DVDizzy Forum

Speechless from Aladdin:
https://youtu.be/mw5VIEIvuMI

Spirit from The Lion King:
https://youtu.be/qt2IhFRwdPQ

Neither song really gels in perfectly with the rest of the film's music, but I have to go with Speechless. It's just catchier and I find myself singing this song all the time. It helps that I love Naomi Scott's vocals and I've been a fan of her for a long time whereas I've never really cared about Beyonce. My favorite part of Spirit is actually the Swahili chants in the beginning of the song. It's really quite evocative and just a stunning sound so I find myself wishing it would go on rather than segway to Beyonce's voice, as beautiful as she sounds.

I don't think either of these are the greatest songs ever. As discussed in the Aladdin thread before, the Greatest Showman writers seem like they're writing for radio rather than a musical. I like "Speechless" and I love Naomi Scott, but the song does stand apart from Aladdin's soundtrack more than "Spirit" does from TLK soundtrack for me. "Spirit" is a mood / atmospheric, which is how I always felt about "Circle of Life," too. Another thing that might be worth saying is that TLK soundtrack is probably less dear to me in general than Aladdin's anyway, which may be why I’m less critical of “Spirit” and more critical of “Speechless.” "Circle of Life" is the only song from the original film I love. "CYFtLT?" is a great song, but I don't like the version in the original film. I like Elton John's version and a multitude of other versions (including Beyonce & Glover's now), however. "Be Prepared" is better than the rest of the others even if I've never been much attached to it either. I'd put "Spirit" as my favorite TLK song after "CoL," "CYFtLT," and the Broadway songs "Endless Night," "The Madness of King Scar," "He Lives in You," and "Shadowland."

I'd put B&tB's additions, "Evermore" and "Days in the Sun," far above both of these, personally.

I guess I don't need to tell you which song I chose.

I love "Speechless". I agree the lyrics could've been better, but it has a powerful message and I love the music and Naomi's voice. "Evermore" is still my favorite from the new songs from these live-action remakes, but I think "Speechless" has probably become my second favorite, followed by "Days in the Sun". The latter would've been my second if it had been more similar to the original demo.

"Spirit" is not bad and I like how Beyoncé sings it, but it's just not the style of music I like. And, in my opinion, it's not too memorable either. For a end-credits song it would've been fine, but I expected more from a song sung by Nala in the film.

Speechless of course! Both songs feature generic lyrics but at least Speechless has a very catchy tune and great vocals.

Here's how I'd rank the original songs from theatrically-released Disney movies this year. I'm sure my ranking will change once Frozen 2 comes out.

01. Speechless (from Aladdin)
02. Never Too Late (from The Lion King)
03. Hold On (from Breakthrough)
04. I'm Standing With You (from Breakthrough)
05. Extraordinary Being (from Dark Phoenix)
06. Swan Song (from Alita: Battle Angel)
07. You Can't Stop the Girl (from Maleficent: Mistress of Evil)
08. Spirit (from The Lion King)
09. Be the King (from The Kid Who Would Be King)
10. The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy (from Toy Story 4)
11. I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away (from Toy Story 4)
12. Fly (from Spies in Disguise)
13. Then There Were Two (from Spies in Disguise)
14. Freak of Nature (from Spies in Disguise)
15. They Gotta Go (from Spies in Disguise)
16. The Hide and Seek Song (from Ready or Not)

^I hadn't heard many of those songs before. "I'm Standing with You" is quite beautiful and I like "Extraordinary Being" too, especially the lyrics. I'll rank the original songs from this year too in order of preference, but only the ones I had already listened to several times:

1. Speechless (Aladdin)
2. Never Too Late (The Lion King)
3. The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy (Toy Story 4)
4. I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away (Toy Story 4)
5. Spirit (The Lion King)

I feel bad for putting "Spirit" last, but I like all the others more. The Toy Story 4 songs were a bit disappointing, but I still found them catchy, they have Randy Newman's typical style, and I loved hearing him sing again.

Another vote for Speechless.

D82 wrote: I feel bad for putting "Spirit" last, but I like all the others more. The Toy Story 4 songs were a bit disappointing, but I still found them catchy, they have Randy Newman's typical style, and I loved hearing him sing again.

Yeah the Toy Story 4 songs were really disappointing. I'm not a big Randy Newman fan but his Toy Story songs tend to be classics, yet that wasn't the case here. Maybe I need to hear the songs enough for them to grow on me.

Both songs are great, but Speechless fits better in the movie, it helped the story along. Spirit, while a great song, felt way out of place in the movie, and it ruined what should've been an awesome moment.