The Lion King remake may have been a huge success for Disney by grossing over $1.6 billion at the box office but there is one person who wasn’t impressed with the way the film handled the music – Elton John.
In an interview with GQ, Elton expressed his negative feelings towards the remake of the Disney classic in regards to the music and soundtrack when compared to the 1994 original, claiming the “magic and joy were lost”.
“The new version of The Lion King was a huge disappointment to me, because I believe they messed the music up,” John said. “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.”
Elton further commented on that the music in the original had a much stronger reception when it was released commercially.
“The new soundtrack fell out of the charts so quickly, despite the massive box-office success,” John continued. “I wish I’d been invited to the part 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.”
Elton John composed and performed a number of songs for the original 1994 animated film, including “Circle of Life” and “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King.” However, the remake featured performances from Pharrell Williams, Beyonce, and Donald Glover.
Do you agree with Elton John’s comments regarding The Lion King? What were your thoughts on the film overall? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @flickeringmyth…
Lions rule the African savanna in The Lion King, which welcomes Donald Glover (Atlanta, Solo: A Star Wars Story) as future king Simba, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter (Dreamgirls, Lemonade visual album) as Simba’s friend-turned-love interest Nala, and James Earl Jones (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Field of Dreams) as Simba’s wise and loving father, Mufasa, reprising his iconic performance from Disney’s 1994 animated classic. Chiwetel Ejiofor (Twelve Years a Slave, Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange) was called on to portray Simba’s villainous uncle Scar, and Alfre Woodard (Juanita, Marvel’s Luke Cage) portrays Simba’s no-nonsense mother, Sarabi. JD McCrary (OWN’s Tyler Perry’s The Paynes, Apple’s Vital Signs) fills the shoes of Young Simba, a confident cub who can’t wait to be king, and Shahadi Wright Joseph (NBC’s Hairspray Live, Broadway’s The Lion King) brings tough cub Young Nala to life.
Directed by Jon Favreau (The Jungle Book), The Lion King features a voice cast that includes Donald Glover (Solo: A Star Wars Story) as Simba, Beyonce (Dreamgirls) as Nala, Billy Eichner (Billy on the Street) as Timon, Seth Rogen (Sausage Party) as Pumbaa, John Oliver (Last Week Tonight) as Zazu, Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange) as Scar, James Earl Jones (The Lion King) as Mufasa, Alfre Woodard (Luke Cage) as Sarabi, John Kani (Black Panther) as Rafiki, JD McCrary (Vital Signs) as Young Simba, Shahadi Wright Joseph (Hairspray Live) as Young Nala, Eric André (Man Seeking Woman) as Azizi, Florence Kasumba (Black Panther) as Shenzi, and Keegan-Michael Key (The Predator) as Kamari.
