Darn you, Alan Menken!
Dad, mom and I spent some time cleaning up the summer cottage in order to get it ready for winter. It took us quite a bit of time, but in the end everything went fine. Later on I bought the recent hardcover Donald Duck comic book with the drawings of Giorgio Cavazzano. It was a joy reading those stories, many of which had never been translated into Finnish until now. Although I do feel the book should've had a bit better representation of Cavazzano's career from his early days to the present, the stories nevertheless were drawn well, and the art was stunning as expected from the maestro.
I was positively surprised by the recent Donald Duck comic which was dedicated entirely to Giorgio Cavazzano. You can guess how surprised I was when I realized that the comic had just one, long story (instead of many stories like we tend to have), and that story was a never-before-seen Paperinik (i.e. Duck Avenger, Donald Duck's Batman-esque alter ego who fights against criminals) story, and that was quite good too. The translation was great with many funny puns, and it was nice to see the Beagle Boys in a surprisingly menacing role (heck, at one point they almost killed one of Donald's nephews -- something I haven't seen in other stories from Cavazzano, and I'm surprised Disney had allowed such a dark twist to be published in the first place!).
I also bought a new Maxi-Tex comic (about the adventures of the ranger Tex Willer) named Oklahoma!, and it was an alright story. I liked the buildup and how it dealt with people migrating to the west and the troubles they had when trying to establish law and order to lawless areas. Racism was discussed at length as well, and there were some tragic deaths going on. All the main characters are developed well enough, and you'll learn more about these people and their pasts as the story progresses. There's even a romantic subplot, but I felt it wasn't developed well enough and just came out of the blue.
I would've wanted a bit more character development for some of the heroes and especially for the villains. There's only one or two scenes where you really feel dread as you see the villains at their most evil, but there's never really a sense of danger, not even in the climactic showdown, and thus the finale seems a bit lame. One important ingredient of a good story is to have effective villains, but unfortunately the story revolves more around the heroes and thus doesn't give enough emphasis on the villains. However, Oklahoma! is still a good enough story on its own and worth a read with its nice characterizations and discussions on important political matters. And it's a thrilling adventure story as well.
Sephiroth1999AD had a birthday party on Saturday, and I bought a present for him and went to his house. We joked about a bunch of stuff and talked about various kinds of things, and then other guests came. Seph showed us a couple of clips from Final Fantasy concert, mostly parts from "Aria di Mezzo Carattere", and "One-Winged Angel" and its encore, although there were a couple of others as well. He also played some of his midi files, and we watched a couple of YouTube videos of Globus, Nightwish ("Amaranth" is a nice song) and a couple of others. We went to eat some cake which was good, and eventually we left.
I managed to buy The Jungle Book Platinum Edition. I haven't watched it nor its extras yet, but a member from UltimateDisney took a screencap from one of the behind-the-scenes featurettes, and that sparked my interest. The screencap shows Glen Keane, the supervising animator of Rapunzel, and (surprise, surprise) you can also see some concept art of Rapunzel and possibly her prince (unless that is an early sketch of Jim Hawkins, which wouldn't make any sense, so I stick to the explanation of it being a sketch of the prince instead). Rapunzel looks nice, and it'll be interesting to see her in that 2D/3D hybrid form which the movie Rapunzel will be. =)
I guess fate was smiling upon me when I accidentally stumbled upon a leaked version of the coming Enchanted soundtrack with songs and score by Alan Menken. I, of course, immediately rushed to listen to the soundtrack of this Disney movie, and here's what I thought of it:
Before I continue, you should know that Enchanted isn't the typical Disney movie, because it actually makes lighthearted fun of Disney conventions such as people bursting into song, damsels in distress, princes, evil witches etc. Thus Alan Menken's score and songs and Stephen Schwartz's lyrics do have certain campy elements in them in order to fit into the lighthearted mood of the movie. But does this attitude actually hurt the score and the songs, or do they still have Disney magic left?
