DeviantArt Page

http://austinmmyers1994.deviantart.com/

Top 5 Deleted Disney Songs

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?

Lifetime's Unauthorized Stories Part 1: Full House (Warning: Spoilers)

Before we begin, I have to get something off of my chest. Lifetime, when you announced The Unauthorized Full House Story shortly after completing The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story, I admit that I was excited. Growing up, I would always watch Full House with my grandmother and my uncle on Saturday mornings, usually after a Power Rangers and Digimon programming block on ABC Family known as Jetix. Back then, I wasn't as fond of sitcoms as I am now, and if I had to say what shows sparked my interest in this genre of television, it would be both Full House and Boy Meets World. However, when I finally saw The Unauthorized Full House Story on Lifetime a week ago, I was more disappointed than excited. I was hoping to see the behind the scenes story of what is probably my favorite sitcom of all time, as well as some of my favorite scenes and some iconic scenes from the show recreated. While I saw the behind the scenes story and drama of what happened while filming (albeit in a truncated format, as many incidents I heard about from interviews and news articles were either merely mentioned or omitted entirely), I was severely disappointed by the recreations of scenes from Full House, as out of the three scenes they seemingly "re-created", only one of them actually stayed faithful to the series.  What also disappointed me was that aside from the actors who played Bob Saget and Dave Coulier, none of the actors looked like their real-life counterparts. The Olsen Twins were also aged up a bit as opposed to being nine months old when the series began. Also, Lori Loughlin and Andrea Barber's actresses looked absolutely nothing like the people they were supposed to be portraying. At least Candace Cameron and Jodie Sweetin's many actresses in the movie made the effort to at least attempt to look like their counterparts, despite being unsuccessful. I also felt the film focused too much on Bob Saget and his wife than it did with Full House, similar to how a film released in 2005 called Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Mork & Mindy' focused more on the relationship between the late Robin Williams (may he rest in peace) and his first wife.
One last thing as well that irked me was that my favorite character, Steve, (played by Scott Weinger, whom you may know as the voice of Aladdin's title character) was glossed over almost entirely, aside from their poorly made remake of Full House's final scene in which DJ Tanner is waiting anxiously for her prom date only to discover it is her ex boyfriend, Steve, who had left the show in the final episode of the seventh season due to him and DJ breaking up (the break up episode being one of my favorites). However, despite having a mostly negative opinion of the movie, there were some parts I actually liked. One such part is the ending, which surprisingly was not at the show's final curtain call, but a couple of years after the series ended. We actually end the film at the wedding of Candace Cameron-Bure with a narration by Bob Saget's actor, and I felt that was a satisfying ending. Another part I enjoyed was how accurately Saget and Coulier's actors portrayed their characters both physically and in personality. However, I do feel that Coulier's actor acted more like Robin Williams in various scenes. Overall, the film is not bad, but it is also far from a good film. I feel that they should have taken more time with it, maybe even delaying it to give it more polish and refinement. This film had potential, and I feel that maybe with a little more time taken with it, I could have enjoyed it. I would not mind if it had a 2016 release as opposed to the Summer 2015 release it received. The pacing is rushed, the characters are severely bland and undeveloped, and the focus should have been more on Full House than Bob Saget and his wife. I honestly hope that Fuller House arriving next year on Netflix is much better than this film.

Top Five Favorite Novels

1. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
2. The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
3. ROOTS by Alex Haley
4. Fresh off the Boat by Eddie Huang
5. Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs

