Originally Posted By Doobie This topic is for Discussion of <a href="http://www.LaughingPlace.com/Latest.asp?I1=ID&I2=1510" target="_blank">The Latest: Latest: Randy Newman chosen to do the songs for Th</a>
Originally Posted By koobar boo hiss...say it ain't so! talk about a slight return to bad studio intervention.
Originally Posted By TheRedhead I pray that the only reason for this is because Menken and Slater are already spread so thin? It's hard to be optimistic about this news. Really? Randy Newman? Really??
Originally Posted By leemac <<I pray that the only reason for this is because Menken and Slater are already spread so thin?>> Nope. They want to do it. Alan is desperate to get animated musicals back on the agenda.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA <Alan is desperate to get animated musicals back on the agenda.> Alan Menken? Or John Lassiter? Or both? I'm a big fan of Disney animated musicals [didn't quite understand why they had to drop them so completely], so I'm glad to know that they're getting them on the front burner. Randy Newman -- He's terrific with I'm trying to remember his musicals that have words -- you know, characters singing the songs and so forth... 'Cats Don't Dance' was a fun, more conventional musical. But the 'Toy Story' and 'Nemo' are more of the 'narrative' type of songs. Yuhknowwhatemsayin?
Originally Posted By leemac <<Alan is desperate to get animated musicals back on the agenda.> Alan Menken? Or John Lassiter? Or both?>> Alan has been worked very hard since before the Pixar deal to get his style of musical back on the agenda. John has said similar things but it seems he would rather have Randy. I cannot conceive of a Disney musical with Menken music. I'm not a fan at all of Randy Newman (I find his tunes instantly forgettable) and I would prefer to see Alan engaged throughout the story process to formulate the songs.
Originally Posted By ToonKirby >Randy Newman -- He's terrific with I'm trying to remember his musicals that have words -- you know, characters singing the songs and so forth...< "James and the Giant Peach".
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA ok, there's one. But I can't remember one singable song in 'James and the Giant Peach.'
Originally Posted By tcsnwhite I give John some credit to at least TRY to give someone else the chance to do a disney musical. Alan would have fit like a glove, but maybe something different will come out of this. Still, I am not sold on the idea, and if Alan and Glen WANTED to do the film, they really should have done it. Obviously they already had great interest in it. hmmmm, we'll see. =)
Originally Posted By actingforanimators Having not heard the pitches each composer made to Musker and Clements, and not knowing the particular of what the Directors are seeking for their project, I find it difficult to properly judge this choice from any perspective other than personal preference. I do know, however, that there are several things to consider in this scenario: 1. This Directing team is getting 100% support on this project, and it is ultimately their choice as far as who gets the nod 2. The project has a decidedly contemporary bent,and Menken is simply not strong in contemporary music. 3. It is set in New Orleans and the deep South, and, although born in Los Angeles, Newman moved to and grew up in New Orleans as a small child and spent a significant portion of his childhood there. He has a keen understanding of the musical influence and origins of this region. (You may recall his song "Louisiana 1927" recorded in the late 1970's - it was re-recorded by Aaron Neville after Katrina and became an enormously popular and fairly ubiquitous selection on radio stations across the country) Regardless, nobody will be able to properly judge the merits of Randy Newman's work until its debut, so everything else until then is speculation. Taste aside; expanding the Disney "sound" and opening up the animated musical genre to something unexpected is very appealing to me, personally. And, again - personally speaking - for all the extraordinary songs Alan composed and wrote with his several lyricist collaborators over the decades, none has had as deep emotional impact and profoundly powerful presence in a film as Jesse's "When She Loved Me"
Originally Posted By jdub Eeek--I've always thought the weakest link in most of the Pixar movies is the music. Newman's music. <<Taste aside; expanding the Disney "sound" and opening up the animated musical genre to something unexpected is very appealing to me, personally.>> I have to agree with that; some Disney freshness would be GREAT! This means, of course, not continually going to 70's pop stars for sound track help.
Originally Posted By tcsnwhite "3. It is set in New Orleans and the deep South, and, although born in Los Angeles, Newman moved to and grew up in New Orleans as a small child and spent a significant portion of his childhood there. He has a keen understanding of the musical influence and origins of this region. (You may recall his song "Louisiana 1927" recorded in the late 1970's - it was re-recorded by Aaron Neville after Katrina and became an enormously popular and fairly ubiquitous selection on radio stations across the country)" Could this be Disney's first African American princess and animated cast?
