Music ~ala~ Disney

One thing that cannot be denied is that Disney has some of the most memorable, and influential music library of all times. From the Sherman Bros. all the way up to Alan Menken, Phil Collins, and Randy Newman have found a way to enahnce if not save every movie they've touched. There are some movies in the Disney archives that would not even register a blip on a radar if it weren't for the music. Then there are some movies that are great pieces or art that are then overshadowed by powerful the music end up being. And of course, there are a few where the music can't do anything to save the train wreck.

Hercules is a perfect example of how the music keeps this movie from dissolving into nothingness. All together this movie is pretty bad. Why Disney attempted to translate the story of Heracles into a ninety minute kids movie is beyond me. A mythological tale full of violence, and sex toned down for the kiddies? Mmm. No. If you need further proff that this should have been skipped, think back to the movie 300. That was a nice kids tale right? Full of beheadings, and sex, and gore. What did Dilios say about their ancestry? That the Spartans were decendants of Heracles? That's the kind of person Disney wanted to make a movie about but what ended up happening instaead, was Disney telling their version of Superman rather than Heracles. Hades tries to kill little baby Hercules so that he can rule Olympus and the baby ends up on Earth where two old farmers who weren't blessed with kids find him and adopt him. The baby is unusually strong and they must work hard to keep his power underwraps. One day he finds out he's not from Earth and decides he must venture forward to find his destiny. Any of this sound familiar yet? Let's not even talk about him conversing with a holographic version of his father, or that he ends up wearing a cape.

                                         Lois Lane has definitely seen better days.

Generally it's pretty forgetable. You've got a pretty good performance by James Woods, and Susan Egan who was Disney's go-to girl after her run as Belle on Broadway. Even Danny DeVito playing Danny DeVito isn't all that bad. But the story is just so blase and done before. So why should we ever really visit this movie again? Because the music is pretty damn good. Alan Menken channeled his Little Shop of Horrors self and wrote a pretty up-tempo, soulful soundtrack. "Zero to Hero" is a damn fine song, as well as "I Won't Say I'm In Love". A young Roger Bart belts out a heart lifting solo with "Go The Distance". It really made me wonder about how much the music may have influenced the film. Did Menken turn in some songs before or during the writing and design process? The design of the characters and scenery works with the music and the tone of the story fits well enough.  Why they didn't have Hades by James Woods have any fun with a song is beyond me though. It could have been a highlight of the film if it were the right one. He's the god of death!  Tell me there was no one who would have joyed writing that song for him!  All together it had a very rushed quality to it but the few songs that do make into the soundtrack almost make it worth sticking around for.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame however, could not be saved by any music at all. It has a pretty gothic sound which matches the artistic design and the setting of the story but for the most part everything about it is pretty forgetable.  Every number is big, and flashy, and sung with the gusto of a Broadway show like Les Miz.  Almost as if Disney saw the success they had with Beauty and the Beast hitting broadway and then started making movies that would have potential Broadway appeal.  I guess the part they forgot about was the Hunchback is one of the most tragic, soul splittingly, mind numbing!yo depressing stories ever crafted!  The story by Victor Hugo makes his other novel, Les Miserables look like an adventure by The Berenstein Bears.  To be fair to the roots Disney did go above and beyond the call when asked to make this thing creepy. The Archdeacon Frollo played by the late Tony Jay was given a song at the end of act two that essentially described all the ways he wanted penetrate the gypsy Esmerellda.  The last time I was that unsettled by an animated movie was when I saw Cool World with my mom.  The release of this movie was most likely to blame for ushering in the era of disenchantment with the traditional Disney musical. The quality of the songs and the quality of the movie were just not up to par.  

Now for my money, there are three Disney soundtracks I could listen to at any time of any day.  The quality, the performance, and the journey they take you on are absolutely worth it.  Now believe it or not, the first of which is the soundtrack to A Goofy Movie.  A roadtrip movie where a father comes to terms with the finite amount of time left in his son's childhood, and where a son learns that as he changes and grows he can always count on his dad to be there. There are two great pop songs sung by Tevin Camobell as the character Powerline, but the majority of the soundtrack is supplied by Bill Farmer and Aaron Lohr as Goofy and Max.  It's hard to pick just one, but the song Nobody Else But You is my favorite. It's just good stuff, a song that reaffirms that even though the two of them have been through the worst life has to throw at them there is no one else they would rather be with.  As a new Disney father, I can't wait to share this movie with my boy.  

                                        I just hope I'm half the dad Goofy is.

The second one is, The Country Bears, a movie that is more a guilty pleasure than anything.  It's not a particularly good movie, but it does have a lot of things going for it that bring me around to adoring it.  It's got Stephen Root, Alex Rocco, Christopher Walken, and Diedrich Bader in the cast. The costumes were created by Muppet Studios, and it's got a soundtrack chock full of John Hiatt!  Straight to the Heart of Love is the feather in the cap of the soundtrack and the movie.  But everything else is gold too.  John Hiatt sings just about every song and there's no doing better than John Hiatt. Brian Setzer gets in on the action too performing a fuel between his guitar and Zeb's fiddle. As crazy as it sounds it's actually really fun to listen to.   In a movie where a line like "Beeeeeaaaarrrr Power!" Is said with conviction, you would almost need to have the soundtrack kick ass to make up for everything else. 

Finally, we reach The Princess and the Frog. A generally panned movie which is completely beyond my comprehension.  There was so much that they got right in this movie, I don't know how a movie like Tangled was ever able to over shadow it. Despite it just being an all together great film, this thing is absolutely packed with amazing songs. From start to finish there isn't one wasted bit of music. From the opening song, to the closing everyone gets something to do and it's all brilliant. David Kieth singing Friends on the Other Side (which was the song that SHOULD have been nominated that year) and Jennifer Lewis singing Dig a Little Deeper (another song that should have been nominated) will both fill you with wonder, hope, and a bit of fear. The soul of New Orleans also comes to life in the music. The Dixieland Jazz, the twang of the bayou and everything in between. All of it is represented beautifully.  Even if you hated the movie, you owe it to yourself to listen to the music one more time,  it's such a beautiful piece of art.