The album opens with the songs that will be heard in the movie. The first track, "True Love's Kiss" is the highlight of the songs, IMHO. It opens with a nice choral opening, and then moves to a lovely bit by Amy Adams who sings it with an innocent and nice way, and soon she's joined by children's choir, which makes me think of "God Bless Us, Everyone" finale from A Christmas Carol. And just when you think it's over, you suddenly get a big reprise of the song sung by both Amy Adams and James Marsden in a lovely duet, and the whole thing ends up with a Menken-esque choral finale. When I heard Marsden sing, I was "WTF?" because he has a gorgeous voice and he can really sing. This song mixes elements from Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast in a way that is hard to pinpoint, but the elements are definitely there. However, the campy attitude isn't far because the lyrics are quite hilarious at times, but still the song remains graceful and true to its Disney roots.
The next song, "Happy Working Song" borrows elements from Snow White and Cinderella, maybe more from the former, and Adams seems to mimick Snow White's singing style but with a more tolerable way. This one is even more hilarious in its orchestration, singing and especially lyrics, and from what I've heard from what's going on in this scene, the hilarious stuff seems appropriate. Just when you get used to the happy attitude, there comes an interlude (or maybe it's a cleverly disguised reprise mixed into the track) which has some elements from Beauty and the Beast, but then it gets back to the Snow White attitude. Adams is really having fun with this song, and she enjoys every minute of it.
The third song, "That's How You Know" brings to mind the quick calypso rhythms of The Little Mermaid with some nice lyrics. Amy Adams and some guy start singing, and eventually more and more of the orchestra and choir join them in a lovely way. I assume this is the bit playing during the Central Park scene, and if that's so, it'll be a very fitting song to that environment.
The fourth song, "So Close" is an interesting mix of pop and orchestra, and it seems it might have something to do with Dempsey's character as far as the lyrics go, although its pop roots might also make it part of some montage or even the end credits. It'll be interesting to find out where it's actually played, but its sad, heartbreaking melody and overall melancholy in its lyrics seems kind of out of place when compared to the other, more spirited songs. Actually, now that I've watched the trailers again, I think this song might be played during the ballroom sequence, and that would make this song a strong candidate for Robert's theme. In any case it starts out as more of a pop song but brings the orchestra in occasionally, and the effect is quite dramatic. It reminds me a bit of the songs of Hercules and Home on the Range.
The fifth song, "Ever Ever After" is the song played during the end credits. Its style makes me think of the songs from Bridge to Terabithia and even a bit from Home on the Range, and despite its pop roots it's quite nice in the way it references especially "True Love's Kiss", and its lyrics finish the story in the similar way like Brother's Bear's end credits piece did.
The first score track on the album, "Andalasia", starts out in a nice, pastoral way by bringing the "Happy Working Song" and "True Love's Kiss" themes quietly into the score, and in some ways reminds me of the calming moments from Beauty and the Beast as well as the innocent bits from The Little Mermaid when she was touring Eric's kingdom. Overall it's a nice track establishing the kingdom of Andalasia in a spirited way. There's even a hint at a famous wedding march played for a humorous effect with the attempt to emulate Cinderella's epic moments but with a subdued way.
"Into the Well" is more ominous as the villainess Narissa's plot unfolds. There are some great foreshadowing elements of both Narissa's theme and Giselle's songs, and the ominous The Hunchback of Notre Dame -esque choir makes an entrance as well. There's some quiet, contemplative underscore before Menken brings in a magical orchestral and choral version of an out-of-world experience, and then a quirky rhythm takes over as Hercules-type of orchestral comedy is brought in with some funny Aladdin type of references glimpsed at every once in a while.
"Robert Says Goodbye" has a sad type of melody which hints at "So Close" and in some ways brings to mind some of the tragic moments in Beauty and the Beast and especially Pocahontas but in a more subdued fashion but eventually swells into a quick orchestral reprise of "That's How You Know" but then ends abruptly.
"Nathaniel and Pip" has an ominous and blatant tribute to the "Beauty and the Beast" song from the similarly named movie, but then things turn into a Home on the Range -esque mix of comedy and dark, dramatic elements, and there's even a glimpse of the famous funeral march mixed in. Oddly enough Menken moves to John Debney's territory by bringing in a melody that reminds me of a certain jungle chase scene in The Emperor's New Groove while referencing at least "True Love's Kiss" very quickly before moving into more ominous underscore and then to Debney-esque orchestral mayhem but it ends all of a sudden with a surprisingly dark twist, leaving the listener at the edge of his seat.
