DVDizzy Forum

ProfessorRatigan wrote:"Staging, lighting and design come triumphantly together when the hero takes his Princess for a breathtaking ride on a magic carpet with no visible means of support. I don't often find myself applauding a special effect, but this one is really special. Beautifully, stunningly done, it has the benevolent side effect of taking our minds off the accompanying song A Whole New World, the score's one real dud with lyrics so dumb they can only have been supplied by Tim Rice after Ashman's death."

Thank god someone finally said it.

Why did this reviewer say that, and you agree? I thought "A Whole New World" was considered the best song from the whole film.

Disney Duster wrote:

ProfessorRatigan wrote:"Staging, lighting and design come triumphantly together when the hero takes his Princess for a breathtaking ride on a magic carpet with no visible means of support. I don't often find myself applauding a special effect, but this one is really special. Beautifully, stunningly done, it has the benevolent side effect of taking our minds off the accompanying song A Whole New World, the score's one real dud with lyrics so dumb they can only have been supplied by Tim Rice after Ashman's death."

Thank god someone finally said it.

Why did this reviewer say that, and you agree? I thought "A Whole New World" was considered the best song from the whole film.

I never liked it, myself. Films are exercises in manipulation, to be sure, and never more so than when a musical's love ballad makes its appearance. "World" just felt pat and flat and formulaic to me--it's a nice sequence to watch, but the song seemed like it could have just as well been in some other movie. But the love ballad is a tough nut to crack. Pretty much every other tune in the film offers greater opportunity to touch on exposition or setting or character...

Isherwood's review in the Gray Lady is a good one:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/21/theat ... .html?_r=0

A Whole New World is my favorite song in the whole damn film. I could take or leave the rest of the score although Friend Like Me is catchy. C'mon. the rest of the score ain't much. One Jump? Prince Ali? What else is there? (I'm talking film score not stage which I'm not familiar with but I doubt there's anything there better than A Whole New World.) Like Pocahontas this is basically a one song score, imo.

One Jump Ahead is my favorite song from Aladdin as it's a great set up and introduction to who Aladdin is and shows us what Agrabah is like and what Aladdin has to do to get through life and it's just a fun, catchy and upbeat number.

OMG where did the Aladdin bashing come from ?

The soundtrack is great.

Arabian Nights is a great introduction into the movie

One Jump Ahead is catchy and exciting and shows Aladdin's life and struggle and how he deals with it

Friend Like Me is bright and upbeat and has that classic Disney wonder and imagination

Prince Ali is powerful and uplifting parade song, that shows power and wonder

A Whole New World is a beautiful love duet between the main couple and again shows that classic Disney wonder

Prince Ali reprise while not the greatest villian song ever, is a good slap in the face to the main character.

moviefan12 wrote:One Jump Ahead is my favorite song from Aladdin as it's a great set up and introduction to who Aladdin is and shows us what Agrabah is like and what Aladdin has to do to get through life and it's just a fun, catchy and upbeat number.

This ^

I can't see the show, but by judging by the songs leaked up on YouTube- High Adventure, Aladdin's Friends song, and others are fantastic inserts into the story, making the soundtrack stronger.

carolinakid wrote:A Whole New World is my favorite song in the whole damn film. I could take or leave the rest of the score although Friend Like Me is catchy. C'mon. the rest of the score ain't much. One Jump? Prince Ali? What else is there? (I'm talking film score not stage which I'm not familiar with but I doubt there's anything there better than A Whole New World.) Like Pocahontas this is basically a one song score, imo.

While I do like the other songs, I feel mostly the same way. I know the lyrics leave something to be desired in "AWNW," but it has a nice melody and it succeeds at its only goal (to be romantic). My favorite song from the film is "Prince Ali" and its reprise, but "AWNW" is the next best thing. "One Jump Ahead" and "Friend Like Me" are both great/hilarious songs in the moment, but don't leave much impression. EDIT: I completely forgot about "OJA (Reprise)," which I love!

"Arabian Nights" is good for what it is. I don't really judge introductory, mood-setter songs like this or "Fathoms Below" as harshly for whatever reason.

