"The new version of The Lion King was a huge disappointment to me"
'The Lion King' remake has proven a major hit making $1.65 billion at the box office. It is now the highest grossing animated movie of all time. But one man who isn't joining in the celebration of its success is music legend Sir Elton John.
Elton John, as all 'The Lion King' fans know, wrote five original songs for the original alongside lyricist Tim Rice.
In an interview with GQ Magazine, he didn't mince his words, expressing he was "hugely disappointed" by the remake.
The main problem for him was that "they messed the music up."
He told the publication:
"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. 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."
John also believed he could have helped had he been more involved in the production.
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."
The songwriter added that at least there's always Broadway:
"I’m so happy that the right spirit for the music lives on with the 'Lion King' stage musical."