Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Disney Song #18: Tomorrow's Child



To Listen: Click Here

The Facts:
  • Composers: Peter Stougaard, Ron Ovadia
  • Year: 1986 - 1994
  • Key: G Major

Heard In: 
Spaceship Earth

Background:
Spaceship Earth, for those that aren't familiar with Epcot, is the great big ball (technically a geodesic sphere) that stands at the front of the park as its iconic symbol.  The ride inside is both a journey through world history and a look into the future, and the message is that as humans we're all in it together on this planet careening through space.

The ride has gone through several revisions over the years, and my favorite version was the '86-'94 rendition which featured Walter Cronkite as narrator and Tomorrow's Child as the finale while the cars went backwards in a "return to Earth" from space.  As the song played, there were virtual images of kids on the screens above, and there was a tangible spirit of hope, optimism, and possibility (just like I talked about recently with Horizons).  Basically, it was impossible not to feel great while listening to this song.  In fact, I remember one of my best friends telling me that when he was a kid, he used to go on the ride over and over just to hear the song.

In 1994, they replaced Walter Cronkite with Jeremy Irons, and Tomorrow's Child went by the wayside and was replaced by some darker, more ominous music.  Today the narrator is Judy Dench, and the current finale, while clever and better than it was in the Irons version, still lacks the inspiration of Tomorrow's Child.  

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