"Prince Edward's Search" is a hilarious tribute to the more heroic moments of various Disney scores like Sleeping Beauty and Snow White and has the comedic elements of Hercules and Aladdin mixed in for good measure. Some if it even reminds me of the elephant march scene from The Jungle Book, and I wonder if that was an intentional tribute by Menken or just mere coincidence, and this march theme shows the pompous attitude of Edward. =P
"Girls Gone Shopping" brings in a contemporary edge to the score by making a John Williams-esque version of the family scenes of the Hook score with guitars and whatnot. There are also references to "Ever Ever After" and "True Love's Kiss" themes mixed in, and all in all it's a lovely track surprisingly similar to some of the stuff Menken had composed for that Noel film.
"Narissa Arrives", however, is far from being a lovely piece. It starts out in John Debney's Chicken Little -esque manner by introducing a dark choral march to represent Narissa's theme, and it also references some of the darker Hunchback of Notre Dame material. The march is quite catchy and dramatic, although it's hard to hear what the choir is actually singing, and the choir moves almost constantly with the rest of the orchestra.
"Storybook Ending", with almost 11 minutes of pure underscore, opens up with an ominous, orchestral version of Narissa's theme and the light choir and orchestral melody coming in afterwards reminds me of the Cave of Wonder scenes from Aladdin. The choir takes a dramatic turn before the orchestra takes over and glimpses at a couple of the song themes. Edward's march theme is referenced quickly and then we get a nice rendition of "True Love's Kiss" which suddenly turns very tragic in a similar manner as in Pocahontas. Then there's a quick, sad version of "So Close" for piano before things turn ominous again. But then, the orchestra and choir kick in and gives us an epic version of "True Love's Kiss" and "So Close" mixed in but then Narissa's march takes over with the chanting choir, and the score kicks in a Hunchback of Notre Dame -esque final battle mode with some of Jafar's ominous stuff from Aladdin seemingly mixed in (maybe to represent the dragon?). Narissa's theme gets a great, epic treatment with some chaotic score in the background. The action material is simply stunning with all the orchestral and choral things going on, and various themes are referenced throughout the battle, but Narissa's theme always dominates the others. The choir shifts from "aah" stuff to actual singing and chanting and then to a dramatic climax which ends abruptly. Just when you think it's over, you hear a victorious reprise of "True Love's Kiss" for orchestra and choir, which is a relief after all the dark material and brings the track to a storybook end.
The final score track, "Enchanted Suite" offers a lovely medley of the three songs ("True Love's Kiss", "Happy Working Song" and "That's How You Know") as well as references to the other two songs ("So Close" and "Ever Ever After"). It starts with an energetic version of "That's How You Know", then moves to an almost waltz-like and cute version of "Happy Working Song" and then gets to a contemplative version of "True Love's Kiss" which slowly builds up to a swelling Menken-esque choral and orchestral proportions and then moves to a nice piano version with hints of "So Close" and "Ever Ever After" before bringing the orchestra and choir back in and then having a spirited, romantic finale of "That's How You Know" which surprisingly enough makes me think of the touching finale of Oliver & Company, and of course there's the obligatory choral swelling finale like in a lot of Menken's scores.
Then, as a surprise, the final track is "That's Amore", the classic song sung by James Marsden accompanied by an orchestra, a women's choir and a lovely accordion. There's even some whistling included! He really gets to show off his singing skills with this track, and his version is appropriately dramatic and romantic at the same time, and to my surprise he sounds a lot like Dean Martin in this track.
So, how the entire package, you ask? Well, although it references a lot of Disney music, particularly Menken's own, it does have originality and most importantly a heart despite all the antics that are going on. Make no mistake: this is like Menken's previous blockbuster scores, but some might not like its tongue-in-cheek attitude. As long as you can get past that and understand what kind of movie it accompanies, you'll notice the quality of the music. Menken is still at the top of his game and is the undisputed king of modern Disney music. Enchanted brings him back to fairytale mode, and he exceeds all expectations with this magnificent score that pays tribute to a lot of Disney classics in a very nice way. This soundtrack is definitely worth a listen if you've enjoyed Disney music in the 90s. Darn you, Menken, you did it again! ^^
That's it for today. Have a good time, everyone!