A tribute to Robin Williams as Genie and Popeye

Today, the world lost an amazing, hilarious, and all around good natured man. A man who got his film start portraying a live action version of a certain sailor who ate spinach to gain strength, and a role that really resonated with me from childhood up until now, the genie in Aladdin. Ladies and gentlemen, I am of course talking about Robin Williams, and in memory of him, I am going to review the two films I mentioned before because as a child, these films were what I thought of when I heard the name "Robin Williams". Robin had a very distinct style of acting, one could give him a script and he would not stick to it at all, giving all sorts of improvisations. It is a well known fact that a majority of his dialogue in Aladdin and Popeye was improvised out of the blue. There are cut takes from Aladdin that exist of him improvising dialogue based on a box of props beside him while recording, and can be heard if one looks at the "Making of Aladdin" DVD featurette. That role also was the inspiration for broadway actor James Monroe Iglehart to pursue a career in theatre, eventually becoming the same role that inspired him twenty-two years ago, currently playing Genie in the stage adaptation of Aladdin. (A role he is totally awesome in at that) It was also Williams that partially inspired me to pursue making my own fan adaptation of Aladdin. (Release Date: Unknown)
I do not know much about his role as Popeye when it comes to production history like Aladdin, but I do know that from watching the film that started his  career, he managed to both stay true to the source material as well as making the role his own. He stepped into the role of the iconic sailor and was able to convey to the audience the beginnings and origins of Popeye as well as allowing us to feel genuinely towards the character and garner respect for Robin as well. It was through Robin we were able to learn how Popeye lost sight in one eye and began to talk in the way he does, while also making the role his own like he would with Genie years later. Robin Williams was a man of comedy and happiness whenever he stepped into a new role, whether it was an android fighting to be human, a doctor using comedy to cure patients, crossdressing as a woman,  Theodore Roosevelt, or even the aforementioned topic roles in this post. He allowed us to feel sympathy for the characters he portrayed and actually care about them, which is not an easy task for an actor. I close this post by saying, "We will never forget you, Robin Williams." Your passing may have been too soon, but you will always be remembered by your fans and followers, as well as the family you have left behind. Farewell.

Analysis of the two soundtracks: Aladdin's stage musical adaptations

In July of 2011, Aladdin made its debut on the stage at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre. Initially, the show was not intended for Broadway at all, but to be licensed for smaller regional productions, such as the later St. Louis and Utah Productions. A downside of this was that fans would not get an official, cleaned up soundtrack of the Seattle cast that started it all, but I had my sources and was able to get my hands on a very rough, low quality version of the Seattle soundtrack. I must say that it is a great recording and gives you a great idea of what the show was like until it was changed significantly for the Broadway stage. Unlike the later broadway production which consisted of mainly original material written specifically for broadway, the original intent was to have the show consist of songs that were written for the original film, but cut as production progressed. This also meant that three characters deleted from early production, Babkak, Omar, and Kassim, were finally able to see the light of day after almost twenty years of being locked away in the Disney Vault. Luckily these characters were retained despite the significant changes for Broadway, which will be covered later on. Originally during the show's early run, Babkak, Omar, and Kassim served as the narrators of the story, singing Arabian Nights and its restored reprises as well as giving witty commentary throughout. However, their role was reduced and now the narrator role has been given to Genie, a nice throwback to early drafts of the 1992 film in which the deleted Genie of the Ring served as the narrator disguised as the peddler. Along with significant plot changes, the songs got changed between the two versions of the stage adaptation, in both order and in some cases, lyrics. For the preference of the Seattle version (due to its use of the film's cut songs), I will be using the song order of that particular adaptation in my comparison. Also, I have not seen the Broadway version of the show, I have only seen the Seattle version, so if I miss anything please comment and let me know.

