All Things Disney Music Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Jason_V]

I bought Meet Me on Main Street on iTunes the other day. It's seven tracks of what I'd call "B level" Disney parks music as covered by Tammy Tuckey. ("Strangers Like Me" is on here and I know that's a movie song, not a park song, specifically.) I've listened through twice and enjoy the album. It's not groundbreaking, but it another version of Disney songs. "Tomorrow's Child" is my favorite right now. the album is also very cheap, at least for my wallet.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Bobcat Goldthwait has asked Disney to remove his voice from an upcoming theme park attraction over the whole James Gunn situation. He had been voicing Pain (of Pain and Panic) from Hercules for the attraction.

https://deadline.com/2018/07/james-...pport-disneyland-attraction-voice-1202432151/

To be clear, I don't want to bring the whole Jams Gunn thing into this thread since it already has its own. But I bring this up here because, prior to reading this news item, I didn't realize Disney was still having Goldthwait record new material as Pain 21 years later. Especially for a movie that they have sort of let fall by the wayside promotionally, with its lame-duck barebones DVD and Bu-ray releases, it's kind of neat that they brought him back for the attraction in the first place. I wonder who else is coming back for that show.

I wish Disney would do a Legacy Collection soundtrack for Hercules, but they missed the 20h anniversary, which would have been last year, and most of the Legacy Collection releases have been tied to anniversaries (except for Beauty and the Beast, which just sort of randomly came out in February this year.) Maybe they should do more random releases like that and then we'd get these out quicker. It beats waiting until 2022 for the 25th anniverary, which would be the next major one.

 

[Jason_V]

Just a heads up: the Disney Parks Blog is live-streaming the Paint the Night Parade from DCA tonight at 8:50 pm Pacific.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Just a heads up: the Disney Parks Blog is live-streaming the Paint the Night Parade from DCA tonight at 8:50 pm Pacific.

Peg and I have watched several of these. They ARE fun! Thanks for that heads up, Jason.

 

[Mike Frezon]

While I LOVE the fact that they used strains of Don Dorsey's MSEP theme throughout the parade, this is SOME OF THE WORST DISNEY THEME PARK MUSIC I'VE EVER HEARD!

I could critique the parade all day long, but will just comment on how I never want to hear this song again.



Jump ahead to 7:40 for the start of the parade.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I couldn't even stomach two minutes of that before I turned it off. What an awful song.

Who approved this?

 

[Mike Frezon]

What a disaster. Disco? Really?!? Why?

And I don't even have a problem with disco. But I don't need to have that throbbing beat beating me down for a Disney parade. Just horrible.

That parade music puts me to mind of the Mickey Mania daytime parade at WDW in the early 90s.

Personally, SpectroMagic was, for me, the most magical event ever at WDW. It was dark, the synchronized bright lights used in clever ways, but, most especially, the music. The SpectroMagic theme really fit the mood of the piece...the floats, the characters, the referenced film segments. It all came together to make a truly "magic night."

The new technology with the lights and some of the floats themselves were pretty clever. But, for me, that music just kills it. The saving grace is the sampling of that iconic MSEP theme (which isn't even a real favorite of mine, but I still appreciate it. But there are times when the music doesn't match the characters on the float in front of you. And while the floats were themed, there are incongruous moments like Genie and Lumiere appearing alongside each other. Huh?

Fix it before you send it East, Disney.

 

[Jason_V]

I couldn't even stomach two minutes of that before I turned it off. What an awful song.

Who approved this?

I always think my reaction to "new" parades and shows is too judgmental because I know the classics oh-so-well. If it doesn't hit me the right way the first time, I kinda say it's not very good when, in fact, it is likely good for a new generation.

Thankfully I'm not alone in this. I usually hit all the live streaming events (the Halloween parade from last year is a favorite). But I couldn't be bothered with this one...I've been listening to the music on and off since the parade debuted. I just find it terribly memorable.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I guess everyone has a clunker once in a while.

I have always been amazed at how Disney has always come up with such memorable music for parades and other events. One of my absolute favorite themes was Remember the Magic from the daytime parade in the late 90s and early 2000s. There's one of those Classic Disney production songs which hits all the right notes.

