Disney Songs #43: Something There to #39: Hakuna Matata

#43: Something There

To Listen: Click Here

The Facts:

• Writers: Alan Menken (music), Howard Ashman (lyrics)
• Year: 1991
• Key:  C# Major

Heard In: 
Beauty and the Beast

Background / Personal Connection:

I like Beauty and the Beast though not quite as much as some of the other animated movies of the era. Nevertheless, there's no denying the great music as the Menken/Ashman team reunited after their smashing success on The Little Mermaid. Sadly, it was their last collaboration due to Ashman's death before the movie was released.  This song plays at the time in the story where Belle realizes that Beast isn't such a bad guy after all while playfully frolicking in the snow.  

#42: Be Our Guest

To Listen: Click Here

The Facts:

• Writers: Alan Menken (music), Howard Ashman (lyrics)
• Year: 1991
• Key:  several

Heard In: 

Beauty and the Beast

Background / Personal Connection:

We're back with another dose of BATB, this time with the movie's grand showstopping number. Not only is a great song, but the animation is superb.  And the concept of the song is one that fits the Disney brand perfectly given the company's dedication to top-notch customer service.

A personal association I have with this song is that it takes me back to my junior high chorus days.  At that age, being in chorus was not the coolest thing for a boy to do, at least in my school.  Of the estimated 350 boys in grades 7 through 9, there were about 15 of us in the chorus. I never considered myself a great singer, but given the limited supply of kids and also my unwillingness to say no, I often got picked for solos.  And when we sang "Be Our Guest," it was my job to start things off with Lumiere's narration. Let me see if I can remember it now, assuming I haven't blacked out everything from junior high:

It is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that we welcome you tonight.  And now we invite you to relax and pull up a chair as the dining room proudly presents....your dinner!

The mic has now been dropped.

   

#41: Kiss the Girl

To Listen: Click Here

The Facts:

• Writers: Alan Menken (music), Howard Ashman (lyrics)
• Year: 1989
• Key:  C Major

Heard In: 

The Little Mermaid

Background / Personal Connection:

Menken and Ashman strike again, this time with the countdown's first Little Mermaid appearance. This particular song is romantic, clever, and has a great build and finish at the end.  Also like "Be Our Guest," the animation really adds to the song.

#40: I Just Can't Wait to be King

To Listen: Click Here

The Facts:

• Writers: Elton John (music), Tim Rice (lyrics)
• Year: 1994
• Key:  F# Major

Heard In: 

The Lion King

Background / Personal Connection:

Yet another showstopping song with fantastic animation and energy.  The vocalist for young Simba, Jason Weaver, knocks it out of the park.  One interesting note about young Simba is that his non-singing voice was performed by Home Improvement's Jonathan Taylor Thomas.  He's been out of the public eye for a long time now (by his own choosing) so it's easy to forget just how popular he was in the mid 90's.  I remember JTT fever and how he was on the cover of every single kid/teen magazine, and good for him for not letting his fame define or corrupt him like so many other child stars.

#39: Hakuna Matata

To Listen: Click Here

The Facts:

• Writers: Elton John (music), Tim Rice (lyrics)
• Year: 1994
• Key:  C# Major

Heard In: 

The Lion King

Background / Personal Connection:

We're up to song #3 on the countdown from The Lion King, and this one's a classic.  For a happy song sung by a meerkat and a warthog, the message is surprisingly deep (as is everything else about The Lion King - more on this in a future post).  The sentiment of "No Worries" and chilling out is a great one, yet Mufasa reminds Simba not to take it too far in a hedonistic direction and ignore his responsibilities as the true king.  In particular, I love the ending to this song and the moment at 2:52 in the above video where they're walking in a straight line and we see Simba's growing before our very eyes.

And with that, we're now officially halfway through the countdown.  Looking forward to discussing the top 38 -- lots of amazing music left!