• Arabian Nights, aside from the obvious change of having Babkak, Omar, and Kassim replaced by Genie, had some lyrics switched around in some spots.
• Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim was moved from before One Jump Ahead to when Aladdin and Jasmine first meet in the Marketplace, something my friend Chris says is actually a better spot. I literally have no preference to either spot in the song order, as both work in their own way. Placing the song before One Jump allows the audience to be introduced to all four characters as originally intended, however placing it during the scene in which Aladdin and Jasmine first meet allows for Aladdin to seem unfocused and distracted while performing with his friends as he is seeing Princess Jasmine for the first time. The Broadway adaptation has the spectators on stage singing along with the four, as opposed to BOAK singing the entire song on their own.
• One Jump Ahead actually has no changes song and lyricwise. I do not know at this moment if Kassim frames Aladdin for stealing the loaf of bread like in the Seattle version on Broadway.
• One Jump Ahead's reprise is also the same, not only in the Seattle and Broadway versions, but it is also unchanged from the 1992 animated film. It's purpose in the show is a lead-in to what I consider the best of the cut Aladdin songs, Proud of Your Boy.
• Proud of Your Boy, I am going to say a few words before I compare, I LOVE this song and I wish somehow they could work it into the film. When people such as my friends and family ask me what my favorite song is, I always say Proud of Your Boy, because it gives a better motivation for the character, and I love that they take this route in both versions of the stage adaptation. The song shows Aladdin's motivation to change his ways and make his deceased mother proud of him from above. Lyric and songwise, it is identical and is a powerful piece of music no matter how you listen to it.
• Arabian Nights Reprise 1 as well as anything related to Call Me a Princess are cut and replaced by a single song for Jasmine known as These Palace Walls. It is sad that all three of these songs had to be cut, but it seems that These Palace Walls is indeed a fitting replacement. Once again I do not know if the three suitors that Jasmine scares away are involved in this scene either before or after this song in the Broadway adaptation, but in the Seattle version, Jasmine pretends to act spoiled and vain when singing Call Me a Princess in a successful attempt to scare them away. To be honest, I prefer Palace Walls over Princess because it makes Jasmine seem more like her film counterpart and not like how she was originally intended in early drafts of the 1992 film.
• Why Me was also cut and replaced with a later song, but I shall get to that later when I talk about Diamond in the Rough.
• A Million Miles Away was thankfully left in, as it expresses Aladdin and Jasmine's desire to "want much more than this provincial life".
• Arabian Nights Reprise 2 was replaced by the aforementioned song Diamond in the Rough. I do not know if Jafar pretends to be Aladdin's uncle like in the Seattle version, but what I do know is that the scene involving Aladdin being lead to the Cave of Wonders is essentially the same in both versions.
• Friend Like Me is also essentially the same aside from a few lyrical changes, including a medley of Disney songs in the middle. (Another Genie medley is included as a bonus track on the Broadway recording) Also cut from Seattle is a parody of Deal or No Deal.
• Arabian Nights Reprise 3 is also cut from the broadway production.
• Act One Finale is also the same aside from a few dialogue changes.
• Prince Ali seems to have taken a more jazzy 1920s style as opposed to being closer to the 1992 film. Genie now interacts with the people in Prince Ali's entourage and like the Seattle version, Prince Ali does not appear until the end (I saw the previews of the Broadway show on ABC's Good Morning America.)
• Once again A Whole New World remains essentially the same in both versions in both plot and music.
• High Adventure is identical to the Seattle version and is left unchanged.
• Somebody's Got Your Back is left unchanged as well.
• The moments leading up to the finale are significantly different in both song structure and in song order. In the Seattle version, the "Wedding Day Suite" consists of a reprise of High Adventure and the classic reprise of Prince Ali  from the film. The Broadway version actually cuts the High Adventure reprise and replaces it with an amazing and beautiful reprise of Proud of Your Boy. Next comes two reprises of Prince Ali, one sung by the Sultan (that is so catchy that I cannot get it out of my head) and the classic reprise sung by Jafar. The Seattle recording also includes the final confrontation between Aladdin and Jafar which (spoilers for those who have not seen the film) causes Jafar to wish to be an all-powerful genie himself, ultimately causing his downfall.
• The finale also has received some significant changes, actually for the better. Instead of Babkak, Omar, and Kassim singing the reprise of Arabian Nights, it is actually Genie who sings it, symbolizing the entire production coming full circle in both versions depending on who is the narrator. Unfortunately Aladdin and Jasmine have no involvement vocally in the finale in the Seattle version, which was thankfully corrected in the Broadway soundtrack. Unfortunately, Genie STILL sings the last few lines in A Whole New World's reprise, which I feel is best reserved for Aladdin and Jasmine.

Overall, which do I like best? Seattle or Broadway? I can honestly say that even though Broadway's version has made some significant improvements, I love how the show was adapted in Seattle just a bit more. I apologize if this angers any people, but this is my own opinion and I am sticking to it. However, on my iPad, I have actually made a playlist combining the two adaptations. If you live in New York, I would highly recommend seeing what the show has become. From what I can hear on the official soundtrack, the show really has come a long way since the Summer of 2011. It can only go up from here, and who knows, maybe someday they will find a way to restore those songs that were cut in Seattle. "I doubt it, but it would still be awesome!"

Twitter

For more information on what the next reviews or future posts, follow me on twitter, austinmmyers20