As many here know, as an animator and graphic designer one of my biggest inspirations is the films from the Walt Disney Company. However, it is interesting to know that five of my favorite songs and scenes from Disney were actually cut before the film was released and brought back for remastered editions or their stage adaptations. These songs were cut for various reasons, ranging from the director simply not liking it to more extreme reasons such as story changes or the song dragging down the film's pacing. Today in this review/editorial, I am going to be listing my top five Disney songs and scenes that were left on the cutting room floor as well as giving the reason why I enjoy it and why the song itself was cut during production.
5. Brothers All:
The Jungle Book
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjKZuOOfl6k
Originally, this song was to serve as the opening number back when Bill Peet was still in charge of crafting The Jungle Book's story, which was supposed to have a darker tone more akin to the original Rudyard Kipling Novel. The song was unfortunately cut when Bill Peet was fired due to creative differences between himself and Walt Disney, the latter of which wanting a more lighthearted story. I enjoy this particular version of the opening because it sets the scene much better and sets up the story to come. I was actually surprised when it was not included in the 2016 remake (Spoiler Alert) because the film itself was a merge of the original animated film and Bill Peet's original script which was closer to the book. Matter of fact, this is one of two of the deleted songs on this list not to reappear in any other adaptation of the Disney film, whether it was as part of the stage adaptation or a remake of the film.
4. Snuff Out the Light:
The Emperor's New Groove/Kingdom of The Sun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1pYGvplG5Q
It is interesting how during a production of a film, whether it may be animated or live action, how much a character evolves and develops in complexity as production progresses. Yzma, however, was the opposite. Her character was actually simplified as production progressed to the final film. Yzma was originally a dynamic villain who wished to block out the sun to regain her power and her youth along with overthrowing Kuzco (who was originally named Manco during production). Along with many layers of complexity, a song written for her was also left on the cutting room floor known as "Snuff out the Light". The song provided a backstory for the character as well as giving her a better defined motivation as opposed to "taking over the empire because reasons", the purpose of the song alone being the reason I enjoy it. I would have loved to see this darker and complex version of Yzma as opposed to the one in the final film. (I am not bashing the film that was released, I actually enjoy tENG) Maybe someday they will either remake the film or release a stage adaptation closer to the original, intended concept.
3. Human Again:
Beauty and the Beast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFkksxIDUKE
This song is a bit of a tricky one, as it was later included in both the stage adaptation as well as the remastered version of the film released on DVD, along with being confirmed to be included in the 2017 remake of the film, so it can be considered both an included and deleted song. The reason this song was removed at first was simply due to the fact that it shows a passage of time, as originally time was going to have more emphasis in earlier drafts of the film. However when later drafts showed that time would be somewhat of an unseen enemy in a metaphorical sense (I am guessing the enchantress's rose was something added in later drafts of the script, just as the three wishes in Aladdin were something of post-Ashman drafts and not included in many of the drafts written when he was alive). Once again, the reason I enjoy this song is because it is a song that is used for character development, as it expresses the desires of the characters turned into (or in the case of the stage adaptation, slowly turning into) household objects once they are granted their human forms.
2. Someday:
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiwgDZ1ld-0
Originally, when the directors of HoND wanted to create a song for Esmeralda entering the cathedral for the first time after the events of Topsy-Turvy, they (of course) asked Menken to write a song for that scene. Strangely enough, his first song that he wrote was not "Someday", but the song that is heard in the final film, "God Help the Outcasts". However, the directors wanted a song that was more intimate and heartfelt, which lead to Menken creating "Someday". The song was later re-purposed for the German stage adaptation and later the American version of the stage production, both times serving as a duet between an imprisoned Esmeralda and Phoebus, on the night before Esmeralda's execution in the finale. I enjoy this song not just for the small bit of character development, but it is one that tugs at one's heartstrings and evokes feelings of sympathy for the characters, such as feeling sympathetic towards Esmeralda's desires for a better life in the original version, to feeling emotional as Esmeralda and Phoebus spend one last night together before she is sent off to the pyre to be burned at the stake, as well as being the perfect lead in to the finale (German stage) or Quasimodo's "Made of Stone" (American stage). (I should have put a spoiler alert on this post, shouldn't I? Oh well, a lot of these films are more than a decade old, anyway.)
1. Proud of Your Boy:
Aladdin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV3D1ASN7Xc
This song is actually one I WISHED was put back in the film when it was re-released on DVD and later Blu-Ray, and I was glad when it was added to the 2011 stage adaptation and kept even in the current Broadway draft. This song gives a such better motivation to why Aladdin desires a better life, to make his mother proud and to redeem himself from his life of theft and swindling to survive, as opposed to having a better life for the sake of having a better life. I can understand the latter motivation, as don't we all wish for a better life sometimes? When you are down on your luck, or feeling down in general, you wish things were better. This song adds a layer of complexity and depth to the character and gives him a better reason for his actions not only during the beginning of the film before rubbing the lamp and maybe acquiring the ring which housed the other genie, (in earlier drafts of the film, there were two genies as opposed to one, a concept later referenced in another cut song known as "High Adventure") but later on in the film when he masquerades as a prince to woo the early version of Princess Jasmine, who was vain and spoiled as opposed to the benevolent princess seen in the final film. (Disney, if you are reading this, two things, one, make me a member of your animation staff as I have always dreamed of working for you, and two, if you ever decide to remake this film or rework the original animated film, put back in Proud of Your Boy in some capacity, whether it may be the reason for the song, the melody of the song in the background, or my ideal wish, the song itself sung by Aladdin) This is one song that I would highly recommend to not only Aladdin fans, but Disney fans as well, as it is truly "a diamond in the rough" in the long pile of Disney songs.
What are some cut Disney songs you enjoy? Do you agree with this list? Is there a song I missed?
No comments:
Post a Comment