Beyonce's mother encouraged her to take up Lion King role

Beyonce's mother encouraged her to take on the role of Nala in 'The Lion King' remake.

The 37-year-old singer will voice Nala in the upcoming Disney remake and Beyonce's mother, Tina Knowles Lawson, revealed the original movie was a big part of Beyonce's childhood.

She told Variety: "My kids [Beyonce and Solange] and I watched 'The Lion King' probably 30 times, so I was a big push for Beyonce to do the voice of Nala. Think about that for your kids when they get older.

"I got to see part of the movie and I cried, I mean It's going to be another 50-60 years of [audiences watching]".

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Tina also confirmed that she has heard some of the "beautiful" original music Beyonce is working on for the new movie.

Beyonce's Destiny's Child bandmate Michelle Williams refused to give any details on the film but said she can't wait to watch it.

She said: "If you ain't hear it from Mrs. Carter, you're not going to hear it from me. As an adult, I can't wait to get back into that feeling, because I know what it did for little children around the world. I love the music, I love the story, anything that Elton John touches."

And director Jon Favreau recently praised Beyonce's "wonderful" performance.

He said: "Oh, you're in for a treat! She's wonderful. She's been coming by looking at stuff. I've been hearing stuff, not just the stuff from that we recorded from the original film, but she's been working on [new] music as well. And she is a staggering talent and I'm so fortunate to be collaborating with her."

'The Lion King' will also feature Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar, Donald Glover as Simba, Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen as Timon and Pumbaa and John Oliver as Zazu.