Elton John calls Disney's "Lion King" remake a "huge disappointment"

Elton John has seen Disney's remake of "The Lion King," and now he's calling the film a "huge disappointment." The legendary singer-songwriter, who composed the songs for the original 1994 score, said that he is not happy with the new soundtrack. 

Over the summer, the new film surpassed "Frozen" as the highest-grossing animated film of all time, earning over $1.6 billion globally. It featured an all-star cast, including Beyoncé, Donald Glover and James Earl Jones, but even critics weren't thrilled with the remake. Now, John is weighing in.

"The new version of 'The Lion King' was a huge disappointment to me, because I believe they messed the music up," he recently told British GQ while promoting his new autobiography, "Me." 

"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 said.

John worked on the new film, reworking some of his original music with the assistance of Beyoncé. However, John said he wishes he had played a larger role in the remake. 

"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," he said. "The new soundtrack fell out of the charts so quickly, despite the massive box-office success. 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 1994 soundtrack earned three Grammys, two Golden Globes and two Academy Awards, among many others. Both the new "Lion King" soundtrack and Beyoncé's "The Lion King: The Gift" struggled commercially.

"I'm so happy that the right spirit for the music lives on with the 'Lion King' stage musical," John said.