The original monaural recording for Dumbo's "Pink Elephants on Parade" is no different than it is in the film (duh). I always found it's opening bouncy, as well as it's middle (the chorus bit) being chilling and downright catchy.
Sometime after I got the "Big Top Edition" of Dumbo in 2006, I decided to check out the French and Spanish tracks. To my surprise, there was an unheard underscore that was actually meant to play during the chorus' bit, but was ultimately cut out of the original English track. Yet, for some strange reason, Disney apparently decided to distribute it to foreign countries, rather than just remaster it into the 5.1 English mix, as I've actually heard it in not one, but in almost EVERY other foreign language. The missing underscore resembles the song's opening march-themed-tune greatly, but is briefly extended to fill in certain moments (the vocal echo of the term "Pink Elephants" near the chorus' end, for example).
Listen to runtime 2:00 all the way to 2:57 from the Cantonese version of the song and you'll clearly hear the underscore:
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While here's what it WOULD have sounded like if it were in the English version (this was done by yours truly, by the way). Just skip to 2:43 to hear the edited chorus cue:
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qLgl3KCM7sY&co ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qLgl3KCM7sY&co ... edded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
So riddle me this: Why do you think this underscore was originally cut out, and should it have stayed?
My answer? My mindset before I heard the unheard cue was that it was more chilling to just hear the chorus with barely any music. Quite frankly, it worked for a scene like this. But AFTER I heard the score, I seriously would have loved for this bit to have originally been in the film; it's a bit more bouncier with it.
So what's you're opinion? Should Disney have left it OUT (which they did), or should they have left it IN?
Fire away.
