Elton John brands ‘Lion King’ reboot a ‘huge disappointment’: ‘They messed the music up’
‘The magic and joy were lost,’ singer says of 2019 film
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Your support makes all the difference.Elton John has branded the Lion King reboot a “huge disappointment”, saying he believes the music was “messed up” in the new film.
The star famously contributed several songs to the 1994 animated movie soundtrack and also contributed to the 2019 version.
However, he wasn’t taken at all with the photorealistic remake, mainly due to the new film’s music and its performance in the charts.
“The new version of The Lion King was a huge disappointment to me, because I believe they messed the music up,” John told GQ in a new interview.
“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.”
John worked as a composer for the 1994 soundtrack and famously recorded performances of three of its songs: “Circle of Life”, “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King”, and “Can You Feel The Love Tonight”.
He also contributed as a songwriter and composer for the 2019 film, though he only sang one track, “Never Too Late”.
Other songwriters and performers on the 2019 version include Beyoncé, Donald Glover, Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen.
“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,” John said of his work on the new movie.
“That makes me extremely sad. I’m so happy that the right spirit for the music lives on with the Lion King stage musical.”
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