Considering the movie is essentially an unnecessary computerised do-over of the beloved original, why not just… stay at home and listen to the soundtrack instead? At least this way you’ll get all the Beyoncé you need without a trip to the cinema.
With Jon Favreau’s The Lion King out now, Disney has officially uploaded a selection of pieces from the new soundtrack, which, well, is pretty much the old soundtrack with a slick new coat of paint. Some of it being Beyoncé paint!
We kid, a little.
There’s definitely some fun versions of beloved Lion King songs here — “Hakuna Matata” is still as jolly as ever with new voices JD McCrary, Donald Glover, Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner. And unsurprisingly, Chiwetel Ejiofor kills it on “Be Prepared”, making us ever thankful that it was not cut as we thought it first might be.
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2019/06/the-lion-king-soundtrack-listing-reveals-chiwetel-ejiofor-will-sing-be-prepared-after-all/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/j2purty7szqicj1i7yzl.jpg” title=”The Lion King Soundtrack Listing Reveals Chiwetel Ejiofor Will Sing ‘Be Prepared’ After All” excerpt=”Be prepared to get completely wrapped up in a list of songs.”]
But it’s kind of an interesting choice that one of the handful of universally-praised parts of the movie, amid otherwise mixed reviews, is just… available on YouTube? Well, it’s to your benefit and mine, so head on over to the Disney Vevo channel to hear a few more tracks.
Hakuna Matata indeed.