Elton John, world-renowned pianist and international music icon, recently criticized the 2019’s live-action version of The Lion King for its sub-par music.
He explains, “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. 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.”
2019’s The Lion King features Brown Lindiwe Mkhize, Lebo M., Hans Zimmer, JD McCrary, Shahadi Wright Joseph, John Oliver, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Billy Eichner, Seth Rogan, Donald Glover, Beyoncé, and, of course, Elton John himself.
Elton John felt slighted. He wasn’t nearly as involved in the 2019 version as he was in the 1994 version. He opens up, “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.”
Alfre Woodard, the voice of Sarabi in 2019’s The Lion King, responded to Elton John, suggesting she doesn’t pay attention to critiques of her works. “I don’t traffic in any of those things. I didn’t even read [the] reviews. Don’t tell anybody. It’s like, you do your work and you go on, and that’s it.”