L-R: Donald Glover, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Chiwetel Ejiofor; Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney(LOS ANGELES) — The stars of Disney’s live-action remake of the 1994 animated classic The Lion King hit the red carpet for the movie’s world premiere in Hollywood Tuesday night, and for a few in particular, it was a chance to feel like a kid again.
Donald Glover, who voices Simba, said singing one of the film’s classic numbers, “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” with Beyoncé, who plays Nala, Simba’s childhood friend and love interest, was an “emotional” moment.
“I felt really close to that song…You try and do it the way you feel it felt to you when you were a child,” Glover said. “So, I think like hopefully, we, we did that.”
Glover, who’s also the Grammy-winning singer and rapper Childish Gambino, said watching the original film is what got him hooked on music in the first place.
“Yeah, I feel like I started songwriting after I saw the first one, he revealed. “I think at the beginning or the end of the video cassette you could see the kids singing in it, I was like, ‘Oh, kids can do this,’ so I started writing.”
The Lion King has already been adapted for the Broadway stage, making this the third iteration of the film. Chiwetel Ejiofor, who voices the villainous lion Scar, told ABC Radio that like any great story, The Lion King can be told again and again.
“[It’s] like a Shakespearean play…I don’t know how many Hamlets you’ve seen, but I’ve seen plenty, and so, it’s kind of like that. You sort of want a different interpretations.”
The Lion King opens nationwide Friday, July 19 from Disney, parent company of ABC News.
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