I just watched something I’ve been wanting to see forever, The Making of Aladdin: A Whole New World hosted by John Rhys-Davies. True parts of it did make it to the 2004 SE DVD and yes the animators do tell the same as they’ve done in the Making of book and again in interviews. But this making of documtentry took me back 16 years ago when Aladdin was the latested and greatest the Disney animation studios pulled out of their pencils.
As you might know in an earlier script the peddler would reveal himself to be genie. A demo of Arabian Nights Reprise ended up on Music Behind the Magic, a four cd box with music and songs from The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. This set included Proud of Your Boy and various other songs that didn’t make it to final film like Humiliate the Boy and Count on Me all three where on the special edition DVD. A missed opportunity was to include this song with storyboards.
The creators of Aladdin and the King of Thieves, the third and last Aladdin film in where Aladdin meets his long last father Cassim and finally marries Jasmine, liked the song so much they used at the end of the film. This and the marriage scene made me often feel a bit down when I thought that there would be no more Aladdin after this. Al and co made a few cameo appearances and Jasmine got her own little film but it’s not the same.
The PC MS-DOS version of the Virgin Aladdin video game was by far the best of all the ports to inferior consoles. It had higher resolution, something like 480 x 320, better graphics with more detail, smoother animation some of inbetweener’s that worked on the film contributed to the game a first in video game history and the game had stereo 44 kHz 16-bit sound with a bigger wavetable (pre-recorded music notes) than any of the consoles. Worth noting that at the time, we’re talking early 90′s, the PC was still developing itself into a game system and so things like soundcards weren’t yet integrated into the mainboard like today’s modern systems. Most common where Creative Sound Blaster 2.0 or Pro compatible cards.
Worth noting is that today The Little Mermaid will play it’s last preformance in the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. With just 685 preformances and 50 previews it’s the shortest Broadway run adaption of an animated Disney movie. Alan Menken’s new songs will live on in a national tour in the works for 2010 with future international versions as well.
Aladdin vetran Jonathan Freeman will have it’s last curtain all as Grimbsy at least on broadway.
Like I wrote earlier Aladdin composer got his ouvre award for his work and influnce on musical theatre. As an extra five european Belle’s did a melody of Home, Change in Me and Beauty and the Beast in Dutch, Spanish, Italian German and Russian.
On June 8 during the live John Kraaijkamp Musical Awards show Alan Menken will be presented an award for his accomplishes in and contribution to the musical.
Mr. Menken is best known for his score and songs in the 90′s Disney box-office animated features like Aladdin, Pocahontas, Hercules and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He has also played key roles in bringing some of those films to Broadway and beyond. And he has made contributions to non-Disney musicals like Little Shop of Horrors and the recent stage adaption of Sister Act.
Jim Hill editor Alex Ogle attended “An Evening with Alan Menken” back in February. I haven’t checked Jim Hill’s site for some months and didn’t come across any other mention of Alan Menken giving a concert If I had I surely had blogged about it before.
Alex mentioned how Alan Menken talked some about his old friend the way to eary lost to us genius Howard Ashman and the story of how Howard fought to keep Proud of Your Boy in the film. Alan remised that story before on the 2004 DVD and in the 1992 making of book I believe. Alan opened the evening with Beauty and the Beast and closed it A Whole New World
Alan Menken warms the Brits up for Sister Act the musical. Alan teamed up yet again with Glenn Slater (Home on the Range, Mermaid musical). Based on the book by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner and inspired by the boxoffice hit with Whoopi Goldberg from 1992. The show is directed by Peter Schneider former President of Feature Animation for The Walt Disney Company and partly resposible for the Golden 90s films.
Meesh wished Disney Records had put Princess Jasmine’s introduction scene on the soundtrack. This as response to a fandub by Fidget Goblinweb It reminded me that I had that piece of music as part of the near complete movie soundtrack I got from a blog last year. I mentioned it on here about six months ago. It seems the owner pulled the plug. Shame
The track has elements that was later used in the exclusive Aladdin Musical Spectacular song “To Be Free”
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The BCC Radio show Friday Night is Music Night has a special of on Disney music 2 weeks ago on December 26th. The West End cast of The Lion King plus many guest preformed melodies from classic Disney films like Snowwhite, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. A Whole New World was sang by Heather Headley (1997 Broadway Nala) and Adam Pascal (98 – 00 Aida Radames). Kerry Butler also was guest to sing songs from Snowwhite and the seven dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid. On her recent CD Kerry sang the cut-song “Call Me A Princess”
There doesn’t seem to be an option on the site to listen too older shows.
“Op Zoek Naar Joseph” or “J?” is the Dutch version of the television audition show “Any Dream Will Do” where 11 consterest are fighting for the viewers sympthy and support to win the leading male role of Joseph in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The famous hit Andrew Lloyd Webber musical based on the Bible story “Coat of Many Colors” You’re probably famillair with the show as it was co-written by Tim Rice. Who we all know as lyricst on Aladdin.
The format was used first for the British revival of The Sound of Music searching for the leading lady Maria and in 2008 Nancy was found for Oliver! In the US NBC viewers voted Laura Osnes and Max Crumm as the new Sandy and Danny in Grease That’s the backstory on to J?
It happens not much that Disney songs are heard on mainsteam Dutch television/media. Dutch Disney voice actors and actresess who have stage success as musical preformer do their promo songs but like Tarzan even got a short TV audition for the lead male and the Dutch Beauty and the Beast stage show got lots of promo gigs. I heard Kala and Belle solos in last year’s “Op Zoek Naar Evita”. The way Belle/Jane understudy won and is now finalishing her tour as Evita.
But those are musical versions of the film not the film songs themselves (the lyrics changed) so you can imagine the delight to hear a reasonable Go To The Distance 3 weeks ago. The same finalist, Mathijs, got to sing Proud of Your Boy last Sunday on the 4th live show. Rumors go that he might make to the final 3 but eventunally will be voted out in favor of Freek (Enjolras in Les Miz) or John (Tarzan understudy). He doesn’t have enough control over his voice, he trembeles in the long high tones and his text control like he puts the accent on the wrong words and his overal English isn’t that great.
