Anything that comes out of Elton John’s mouth is real. In a recent interview with British GQ, the legendary icon shared his opinion about the 2019 Disney remake of The Lion King, which starred Beyoncé, Donald Glover, Seth Rogan, and more.
“The new version of The Lion King was a huge disappointment to me, because I believe they messed the music up,” Elton said to British GQ. After providing songs for the 1994 film, especially songs like “Can You Feel The Love Tonight,” Elton added, “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.”
When Beyoncé released The Lion King: The Gift, where she produced the album, the same day the film was released, the film raised 1.6 billion worldwide in the box office with mixed reviews. “This soundtrack is a love letter to Africa,” the singer said to People. “I wanted it to be authentic to what is beautiful about the music in Africa.”
Elton explained the differences between the two albums. “The soundtrack hasn’t had nearly the same impact in the charts that it had 25 years ago, when it was the best-selling album of the year,” Elton said. “The new soundtrack fell out of the charts so quickly, despite the massive box-office success.”