Yours,
Mikko
I was positively surprised by the recent Donald Duck comic which was dedicated entirely to Giorgio Cavazzano. You can guess how surprised I was when I realized that the comic had just one, long story (instead of many stories like we tend to have), and that story was a never-before-seen Paperinik (i.e. Duck Avenger, Donald Duck's Batman-esque alter ego who fights against criminals) story, and that was quite good too. The translation was great with many funny puns, and it was nice to see the Beagle Boys in a surprisingly menacing role (heck, at one point they almost killed one of Donald's nephews -- something I haven't seen in other stories from Cavazzano, and I'm surprised Disney had allowed such a dark twist to be published in the first place!).
I also bought a new Maxi-Tex comic (about the adventures of the ranger Tex Willer) named Oklahoma!, and it was an alright story. I liked the buildup and how it dealt with people migrating to the west and the troubles they had when trying to establish law and order to lawless areas. Racism was discussed at length as well, and there were some tragic deaths going on. All the main characters are developed well enough, and you'll learn more about these people and their pasts as the story progresses. There's even a romantic subplot, but I felt it wasn't developed well enough and just came out of the blue.
I would've wanted a bit more character development for some of the heroes and especially for the villains. There's only one or two scenes where you really feel dread as you see the villains at their most evil, but there's never really a sense of danger, not even in the climactic showdown, and thus the finale seems a bit lame. One important ingredient of a good story is to have effective villains, but unfortunately the story revolves more around the heroes and thus doesn't give enough emphasis on the villains. However, Oklahoma! is still a good enough story on its own and worth a read with its nice characterizations and discussions on important political matters. And it's a thrilling adventure story as well.
Sephiroth1999AD had a birthday party on Saturday, and I bought a present for him and went to his house. We joked about a bunch of stuff and talked about various kinds of things, and then other guests came. Seph showed us a couple of clips from Final Fantasy concert, mostly parts from "Aria di Mezzo Carattere", and "One-Winged Angel" and its encore, although there were a couple of others as well. He also played some of his midi files, and we watched a couple of YouTube videos of Globus, Nightwish ("Amaranth" is a nice song) and a couple of others. We went to eat some cake which was good, and eventually we left.
I managed to buy The Jungle Book Platinum Edition. I haven't watched it nor its extras yet, but a member from UltimateDisney took a screencap from one of the behind-the-scenes featurettes, and that sparked my interest. The screencap shows Glen Keane, the supervising animator of Rapunzel, and (surprise, surprise) you can also see some concept art of Rapunzel and possibly her prince (unless that is an early sketch of Jim Hawkins, which wouldn't make any sense, so I stick to the explanation of it being a sketch of the prince instead). Rapunzel looks nice, and it'll be interesting to see her in that 2D/3D hybrid form which the movie Rapunzel will be. =)
I guess fate was smiling upon me when I accidentally stumbled upon a leaked version of the coming Enchanted soundtrack with songs and score by Alan Menken. I, of course, immediately rushed to listen to the soundtrack of this Disney movie, and here's what I thought of it:
Before I continue, you should know that Enchanted isn't the typical Disney movie, because it actually makes lighthearted fun of Disney conventions such as people bursting into song, damsels in distress, princes, evil witches etc. Thus Alan Menken's score and songs and Stephen Schwartz's lyrics do have certain campy elements in them in order to fit into the lighthearted mood of the movie. But does this attitude actually hurt the score and the songs, or do they still have Disney magic left?
The album opens with the songs that will be heard in the movie. The first track, "True Love's Kiss" is the highlight of the songs, IMHO. It opens with a nice choral opening, and then moves to a lovely bit by Amy Adams who sings it with an innocent and nice way, and soon she's joined by children's choir, which makes me think of "God Bless Us, Everyone" finale from A Christmas Carol. And just when you think it's over, you suddenly get a big reprise of the song sung by both Amy Adams and James Marsden in a lovely duet, and the whole thing ends up with a Menken-esque choral finale. When I heard Marsden sing, I was "WTF?" because he has a gorgeous voice and he can really sing. This song mixes elements from Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast in a way that is hard to pinpoint, but the elements are definitely there. However, the campy attitude isn't far because the lyrics are quite hilarious at times, but still the song remains graceful and true to its Disney roots.