Comparison between the film and the stage adaption:

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/theater/disn ... 97881.html

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Disney Duster wrote:

ProfessorRatigan wrote:"Staging, lighting and design come triumphantly together when the hero takes his Princess for a breathtaking ride on a magic carpet with no visible means of support. I don't often find myself applauding a special effect, but this one is really special. Beautifully, stunningly done, it has the benevolent side effect of taking our minds off the accompanying song A Whole New World, the score's one real dud with lyrics so dumb they can only have been supplied by Tim Rice after Ashman's death."

Thank god someone finally said it.

Why did this reviewer say that, and you agree? I thought "A Whole New World" was considered the best song from the whole film.

Yeah, sorry, but I've always thought A Whole New World sucked. It's got a pretty melody, I guess, but even comparing JUST the melodies, Kiss the Girl and Beauty and the Beast are easily better tunes. Tim Rice, I've always felt, is an atrocious lyricist. To go from Ashman's brilliance to Rice's hackery is...well, I can't call it 'palatable.' Just LOOK at the lyrics, separated from the melody:

"I can show you the world
Shining, shimmering, splendid...
Tell me, princess, now when did
You last let your heart decide?"

...I'm going to stop there before I puke. Now, compare them to Ashman lyrics:

"There you see her, sitting there across the way.
She don't got a lot to say, but there's something about her...
And you don't know why, but you're dyin' to try,
Ya wanna kiss the girl..."

See the difference? Ashman READS like everday speech being sung, even divorced of the melody. If you read those lines, it'd sound RIGHT, even without the music. Read the above Rice lyrics aloud. Notice how...clunky and foreign they sound?

It also annoys me that, in the song, Rice uses phrases like, "every moment Red Letter," which is a CATHOLIC expression, referring to Red Letter Days. Why the hell is our supposedly Muslim leading lady using Catholic jargon? It's just sloppy, sloppy, sloppy all around. Tim Rice tells you what to feel. Ashman tells you what the characters are feeling. And that's a major difference.

I must confess, I only like a few songs Tim Rice ever had a hand penning. "Be Prepared," "King Herod's Song," (from Jesus Christ Superstar) and "Why Me," Jafar's deleted song.

Really? They're taking notice of how the song was written twenty-two years after the movie was released?

disneyboy20022 wrote:Pre-orders are now available on Amazon. Use the link below to support dvdizzy.com

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Digital release is May 27th. Dunno why they have them on different dates...

teej wrote:

disneyboy20022 wrote:Pre-orders are now available on Amazon. Use the link below to support dvdizzy.com

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Digital release is May 27th. Dunno why they have them on different dates...

Do you know the track listing?

From the programme;

Arabian Nights
One Jump Ahead
Proud of Your Boy (includes One Jump Ahead Reprise as a lead in)
These Palace Walls
Babkak, Omar, Aladdin, Kassim
A Million Miles Away
Diamond in the Rough
Friend Like Me
Act One Finale (Friend Like Me Reprise/Proud of Your Boy Reprise)
Prince Ali
A Whole New World
High Adventure
Somebody's Got Your Back
Proud of Your Boy (Reprise II)
Prince Ali (Sultan Reprise)
Prince Ali (Jafar Reprise)
Finale Ultimo (Arabian Nights Reprise/A Whole New World Reprise)

So probably that plus the Overture (and maybe the Entr'acte but I wouldn't expect that as it wasn't on the Mermaid or Newsies cast albums).

For some reason, I was thinking it looked so short, but I think that was only in comparison to TLM which had sooo many songs...

But to be fair, Mermaid had a lot of shorter reprises though.

Gosh, I do love that soundtrack though, I'd forgotten how much.

Well I got my tickets for this garbage. Not looking forward to it at all, but I have an open mind as always.

Lady Cluck wrote:Well I got my tickets for this garbage. Not looking forward to it at all, but I have an open mind as always.

If you're not looking forward to it, just don't go

I must say that I find Tim Rice to be a brilliant lyricist. Do not forget that he wrote the lyrics to The Lion King (songs like Be Prepared and I Just Can't Wait to Be King are clever and witty). Jafar's cut song "Why Me" does also feature some really clever lines. Also, his lyrics for Evita are simply brilliant. So much history and so many historical facts told through cleverly written songs - catchy, moving and smart songs. I think A Whole New World does the job it was meant to do, it is a catchy and dreamy song about falling in love and it was really, really popular (the only Alan Menken song to reach #1 on Billboard Hot 100).

Lady Cluck wrote:Well I got my tickets for this garbage.

If you hate it so much, then why go ?

It's too bad the OBC recording is so far away.