Sir Elton John has branded Jon Favreau's hyper-real Lion King remake a "huge disappointment" as film bosses "messed the music up".

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The legendary musician worked on the soundtrack and helped to adapt his songs from the 1994 original – Circle of Life and Hakuna Matata – but claims that he "wasn't really welcomed or treated with the same level of respect".

"Music was so much a part of the original and the music in the current film didn’t have the same impact,” John told GQ. “The magic and joy were lost."

He also pointed to the diminished cultural impact that the soundtrack – curated by Beyoncé, who also starred as Nala – had on the world. The Lion King: The Gift peaked at 13 on the US Billboard Chart.

“The soundtrack hasn’t had nearly the same impact on the charts that it had 25 years ago, when it was the best-selling album of the year. The new soundtrack fell out of the charts so quickly, despite the massive box-office success,” he said.

"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.”

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Don't tell Bey...

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Authors

Ben AllenOn Demand Writer, RadioTimes.com

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Create an image depicting a festive scene with elements from the top Christmas songs, such as a snowy New York for 'Fairytale of New York', a cozy home setting for 'Last Christmas', and a glamorous Christmas party for 'All I Want for Christmas Is You'. Include musical notes and festive decorations to represent the spirit of these iconic Christmas songs.

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An image depicting a festive scene with iconic Christmas elements such as a beautifully decorated Christmas tree with twinkling lights, snow gently falling, and perhaps a cozy fireplace in the background. The image should capture the essence of popular Christmas songs, with musical notes and lyrics subtly included in the design, representing a playlist of classic Christmas tunes.

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Immediate’s iconic brands reach 21m people every month – that’s more than a third of the UK’s adults – through its world-class magazines, innovative digital products and exciting live eventsImmediate’s iconic brands reach 21m people every month – that’s more than a third of the UK’s adults – through its world-class magazines, innovative digital products and exciting live eventsImmediate’s iconic brands reach 21m people every month – that’s more than a third of the UK’s adults – through its world-class magazines, innovative digital products and exciting live events

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