The next song, "Happy Working Song" borrows elements from Snow White and Cinderella, maybe more from the former, and Adams seems to mimick Snow White's singing style but with a more tolerable way. This one is even more hilarious in its orchestration, singing and especially lyrics, and from what I've heard from what's going on in this scene, the hilarious stuff seems appropriate. Just when you get used to the happy attitude, there comes an interlude (or maybe it's a cleverly disguised reprise mixed into the track) which has some elements from Beauty and the Beast, but then it gets back to the Snow White attitude. Adams is really having fun with this song, and she enjoys every minute of it.
The third song, "That's How You Know" brings to mind the quick calypso rhythms of The Little Mermaid with some nice lyrics. Amy Adams and some guy start singing, and eventually more and more of the orchestra and choir join them in a lovely way. I assume this is the bit playing during the Central Park scene, and if that's so, it'll be a very fitting song to that environment.
The fourth song, "So Close" is an interesting mix of pop and orchestra, and it seems it might have something to do with Dempsey's character as far as the lyrics go, although its pop roots might also make it part of some montage or even the end credits. It'll be interesting to find out where it's actually played, but its sad, heartbreaking melody and overall melancholy in its lyrics seems kind of out of place when compared to the other, more spirited songs. Actually, now that I've watched the trailers again, I think this song might be played during the ballroom sequence, and that would make this song a strong candidate for Robert's theme. In any case it starts out as more of a pop song but brings the orchestra in occasionally, and the effect is quite dramatic. It reminds me a bit of the songs of Hercules and Home on the Range.
The fifth song, "Ever Ever After" is the song played during the end credits. Its style makes me think of the songs from Bridge to Terabithia and even a bit from Home on the Range, and despite its pop roots it's quite nice in the way it references especially "True Love's Kiss", and its lyrics finish the story in the similar way like Brother's Bear's end credits piece did.
The first score track on the album, "Andalasia", starts out in a nice, pastoral way by bringing the "Happy Working Song" and "True Love's Kiss" themes quietly into the score, and in some ways reminds me of the calming moments from Beauty and the Beast as well as the innocent bits from The Little Mermaid when she was touring Eric's kingdom. Overall it's a nice track establishing the kingdom of Andalasia in a spirited way. There's even a hint at a famous wedding march played for a humorous effect with the attempt to emulate Cinderella's epic moments but with a subdued way.
"Into the Well" is more ominous as the villainess Narissa's plot unfolds. There are some great foreshadowing elements of both Narissa's theme and Giselle's songs, and the ominous The Hunchback of Notre Dame -esque choir makes an entrance as well. There's some quiet, contemplative underscore before Menken brings in a magical orchestral and choral version of an out-of-world experience, and then a quirky rhythm takes over as Hercules-type of orchestral comedy is brought in with some funny Aladdin type of references glimpsed at every once in a while.
"Robert Says Goodbye" has a sad type of melody which hints at "So Close" and in some ways brings to mind some of the tragic moments in Beauty and the Beast and especially Pocahontas but in a more subdued fashion but eventually swells into a quick orchestral reprise of "That's How You Know" but then ends abruptly.
"Nathaniel and Pip" has an ominous and blatant tribute to the "Beauty and the Beast" song from the similarly named movie, but then things turn into a Home on the Range -esque mix of comedy and dark, dramatic elements, and there's even a glimpse of the famous funeral march mixed in. Oddly enough Menken moves to John Debney's territory by bringing in a melody that reminds me of a certain jungle chase scene in The Emperor's New Groove while referencing at least "True Love's Kiss" very quickly before moving into more ominous underscore and then to Debney-esque orchestral mayhem but it ends all of a sudden with a surprisingly dark twist, leaving the listener at the edge of his seat.
