Elton John calls The Lion King remake a ‘huge disappointment’, says he was disrespected

Singer Elton John, whose music was an integral part of the original Disney animated film The Lion King, has said that the recent remake was a ‘huge disappointment’. John said that neither was he made to feel welcome this time around, nor was he treated with respect.

He told British GQ, “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.” He added, “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.”

The Lion King remake, directed by Jon Favreau using cutting-edge visual effects, made over $1.6 billion worldwide, and also spawned a soundtrack that featured the likes of Beyonce, Jay Z, and Donald Glover. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who compared it unfavourably to the original, and criticised the inexpressive faces of the CGI characters.

John, who inspired a biopic recently, continued, “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 singer performed classic numbers such as Circle of Life and Hakuna Matata in the original, and was on board to help adapt the songs in the remake as well. The singer was initially announced to have performed a brand new song for the film in collaboration with Beyonce, which never made it to the final cut.

The Hindi version of the film featured the voices of Shah Rukh Khan as Mufasa, and his son, Aryan, who voiced Simba. The film made over ₹150 crore in India.

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