Wanna feel good (in a Disney kind of way)? Listen to this:



This is a Disney Mix tape of sorts...but has a clean version of Remember the Magic at both the front and back ends of the video.

 

[Jason_V]

I may need to add that to iTunes this weekend, Mike. It's infectious and fun.

 

[Mike Frezon]

The entire Remember the Magic Parade audio was released on a Tokyo Disneyland CD set many years ago (which I was fortunate enough to stumble onto in the Virgin MegaStore in Downtown Disney). The clips on that video mix was sourced from that.

There was also a poignant version recorded by Brian McKnight on the infamous Music from the Parks CD. And it was also used in Disney Parks TV ads:





And Gloria Estefan sang it on a Disney TV special:

 

[Mike Frezon]

And it is now official:

I will have Remember the Magic stuck in my head all weekend.

AND...that is NOT a bad thing!

 

[Jake Lipson]

Isabelle MaCalla, who was wonderful as Jasmine on the Aladdin national tour when I saw it in LA in March, is leaving for a Broadway role in the new musical The Prom. Coincidentally or not, that show shares director Casey Nikolaw and writer Chad Beguelin with Aladdin.

Anyway, Isabelle will be succeeded as Jasmine by Lissa deGuzman, who is already a swing on the tour and has previously played the role as the understudy. I'll see her next year when the tour comes around here.

http://www.playbill.com/article/north-american-tour-of-disneys-aladdin-will-welcome-new-jasmine

 

[Jake Lipson]

Well, Disney is certainly not being shy with the Frozen Broadway clips. After we already had For the First Time in Forever and Let It Go, now here's Love Is An Open Door:

http://www.playbill.com/article/wat...n-riddle-perform-frozens-love-is-an-open-door

 

[Jake Lipson]

Here is a new interview with Alan Menken about the process of writing "These Palace Walls," Jasmine's new song from the Aladdin stage musical. As a bonus, he also sings a bit from "Call Me a Princess," which was written for the movie and cut out.

http://www.playbill.com/article/wat...-jasmines-new-solo-from-aladdins-broadway-bow

 

[Mike Frezon]

Jake:

Did I just read somewhere recently that the new live-action film of Mulan will feature NONE of the music from the animated feature?!?

That struck me as...stupid.

 

[Malcolm R]

I don't think the songs from Mulan are as iconic and beloved as in some of the other Disney animated films. That may be why they feel they don't need to include them.

Honestly, without looking it up, I can't name a single song from Mulan. Though it's probably the same for a lot of films from that time period for me. Once you get past the big four (Mermaid, Lion, Beauty, Aladdin), I can't name too many songs from memory from films that followed those, though I do recall "Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas.

 

[Jake Lipson]

That struck me as...stupid.

I agree.

Honestly, without looking it up, I can't name a single song from Mulan.

I think "Reflection" and "I'll Make a Man Out of You" are pretty iconic. I think there are a lot of people, myself included, who will be disappointed if these songs are not featured.

"Honor to Us All," A Girl Worth Fighting For" and "True to Your Heart" (the credits pop song) are not as well-remembered, but they're still good songs.

The problem is they can't really just use two songs, because the musical format is a convention you've got to follow through all the way through the film if you're going to use it. The Jungle Book remake also cherry-picked the two most famous songs from the original, but that felt awkward within the course of the film because it WASN'T a musical otherwise. "The Bare Necessities" was done as just a song they were singing off the cuff, rather than a number, and then "I Wanna Be Like You" was the only song that got what you would consider to be a big number. But that didn't work because it came late in the film and by that point, singing was not part of the language of the film, so the number stuck out as odd

Like I said in the Mulan thread over in the movies forum, I wouldn't be surprised if they leave the songs out of the movie proper but include a couple of them on the credits, as the remake of Cinderella did.

 

[Malcolm R]

"True to Your Heart" (the credits pop song)

That one rings a bell, as I was a 98 Degrees fan. Though I'm still not sure if I'd recall that it was from Mulan.

 

[Jason_V]

That one rings a bell, as I was a 98 Degrees fan. Though I'm still not sure if I'd recall that it was from Mulan.

Me too, but this has to be one of the worst shoe-horned pop songs into a Disney movie ever. Maybe any movie. It's just completely out of place.