really welcomed or treated with the same level of respect.
“That makes me extremely sad. I’m so happy that the right spirit for the music lives on with the Lion King stage musical.”
The new film featured the voices of Donald Glover, Beyoncé, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner and James Earl Jones – who reprised his role as Mufasa.