Toon Talk: On the Record Cast Recording - Apr 20, 2005

Toon Talk: On the Record Cast Recording
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Other songs are grouped by the movies that they originated from, such as The Little Mermaid (proving once and for all that nobody else can sing “Part of Your World�? quite like Jodi Benson) and an over-produced set from Dumbo, while still others are granted more or less straightforward interpretations (a halting “Reflection�? from Mulan, for example). Gender variations are tossed off with little thought to the original intent of the material (didn’t they learn from the Michael Crawford Disney Album that no matter how well it is sung, a man should not sing Toy Story 2’s “When She Loved Me�??), some biggies are given short-shrift (The Lion King’s “Hakuna Matata�? becomes simply “Hakuna Ma�? as it is sung here), and the glaring omissions are plentiful: no “Circle of Life�?? No “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?�? Nothing at all from Bambi?

Also attempted are such gimmicks as recording filters to alter the sound of “Minnie’s Yoo-Hoo�? (from Mickey’s Follies, not The Shindig as listed here - where’s Dave Thomas when you need him?) to a vintage feel or to transform the singers’ voices into mice for Cinderella’s “The Work Song�?. There’s also a multi-lingual “Be Our Guest�?, which sounds more interesting then it actually does in execution. One thing is for certain … there’s no danger in these versions supplanting the originals.

It is unfortunate that this project failed, for I still believe that a Disney musical revue is a good idea. I will give them credit for the intriguing notion of Disney music being “the soundtrack for our lives�?. That is true; alas, at least with On the Record as the example, it's certainly not the “cast recording of our lives�?.

Toon Talk Rating: C+

On the Record - FACTS & FIGURES:
  • Total number of songwriters: 37.
  • Total number of female songwriters: 1 (Peggy Lee).
  • Total number of credited songs: 71.
  • Total number of represented movies: 28.
  • - Television shows: 1 (The Mickey Mouse Club).
  • - Theme park attractions: 2 (The Enchanted Tiki Room, It’s a Small World).
  • - Animated shorts: 2 (Mickey’s Follies*, Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree).
  • - Broadway productions (original composition): 1 (Beauty and the Beast).
  • Oldest song: “Minnie’s Yoo-Hoo�? from Mickey’s Follies* (1929).
  • Newest song: “Will the Sun Ever Shine Again�? from Home on the Range (2004).
  • Movies with most songs included: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (6), The Little Mermaid (5), Pinocchio, Dumbo, Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast (4 each).
  • Songwriters with most songs included: Alan Menken (19), the Sherman Brothers and Howard Ashman (10 each), Frank Churchill and Ned Washington (8 each).
  • Total number of Academy Award-winning Best Songs: 8 (“When You Wish Upon a Star�? from Pinocchio, “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah�? from Song of the South, “Under the Sea�? from The Little Mermaid, “Beauty and the Beast�? from Beauty and the Beast, “A Whole New World�? from Aladdin, “Colors of the Wind�? from Pocahontas and “You’ll Be in My Heart�? from Tarzan).
  • Total number of non-winning Oscar nominated songs: 10 (“Baby Mine�? from Dumbo, “Lavender Blue (Dilly, Dilly)�? from So Dear To My Heart, “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo�? from Cinderella, “The Bare Necessities�? from The Jungle Book, “Kiss the Girl�? from The Little Mermaid, “Belle�? and “Be Our Guest�? from Beauty and the Beast, “Hakuna Matata�? from The Lion King, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me�? from Toy Story and “When She Loved Me�? from Toy Story 2).
  • Total number of American Film Institute “100 Years, 100 Songs�? winners: 6 (“Someday My Prince Will Come�? from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, “When You Wish Upon a Star�? from Pinocchio, “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah�? from Song of the South, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious�? from Mary Poppins, “Beauty and the Beast�? from Beauty and the Beast and “Hakuna Matata�? from The Lion King).

* = Although the liner notes credit the song “Minnie’s Yoo-Hoo�? to the short The Shindig, it is actually from Mickey’s Follies.

Coming Soon in Toon Talk:

  • Don’t panic! After many years, Douglas Adams’ seminal novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Galaxy finally makes it to the big screen (April 29th).
  • Pocahontas gets a two-disc 10th Anniversary Edition DVD, including a restored musical sequence sung by Mel Gibson (May 3rd).
  • Wave 2 of the Walt Disney’s Classic Cartoon Favorites line, with three separate volumes themed to sports, music and adventure (May 31st).

And Coming Soon from Buena Vista Home Video:
  • Dimension presents two new thrillers: Darkness (in both PG-13 and unrated editions) and The Nameless (April 26th).
  • Hayley Mills fans rejoice - three of her classic films finally arrive on DVD: Summer Magic, In Search of the Castaways and That Darn Cat!; Nicholas Cage stars in the action hit National Treasure; the Disney Channel production of Heidi starring Jason Robards and Jane Seymour; and the Oscar-nominated, acclaimed French film The Chorus (Les Choristes) (May 3rd).
  • A special extended edition of the Disney Channel movie Kim Possible: So the Drama; and Wes Anderson’s quirky comedy The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (May 10th).
  • Something old, something new: the second season set of The Golden Girls and the complete first season of Scrubs (May 17th).
  • From the “Wasn’t this just in theaters?�? department: Pooh’s Heffalump Movie (May 24th).
  • Lindsay Lohan fans rejoice - her Disney Channel movie Get a Clue and a Special Edition of The Parent Trap (May 31st).

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-- Kirby C. Holt
-- Logo by William C Searcy, Magic Bear Graphics

Kirby is a lifelong Disney fan and film buff. He is also an avid list maker and chronic ellipsis user ...

Took Talk: Disney Film & Video Reviews by Kirby C. Holt is posted whenever there's something new to review.

The opinions expressed by our Kirby C. Holt, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future plans of the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.

-- Posted April 20, 2005

 

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