Soz Disney, Beyonce: Elton John Is Definitely Not A Fan Of The New ‘Lion King’
John has called the new film "a huge disappointment."
Disney’s big budget, CGI remake of beloved animated classic Lion King made a lot of money. Like, a lot of money.
Despite the fact that it was mauled by critics, some of who felt it had all the art and grace of a David Attenborough documentary over-dubbed with bored actors rehashing a decades-old script, it broke the billion dollar barrier worldwide.
But it turns out that there’s one thing that Disney couldn’t buy: the approval of Elton John.
Yep, John, the popstar who co-wrote many of the original film’s most memorable hits, reckons that the new flick lost much of the “magic” of the original. In particular, John has taken umbrage with Beyonce’s soundtrack album, released to coincide with the film.
John made the comments as part of a GQ article designed to promote his new book, Me. Asked merely if he had seen the film, the singer launched into an attack on the CGI remake.
“The new version of The Lion King was a huge disappointment to me,” John said, “because I believe they messed the music up. 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.”
Harsher still, John had something to say about the commercial performance of the new score.
“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. 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.”
Yikes.