Wednesday's Musical Notes (2 weeks' worth, 2 days late, but 2 days vacation, so nyah)

[acroyear]

Given my recent vacation to Disneyland, I decided to comment on my top ten (yes, this batch I ordered) Disney Movie songs of all time.  Counting Down..

10. Everybody Wants to Be a Cat (Aristocats)
    
    Just a fun one, in a fun movie.  No major rules, nothing fancy, just the work of the team doing the job well, applying everything they learned in 35 years of animal drawings to brilliant effect.  A little anachronistic, in that its 1920s setting is a bit lost here with the psychedelia light show of the '50s jazz scene, but still fun.
    
    
9. Under the Sea (Little Mermaid)
   
   Menken and Ashman brought one major important piece of the "Hollywood Musical" into the Disney animated feature: the big dance sequence song.  Only a few had it before (Junglebook, The Work Song from Cinderella, Whistle While you Work, plus the live-action epics of Poppins and Bednobs (q.v. below) ), but it certainly was a vanished breed by the features of the '80s.  The two of them brought it in full here and set the standard that every movie since would have to meet.
   
   
8. Jolly Holiday (Mary Poppins)
   
   Speaking of which, it certainly made an impact in this fantastic film.  The entire routine from beginning through the penguin dance is just astounding.
   
   
7. Two Worlds (Tarzan)
   
   Something different - the "narration" song, which hadn't been done since the "golden age" (Snow White through Bambi) was returned to the genre in Lion King, and then given directly to a single voice (Phil Collins) in Tarzan, rather successfully in my opinion.
   
   
6. Belle (Beauty and the Beast)
   
   With Beauty and the Beast, Menken and Ashman also introduced the "big opening number" to the genre, something that  really didn't exist before that.  The standard was to start slow, like a book, and reach a high point.  "Broadway" uses a different approach, bringing it in loud and loose right off the bat.  As with the big dance sequence, every film that followed, if a musical, would have to meet this new standard (though few could quite reach that high).
   
   
5. Once Upon a Dream (Sleeping Beauty)
   
   It was certainly an inspired choice to work the Tchaikovsky ballet music into this film, keeping its sense of history and age strong and fitting the mood of the visuals extremely well.  Marc Davis, drawing the Princess and her dance, really shines in what would be his last major character animation lead before moving to Imagineering for the theme parks.
   
   
4. Be Our Guest (Beauty and the Beast)
   
   The second of the "big dance numbers" of the 90s renaissance.  Jerry Orbach is masterful throughout...
   
   
3. Little April Shower (Bambi)
   
   It all came down to this, the high-water (sorry for the pun) mark of the golden age.  Everything they'd done through Silly Symphony, The Band Concert, Snow White, Fantasia, all the research, the practice, the techniques, the designs, the technology, all led into making this Perfect (animated) Storm.
   
   
2. Chim Chim Cher-ee (Mary Poppins)
   
   When there's hardly no day
   and hardly no night
   There's things half in shadow
   and halfway in light
   on the rooftops of London...Coo, what a sight!
   
   The Sherman Brothers' finest moment.  'nuf said.
   

and the number one...

1. Portabello Road (Bednobs and Broomsticks)
   
   Another huge dance number, nearly 10 minutes in its uncut and recovered form.  Catchy, conversational lyric, a style that wouldn't be tried again until Ashman and Menken's Beauty and the Beast, insanely singable melody, and a dance sequence that shows off all of British colonial culture in an incredible visual medley.  Sheer brilliance I could never tire of.
   

so there you go.  any questions? :)

Comments

[dawntreader]

me, too. and all my disney CDs are packed in my portable CD holder, too. ... at HOME. heh. :)