Elton John Opens Up About ‘The Lion King’ Remake: “They Messed The Music Up”

Disney’s remake of ‘The Lion King’ boasted big numbers at the box office over the summer, earning over $1.6 billion worldwide, but Elton John doesn’t seem to be impressed. The musician sat down with British GQ while promoting the release of his new memoir, and expressed his disappointment.

Elton John, 72, was the composer who created the original songs with Tim Rice for Disney’s 1994 ‘The Lion King,’ including classics like ”Circle Of Life,” ”I Just Can’t Wait To Be King,” ”Hakuna Matata” and ”Can You Feel The Love Tonight.”

John even came back on board for  Jon Favreau’s 2019 ‘The Lion King’ remake to rework some of the soundtrack, but he was not as involved as he would of liked and says the final product doesn’t measure up. “The new version of The Lion King was a huge disappointment to me, because I believe they messed the music up,” John told the publication, adding, “Music was so much a part of the original, and the music in the current film didn’t have the same impact.”

John also suggested that the new soundtrack ‘fell out of the charts,’ not having the success of the original soundtrack. As some may recall, John and Tim Rice’s work on the “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” song won an Oscar for Best Original Song.

He continued by saying, “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.”

The soundtrack for the new film reportedly included all of the original songs from the 1994 animated version that were originally written by Elton John and Tim Rice, but this time around, Pharrell Williams managed the soundtrack. 

It is reported that some lyrics were updated, and the new music was recorded with the film’s voice actors, including Beyoncé, Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, and Billy Eichner. In addition to appearing on the Lion King soundtrack, Beyoncé also curated “The Lion King: The Gift” album.