I assumed that the answer to the above question was “yes.” (And I have to admit here that I’ve never seen this movie or its live musical version. Our family has never been great fans of the Disney animated features, with the exception of Beauty and the Beast. But maybe now I’ll watch it, because I’ve gotten very intrigued by its creation.) So anyway, The Lion King has the distinction of being a Disney animated film based on an original story rather than a known source.
Disney films
Just How Sappy and Goopy Can I Get about “When She Loved Me”?
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Image accessed via Wikipedia
And the answer is: Very. Like, a lot.
The funny thing is, when we first got our music in fall 2018, as part of a concert I sang with my own choir, the Cherry Creek Chorale in the Denver area, I didn’t recognize this song, just noting that it was by Randy Newman (“Mr. Mucus,” as far as I’m concerned—sorry, fans!). Then something our conductor said about Toy Story jogged my memory and I looked it up. How could I have forgotten this lovely rendition by Jessie the cowgirl doll? She’s explaining to Woody how she ended up in a toy warehouse: she was Emily’s favorite toy until Emily grew up. The song ends with Jessie being left in a donations box by the side of the road. She’s bought by a toy collector and ends up in storage.
That memory released a flood of nostalgia about my son’s childhood and his interactions with the TS franchise. There he is, running around the house with his Batman cape on, shouting his version of Buzz Lightyear’s motto: “To definity and beyond!” (It was a sad day when he got the word right.) And there we are after attending a showing of TS2 with Gideon saying, “I don’t like Stinky Pete!” To which I kept saying, “But honey, you’re not supposed to like him. He’s the bad guy.” To which he’d reply, “I don’t like Stinky Pete!”
What’s the Historical Background of “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah”?
As I often say when writing these posts: Hoo boy. There ended up being lots to say about this supposedly simple song. My purpose in writing this post, as with all that I do, is to deepen your understanding of what you’re singing (or hearing, if you’re reading this post as an audience member). Along with the lighthearted words and fun arrangement of this piece there’s a darker background arising from its source material, both immediate and historical.
So let’s see—where to begin? I guess with the fact that “Zip” won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1947; it had been performed in the 1946 Disney film Song of the South by James Haskett, a black actor who played the part of Uncle Remus. This movie is intriguing for a couple of reasons: 1) it mixes animation and live action, and 2) Disney has never released it in its entirety in the US on tape or digitally. I’m sure there are pirated versions out there, especially since the film was “re-released” several times. (You can watch the film in segments on YouTube.) And why has Disney kept this item in the vault? Here’s a good explanation: