Elton John isn’t having it with the music from Disney’s updated version of The Lion King.

The musician spoke with British GQ about the film, saying, “The new version of The Lion King was a huge disappointment to me 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,” he said. “The magic and joy were lost. The soundtrack hasn’t had nearly the same impact on 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.”

He also said he would have liked for Disney to involve him in the music-making process.

“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,” he said. “That makes me extremely sad. I’m so happy that the right spirit for the music lives on with the Lion King stage musical.”

Even though John wasn’t invited back to work on The Lion King, Hans Zimmer, who composed the original score for the 1994 animated film, worked on the score for the 2019 update. Beyoncé also contributed by providing a new song, “Spirit,” as well as an album inspired by the film called The Gift.

READ MORE:

‘The Lion King’: Watch Donald Glover In The Vocal Booth With This Never-Before-Seen Clip

Surprise! ‘Beyoncé Presents: Making the Gift’ Documentary To Air On ABC

 

Photo: Getty Images

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