One of the most common reactions to Disney’s live-action remakes of their classic animated films is backlash to the new versions of iconic songs. Even more than the movies themselves, fans know their favorite tracks intimately, since it’s easier to listen to the same song or album hundreds of times than it is to re-watch an entire movie. That familiarity and decades-long connection makes it so even the slightest changes can be totally jarring. Getting audiences to not only accept, but to like a different take on these memorable songs is a major hurdle every one of these Disney remakes must overcome.
But we don’t think that’s going to be an issue with their new version of The Lion King, at least not with one of the all-time greatest tracks in movie history. Because even though you’d expect “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” to be one of the hardest songs to redo without upsetting fans, it’s easy to make them happy when Beyoncé and Donald Glover are the ones singing it together.
A new international ad for the film, featuring James Earl Jones’ Mufasa telling young Simba about how the former kings can be found in the stars, is set to Beyoncé and Glover’s duet of the song Elton John made famous in 1994. And it sounds wonderful.
The cast for this live-action version of The Lion King is absolutely stacked, but last year when we saw the first trailer we worried it might look too similar to the original version to stand out. But if they can make a beloved song both fresh and honest to the original, all while sounding this beautiful, there’s probably nothing to worry about besides which version we’ll love more in twenty five years.
Featured Image: Disney