Lion King Lyricist Tim Rice Is Back With Another Future Disney Classic

The forthcoming remake of The Lion King is a digital reimagining of one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time. The original came out in 1994, telling the story of a young lion named Simba who embarks on a coming-of-age journey to be the rightful King of the Pride Lands. It featured a memorable musical score of songs penned by English lyricist Sir Tim Rice and performed by Elton John. At the 67th Academy Awards, three of Rice’s songs from the film were nominated for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards (“Can You Feel The passion Tonight” took house the statuette). They’ve since endured as timeless artifacts from the Disney Renaissance in the 1990s.


It’s only right that Rice is back for the remake to bring his magic in the form of a new teamwork with Elton John, "Never Also Late." To find out more about the song, and the film itself, MTV News talked with Rice about his new contribution, preference original song, and more.


MTV News: How does it feel to be able to see "Can You Feel The passion Tonight" survive as one of The Lion King’s biggest moments? What does that song mean to you?


Sir Tim Rice: It’s a fantastic song. Elton did an extraordinary vocal on the original record. I’m not actually surprised that it has endured the way that it has. It would have been insane to drop it from the remake.


MTV News: What was it like creating the new version with Elton John, Beyoncé, and the rest of the cast?


Sir Tim Rice: I actually was not present for the re-recording of the song. I was only in the studio for the new song that I recorded with Elton specifically for the remake called "Never Also Late."


Rice (right) with Sir Elton John (left) at the 1995 Academy Awards


MTV News: What’s the meaning in back of “Never Also Late” and why did the song come about?


Rice: We wanted to do a new song — the film’s producers and everybody else — with the point of it being to illustrate Simba’s dilemma; he thought that he had really screwed up his life because he thought that he killed his father. He also thought that he helped wreck his pride and that he was also leading a fairly lazy life. He thought that the end was near. It then dawned on him that it wasn’t, case in point, all over and that it is never also late to recover from rock bottom. It’s an excellent message that, in life, is essentially habitually true.


MTV News: What’s the variation between writing music for the animated Lion King film versus this new one?


Rice: Whether you’re writing for animated characters or computer-generated ones, I attempt to create it believable for the characters and the situations that exist in song. In the event of the movie, there aren’t any new songs sung by the new characters in the film.


MTV News: after awhile, have any of the returning songs from the original took on new meaning for you? If so, were they changed to fit with the times?


Rice: Nope. They’re just excellent songs in my humble suggestion. I like them all a lot. I think “Hakuna Matata” has been underused. Still, it became really popular with kids of all ages. I would have admired to be able to see a new verse in the new movie however, alas, that was not to be. There are two verses that you could dig up on various The Lion King compilation albums. I think Elton did a perfect job on all the tunes in the original film and “Never Also Late,” which I love.


MTV News: Thinking all the Lion King songs that you’ve worked on, what’s been your preference? Why?


Rice: It varies, depending on the mood that I’m in, really. Some days, I think I like "Circle Of Life." Some days it’s “Be Prepared,” which is actually being cut back a little in the new film, which is a pity. I mean, the character of Scar is still there, however I think that it’s most crucial that whenever you have unpleasant characters that they get musical moments that are just as strong as those for the heroes. My preferred depends on which one I haven’t heard in a long time. Now, though, it's "Never Also Late."