"Prince Edward's Search" is a hilarious tribute to the more heroic moments of various Disney scores like Sleeping Beauty and Snow White and has the comedic elements of Hercules and Aladdin mixed in for good measure. Some if it even reminds me of the elephant march scene from The Jungle Book, and I wonder if that was an intentional tribute by Menken or just mere coincidence, and this march theme shows the pompous attitude of Edward. =P
"Girls Gone Shopping" brings in a contemporary edge to the score by making a John Williams-esque version of the family scenes of the Hook score with guitars and whatnot. There are also references to "Ever Ever After" and "True Love's Kiss" themes mixed in, and all in all it's a lovely track surprisingly similar to some of the stuff Menken had composed for that Noel film.
"Narissa Arrives", however, is far from being a lovely piece. It starts out in John Debney's Chicken Little -esque manner by introducing a dark choral march to represent Narissa's theme, and it also references some of the darker Hunchback of Notre Dame material. The march is quite catchy and dramatic, although it's hard to hear what the choir is actually singing, and the choir moves almost constantly with the rest of the orchestra.
"Storybook Ending", with almost 11 minutes of pure underscore, opens up with an ominous, orchestral version of Narissa's theme and the light choir and orchestral melody coming in afterwards reminds me of the Cave of Wonder scenes from Aladdin. The choir takes a dramatic turn before the orchestra takes over and glimpses at a couple of the song themes. Edward's march theme is referenced quickly and then we get a nice rendition of "True Love's Kiss" which suddenly turns very tragic in a similar manner as in Pocahontas. Then there's a quick, sad version of "So Close" for piano before things turn ominous again. But then, the orchestra and choir kick in and gives us an epic version of "True Love's Kiss" and "So Close" mixed in but then Narissa's march takes over with the chanting choir, and the score kicks in a Hunchback of Notre Dame -esque final battle mode with some of Jafar's ominous stuff from Aladdin seemingly mixed in (maybe to represent the dragon?). Narissa's theme gets a great, epic treatment with some chaotic score in the background. The action material is simply stunning with all the orchestral and choral things going on, and various themes are referenced throughout the battle, but Narissa's theme always dominates the others. The choir shifts from "aah" stuff to actual singing and chanting and then to a dramatic climax which ends abruptly. Just when you think it's over, you hear a victorious reprise of "True Love's Kiss" for orchestra and choir, which is a relief after all the dark material and brings the track to a storybook end.
The final score track, "Enchanted Suite" offers a lovely medley of the three songs ("True Love's Kiss", "Happy Working Song" and "That's How You Know") as well as references to the other two songs ("So Close" and "Ever Ever After"). It starts with an energetic version of "That's How You Know", then moves to an almost waltz-like and cute version of "Happy Working Song" and then gets to a contemplative version of "True Love's Kiss" which slowly builds up to a swelling Menken-esque choral and orchestral proportions and then moves to a nice piano version with hints of "So Close" and "Ever Ever After" before bringing the orchestra and choir back in and then having a spirited, romantic finale of "That's How You Know" which surprisingly enough makes me think of the touching finale of Oliver & Company, and of course there's the obligatory choral swelling finale like in a lot of Menken's scores.
Then, as a surprise, the final track is "That's Amore", the classic song sung by James Marsden accompanied by an orchestra, a women's choir and a lovely accordion. There's even some whistling included! He really gets to show off his singing skills with this track, and his version is appropriately dramatic and romantic at the same time, and to my surprise he sounds a lot like Dean Martin in this track.
So, how the entire package, you ask? Well, although it references a lot of Disney music, particularly Menken's own, it does have originality and most importantly a heart despite all the antics that are going on. Make no mistake: this is like Menken's previous blockbuster scores, but some might not like its tongue-in-cheek attitude. As long as you can get past that and understand what kind of movie it accompanies, you'll notice the quality of the music. Menken is still at the top of his game and is the undisputed king of modern Disney music. Enchanted brings him back to fairytale mode, and he exceeds all expectations with this magnificent score that pays tribute to a lot of Disney classics in a very nice way. This soundtrack is definitely worth a listen if you've enjoyed Disney music in the 90s. Darn you, Menken, you did it again! ^^
That's it for today. Have a good time, everyone!
Yours,
Mikko