Originally Posted By TheRedhead "none has had as deep emotional impact and profoundly powerful presence in a film as Jesse's "When She Loved Me"" I agree that it's a beautiful song, and it's easily Randy Newman's best Disney song. But I think its success in the film has a LOT more to do with John Lasseter than it does with Randy Newman. And that song points to why I'm disappointed in the choice. Alan Menken and Randy Newman are about two distinctly different types of musicals: Alan's world is one where musicals have songs deeply-rooted in the plot, character-specific, and plot driving. He's Broadway. Like Phil Collins, Randy Newman comes with a pop sensibility. A song can be sung by anyone. It need not be specific. It can simply convey mood or emotions in general terms. And both of those styles are fine. Tarzan works. Toy Story works. But I was REALLY looking forward to seeing what Glen Slater would do with a classic fairy tale if he were working story from the very beginning. The guy has HUGE potential, most of which was wasted on the mess that was Home on the Range. I prefer classic musicals. We've seen Randy Newman's attempt at a musical with truly integrated songs - James and the GIant Peach. The songs are...decent. But they add little, and the movie would be the same (if not better) without the songs. I will give Randy the benefit of the doubt. But I can't say I'm not disappointed.
Originally Posted By leemac <<And, again - personally speaking - for all the extraordinary songs Alan composed and wrote with his several lyricist collaborators over the decades, none has had as deep emotional impact and profoundly powerful presence in a film as Jesse's "When She Loved Me">> Wow. Would you really choose Jesse's song over Part of Your World or Hellfire or Transformation or Seize the Day? I really could go on. I guess it is all about musical taste. If She Loved Me felt forced to me in the movie. Just a too obvious attempt to tug at the heart strings at an "appropriate" point. I also felt it was a poor device to try and switch Woody's loyalty from Andy & the rest of the toys to the Prospector, Jesse and Bullseye. I just didn't buy it. Too neat and easy. That said I'm not a TS fan at all as I struggle to buy into the characters in the same way I can with Nemo and Monsters Inc. I appreciate both movies as a work of animation but neither has ever ellicited the same emotional response as almost any of WDFA's animated musicals. This news bothered me immensely. I know Alan and Glenn are both very disappointed (almost to the point of being upset) at having worked on the project and now it appears that their work won't reach the light of day. They really are clicking right now (as the superb Sister Act proved) and I hope Lasseter changes his mind or allow the WDFA stalwarts to choose the music. The only problem I see is that this process appears to be exactly the same as what happened on Home on the Range in that the musical theater writers are brought in too late.
Originally Posted By Pixiedust345 While I agree that Newman would bring something different to the Disney animated musical, I don't think different is exactly what Disney needs right now. Everyone wants a Mermarid/Beaty and the Beast/Aladdin experience again, why not give it to them? Also, I agree that, while I really love Newman's music, I prefer when it fills the narrative Pixar role it has been. I have no fond memories of James and the Giant Peach. I haven't heard much about The Frog Princess project at all until this piece though, can anyone direct me to more info?
Originally Posted By cheesybaby Question for Rhett: was this Lasseter's call or Ron and John's? Are all three in agreement on this?
Originally Posted By Jim There are so many incredibly talented composers out there, and I think Disney should not use Menken again on an animated fairy tale. Menken is EXTREMELY talented, but they need to get new voices in there so that people don't feel like they are watching LITTLE MERMAID again. Disney is now doing successive fairy tales again, and they need to avoid the problems they boxed themselves into in the 90s. Menken will return Disney to the style of musical storytelling which they can do on automatic pilot now, and they need to break new ground to not be pigeon-holed. That said, I enjoyed Newman's work in JAMES, but I agree that it is not comparable to any of the great Disney music, not in the least. Of course, the success of the songs are also due to the directors and story writers involved. "When She Loved Me" is an amazing song, as was "Great Spirits" and "Son of Man"; however, when Phil Collins set out to speak for characters in song in TARZAN on Broadway, his good intentions didn't equate into an enjoyable experience. That's not to say that Newman won't do well with it. Either way, I'm sure if his stuff isn't working, they'll replace him. I will also repeat what I've said before, which is the Jeanine Tesori as a choice to compose for RAPUNZEL makes me worried. Everything I've heard of hers (and I'll admit that I haven't yet heard CAROLINE, OR CHANGE) is pretty instantly forgetable. Maybe she'll be in the perfect collaboration to produce amazing work, but poor music will only hurt Disney animation.
Originally Posted By tcsnwhite Jim Hill has his latest article about all this- interesting that we were talking about it first HERE at LP !! hmmmm regardless, I do think it's a good idea to try out different composers for different films. On the other hand, is just hard to imagine Disney musicals without Alan. Still, I would like to see Alan get to do another disney animated musical sometime after The Frog Princess.
