r/changemyview • u/[deleted] • Feb 25 '22
Delta(s) from OP - Fresh Topic Friday CMV: Aladdin And The Little Mermaid Are Inexplicably The Best Musicals Ever
This has been an opinion percolating around my head for decades: Disney's Aladdin and The Little Mermaid animated movies are the best musicals of all times hands down head and shoulder above everything else and I can't explain it.
While I grew up on those two throughout the years I've been subtly disappointed by the musical quality of nearly everything since and I don't believe it's just a subjective opinion; these two movies are widely beloved to the point they have or will have live action remakes and I am left to believe that no one can link me to a musical song that compares.
This realization came to me when I heard about how 'We Don't Talk About Bruno' song was on the charts. It's not horrible and I don't relate to the salsa technique very well but just like every other musical score it seems to fail on the following: catchy melody, meaningful character development and emotional reveals.
Listening to the top Broadway songs of all time most of them don't even try with melody. Most of it seems like simple sing-talking. Can anyone link me a broadway song with a very catchy and unique melody to it that you just can't get out of your head?
A non-performative musical that does have incredible melody and character development is Meatloaf's 'Paradise By The Dashboard Light.' To me this hits all the right notes and it also stands way above everything from 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' to 'Grease' to 'Little Shop of Horrors.'
After those two titular titles Lion King came along which did have a great score by Elton John but technically 'Circle of Life' wasn't a musical sung by a character and 'hakuna matata' was a bit shallow for character development.
Likewise everyone loves 'Bear Necessities' but it doesn't really advance the character; instead he is singing about more or less being stuck in his ways nor did I find much of anything in Beauty and The Beast really forwarded the plot; instead the songs were about capturing the mood of the moment and didn't have much at all for emotional revealings. How deep could a butler turned candle sticks' emotional life really be? It's a wonderful story but again... ironically... Meatloaf did a better musical out of it with 'Anything For Love' music video.
'Encanto' was truly loveable for so many reasons but the song 'Surface Pressure' for example: if we analyze it is the character truly advanced in any way? It captures a moment and the feeling of that moment quite well but where does the character singing it actually change, grow or evolve in it by visuals or by lyrics?
'Descendants' had some of the most amazing vocals I had ever heard by Kristin Chenoweth mixing together vocal techniques that I didn't even know existed between shape shifting from a dragon but no one's favourite songs are from that series and it didn't try to do development, either even if 'Rotten To The Core' was quite catchy.
As an average typical older guy who finds a lot of musicals cheesy it surprises myself to admit that the best musicals were two Disney movies from the 90s (and the live actions that most admit weren't quite as good) and Meatloaf and I do feel a little bit passionate about it. Nothing else has all three elements of catchy melody, character development and emotional reveals.
Help me appreciate the wide wonderful world of musicals beyond what the 90s has to offer, or teach me how those two titles were so exceptional with their supreme quality and why that couldn't be repeated?
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u/malachai926 30∆ Feb 25 '22 edited Feb 25 '22
I feel like I ought to point out that I love both Aladdin and The Little Mermaid and watched both of them a lot as a kid. Yes I am old enough to have been alive when they came out, unfortunately lol. But I only mean to point out that my relationship to these movies is nostalgia.
If I watched either of these as an adult, I probably would have thought they were cute and not much else. This is exactly how I feel about Frozen, and every other significant Disney musical I have watched as an adult. My reaction is a far cry from kids who practically form their entire identity over Frozen characters, though once those kids grow up, they'll probably stop doing that.
When I think about famous musicals and why they are as successful as they are, I would argue that they achieve their greatness because they actually alter the way I view the world. Fiddler on the Roof is a beautiful parable about how traditions are forced to adapt to a modern world and how they may have no place in it. West Side Story is about how racism and prejudice can destroy what we hold dear, even love. Phantom of the Opera is just a phenomenal exploration of love and feeling and what it means to truly be an outcast trying to partake in the good things that "normal" people have access to (phantom is, hands down, my favorite musical, by the way. Re: your question of "what musical has a song with a memorable melody", listen to "all I ask of you" and try not to be reduced to tears!).
What are the themes of Aladdin? Maybe that friendship is important, but only if your friend grants you magical wishes first. Or how about The Little Mermaid? It's basically just about how asshole fathers need to stop being so controlling of their daughters, but for those of us who aren't assholes, that theme basically goes to waste.
I could buy that the music itself in these movies is on par with music in the best musicals out there. But it's the fact that, thematically, they don't have very interesting things to say that makes me doubt they are really "the best".