Now that the dust and buzz has settled on Disney‘s remake of The Lion King, let’s just admit what we were all thinking ever since it was released: it was kind of ‘meh’ wasn’t it?
Yes it made a lot of money and it looked like a National Geographic documentary but it was missing something that made the original animated masterpiece so special. But among the many people who were underwhelmed by the film though, Elton John is perhaps the most disappointed person of them all.
Speaking to GQ, the singer didn’t hold his thoughts about the Lion King remake and called it a “huge disappointment” because of how the filmmakers “messed the music up.”
It was always going to be a losing battle trying to improve on one of the greatest movie soundtracks of all time but John thought the music this time had lost the “magic and joy,” which in turn meant the soundtrack “fell out of the charts so quickly, despite the massive box-office success.”
Interestingly, John also mentions that despite being asked to contribute to the new Lion King, his input was essentially brushed aside this time compared to his experience on the original film because the “creative vision for the film and its music was different this time around.”
As a final bit of shade, John went on to say how glad he is that the spirit of the music will live on instead with the Lion King musical, which doesn’t sound bitter at all.
“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.”
All in all, it’s quite the critique from John though it’s particularly juicy considering he’s featured on the new soundtrack and was front and centre at the film’s premiere. Make of that what you will.