For many of us, Walt Disney Studios' animated features provided a port of entry into the many worlds of Walt Disney. Our love for the characters and our emotional investment in their adventures make Disney connections that often last a lifetime. The stories, the artwork, the characters, and the music from Disney feature films also continue to inspire and inform the creative output from the Walt Disney Company. New Fantasyland, for example, draws inspiration from films created in 1938, 1989, and 1991. The characters that populate the newest Magic Kingdom parade leap from the screen to entertain guests accompanied by memorable music from animated features. This legacy of Disney music seems to speak to each generation.
This fall, Walt Disney Records began a series of multi-disc CDs that celebrate this legacy, aptly named the “Legacy Collection.” If you are like me, you might wonder if these new sets are worth the investment, especially if you already own previous soundtrack recordings. Let’s take a look at the four discs released thus far.
The Lion King 1994
As one of the most successful animated features of all-time, The Lion King’s legacy reverberates through the Disney theme parks, particularly Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Unlike the initial soundtrack release—which placed vocal selections before the instrumental score—this new release of the soundtrack puts all the original tracks in their proper order. Listening to the soundtrack in now akin to watching the film, complete with previously unreleased bits of instrumental underscoring.
The second disc contains a variety of excerpts from the “special edition” DVD release, including “The Morning Report,” a song originally introduced on Broadway. There are also many demo versions of familiar songs and themes. For students of film music, these demo recordings offer intriguing insights into the creative process. The second CD also contains the Elton John versions of the familiar “Circle of Life,” “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?,” and “I Just Can’t Wait to be King.”
For fans of this landmark film, this CD is a must. Even casual fans of the film will enjoy hearing the entire score in its original order. The only disappointment is that none of the theme park music inspired by The Lion King is included here. Legacy, by definition, means “anything handed down from the past” or “something that inspires later generations.” This film did inspire many attractions, parades, and shows at the Disney parks, and it would have been nice to have some representation of this music on this legacy collection.
The Little Mermaid 1989
This film officially ushered in the Second Golden Age of Disney Animation, and its score continues to delight and amuse children and adults alike. The first disc presents the familiar tunes in their original order, complete with instrumental underscoring, some of which has never been released on CD. The infectious “Under the Sea,” the bouncy “Kiss the Girl,” and the iconic “Part of Your World” have lost none of their charm or appeal. If anything, the songs in this film have grown more endearing over the years. This longevity is due to the wonderful vocal performances by Jodi Benson and Samuel Wright; much of the lasting appeal of Ariel and Sebastian is directly due to their perfectly matched voices.
The second CD offers demos of the vocal pieces, performed by composers Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. While it’s interesting to hear these songs in their initial form, I can’t imagine listening to these demos again. On the other hand, the instrumental demos, with Alan Menken on piano, are amazing and worth repeated listening.
Sleeping Beauty 1959
Envisioned by Walt Disney as the ultimate fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty represents the art of animation at its zenith. The intricate layers of hand-painted cels, the stunning backgrounds, and the memorable characters all make Sleeping Beauty a piece of art that will never be equaled for its artistry or visual splendor. The score matches these visual glories with its depth and beauty. Inspired by the Tchaikovsky ballet, long-time Disney composer George Bruns outdid himself here. The breadth of emotions, the sweep of the story, and the intricacy of the animation are enhanced by Bruns’ soaring, unforgettable score.
The first CD in the legacy set presents the score, complete with vocals, in its original order. The recording is crisp, bright, and truly stereophonic. This is one score that never grows old, and one that will forever capture the beauty and majesty of the film it accompanies.
The second disc includes amusing demos, including a clever little ditty sung by the three Good Fairies. The best part of disc two, however, are two stunning orchestral suites conducted by Tutti Camarata, another long-time Disney musical collaborator. Best of all, the disc features the album versions of “Blue Bird/I Wonder” and “Once Upon a Dream,” sung by none other than Aurora and Philip (Mary Costa and Bill Lee). Hearing these “complete” album versions was an unexpected joy, one that I know other fans of this film will treasure as well.
Mary Poppins 1964
To describe the joys of this film, and this recording, would be practically impossible. Suffice it to say that this three-disc collection is the definitive presentation of one of filmdom’s greatest scores.
The first disc contains the entire score, starting with that wonderful “Buena Vista” fanfare and ending with the memorable “End Credits.” The vocal performances of this film have long been available, but the incredible underscoring by Irwin Kostal was released only a few years ago. They are included here, and listening to them without the visual element of the film is a truly moving experience. Tasteful, masterful, and meaningful, Mr. Kostal’s work here is truly inspired, and it has always bothered me that he did not win an Oscar for his work on this wonderful film.
Disc two is full of unexpected goodies. There are many demos sung by composers Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. Listeners will hear the youthful exuberance in the composers’ voices; they love these songs as much as we do. Included here for the first time are a fair number of new recordings of “lost chords:” songs that didn’t make it into the final film. Several of these pieces are performed by Juliana Hansen in the role of Mary Poppins, and it is especially interesting to listen to her version of “The Eyes of Love,” a song that was originally envisioned as Mary Poppins’ signature tune.
Disc three features excerpts from the infamous story meetings with author P.L. Travers; in fact, these tapes provided the inspiration for last year’s acclaimed film Saving Mr. Banks. These audio clips offer a fascinating look into the creative process as well as the personality of one of literature’s premier authors of children’s books.
There are two other highlights—inclusions that, at least for me, merit the purchase of the entire set. The first is the final track on disc two: “Overture [Album Version].” I grew up with the original vinyl version of the Mary Poppins soundtrack, and the incredible overture, showcasing the true genius of Irwin Kostal, is significantly longer than the overture that appears in the final film. In fact, it contains a fanciful instrumental version of “Jolly Holiday,” some references to the Admiral Boom Theme, and a brief “Feed the Birds” reference in the finale. It is presented for the first time on CD, and it is wonderful. This one track makes this release “practically perfect in every way.”
The final track on disc three is also interesting. It’s a radio program called “Hollywood Spotlight” and features the composers, Julie Andrews, Dick van Dyke, Irwin Kostal and others involved in the film’s creation. Dick van Dyke is hysterical, and Julie Andrews as lovely as ever. The interview highlights one inaccuracy found in Saving Mr. Banks that bothered me last year. The film erroneously contains a scene depicting the creation of this song taking place during the story meetings with Mrs. Travers. In fact, the iconic “Spoonful of Sugar” was not composed until after Julie Andrews signed onto the film. She suggested that “Eyes of Love” was too direct for Mary Poppins, and thus, the Shermans composed “Spoonful of Sugar” to express Mary Poppins’ philosophy.
Closing Thoughts
The four films featured thus far in the Legacy Collection represent the wide variety of creative output from the Walt Disney Studios, and each deserves the first class treatment of a legacy edition. Put these wonderful recordings together with the informative liner notes, add original artwork in the style of Mary Blair, and you have four gifts that will please even the most discriminating Disney fans on your Christmas list.
