Why A Whole New World is the Best Disney Song Ever Written

funding for Schaefer Ellis is provided by Squarespace the sponsor of today's video from websites and online stores to marketing tools and analytics Squarespace is the all-in-one platform to build a beautiful online presence and run your business more info at the end of the video so in my Disney Renaissance ranking video I said the following about a whole new world it's flawless in every way it's legitimately one of my top 10 favorite scenes in film history and I could gush about it for ages you know what add this song to the list of video topics that keep insisting I'll make eventually but never do well let's do that now first and foremost I have very little musical training so I'm sorry if I miss identify a musical term or instrument here and there but as a self-proclaimed musical theater aficionado I'd like to express why I think a whole new world perfects the very essence of musical theatre and stands tall as the best disney song ever written I mean it's my favorite at least ya SHINee is God's gift to mankind and all that but a whole new world just does it all and in order to fully describe why I'd like to talk about romantic duets in general romantic duets are among the trickiest songs to get right in musical theater I feel like I want songs are comparatively simple because with those you're just expressing a single character's desires through song these kinds of songs can feel really distinct from one another simply on account of each character's distinct goals and desires Arielle wants to live among humans Simba wants to be king Evan Hansen wants to be seen by others Seymour and Audrey want to get out of Skid Row sometimes the desires expressed in I want songs could be a bit vague and overlap like with Hercules and Pippin but for the most part I want songs or unique expressions of each character's goals and personality but love songs those are actually kind of tricky are you gonna make it about the actual act of falling in love or are you gonna really focus on the desires of the characters and how they both complete each other ideally you want to lean towards column B the ickiest love songs are the ones that are strictly about love without ever delving into who the characters are and how they personally feel about coming together a particularly bad example is love song from Pippin great musical but I thoroughly loathe this song it tells us nothing about what Pippin and Catherine see in each other it's just love now it's important to note that it's totally cool to like these songs if you personally find them catchy or enjoyable I don't but that's just an opinion and anyone could feel differently I personally find a lot of Disney songs catchy enjoyable and gorgeous such as can you feel the love tonight and kiss the girl but wait a minute these songs can I have the same problem don't they the focus is exclusively on the very concept of romance and not the actual characters themselves can you feel the love tonight in particular reeks of this problem and while I personally love it I think it's pretty obvious why so many people tend to hate it would it have been better if Simba and Nala had actually been singing to each other the whole time yes yes it would and that brings me to my next point have you noticed that Disney doesn't really do duets really think about it for a second here a whole new world is the only romantic duet that appears in any Disney Renaissance film every other Disney couple receives a pretty song in the background sung by either another character or God I guess and why does God sound like Phil Collins love is such a strong emotion which is why most popular songs are about love in some form or another and yet Disney the champions of animated musicals never let their characters express their love directly to each other the closest they got outside of Aladdin was one verse each from Simba and Nala and it's bizarre that they don't sing to each other more also there's something there which i legit forgot about cuz it's very short and exclusively takes place within the characters thoughts it's not really an instance of them singing to each other I mean I guess it counts but it's not exactly a stirring example of a duet Disney of course would later rectify this oversight during the 2010 swith to new romantic duets I see the light and love is an open door the ladder of course is just a farce for one of the characters so it's a little unfair to characterize the song as a romantic duet so let's just focus on I see the light it's a phenomenal song easily one of my favorites only brought down a bit by another case of the thinkin's since most of the song plays out in Rapunzel and Eugene's heads it lacks that element of connection and interaction until the very end of the song it makes for a beautiful moment when they do start singing to each other but it's a shame the beginning in the song has them apart but then we have a whole new world the only genuine Disney love duet where the characters are singing to each other the whole time and are also not secretly evil though I guess Aladdin is still lying about his identity but let's not worry about that a whole new world has a ton of points in its favor right off the bat it's about love the strongest thing in the world next to metal dynamite and muscles it's got the benefit of a gorgeous rich blue color scheme and soaring orchestrations that perfectly complement the carpet taking flight it's got lyrics to feel like pure poetry from shining shimmering splendid to an endless diamond sky - I don't know every other lyric they're just perfect the soaring tumbling freewheeling part is also really special because of the part where they're in midair first foot second it's just inspired a whole new world is simply beautiful in every sense of the word and it's hard to argue with that it's a treat for the senses and it outshines every other Disney duet by virtue of its focus on the characters and their connections well I think that's a satisfying enough explanation if you're a fool what do I mean a whole new world was about the two of them connecting they don't even sing about each other till like the very end of the song and even then they're not singing about the qualities they appreciate in one another they're just singing about all the sights on this carpet ride and then saying I'm glad I got to spend this time with you this isn't a song about love and to that I say a whole new world is the perfect love ballad because it is the anti love ballad it's specifically not about Aladdin trying to win Jasmine over by singing about how great she is or what a dashing guy he is it is him connecting with her by finally giving her what she actually desires not romance but adventure this is what jasmine has always wanted a chance to leave the palace and see what lies outside she doesn't want to be tied down by marriage and she hates every suitor that comes her way Prince Holly included but no one understands this not even Aladdin he tries to win her over with the notion of conventional romance cuz he just assumes that's what she wants but that's never been what Jasmine wanted and once a Landin realizes this he offers her a ride on his magic carpet after an amazing callback with the do you trust me line Jasmin climbs on board and has suddenly whisked away as the music crescendos perfectly accompanying the soaring carpet rushing into orbits okay al you got the lady in your car Pitts this is where you complement her and try to be all romantic in song form which is bound to work way better than the dialog form it's love duet time now is when you get all lovey-dovey right in a lesser musical sure but not in one this brilliance the writers understand that in order to forge a true connection between aladdin and Jasmine he has to give her exactly what she craves so he sings I can show you the world the very thing she's wanted to see throughout her entire sheltered life he asks her when she last let her heart decide which is a major source of conflict for her character she never really could and it frustrated her to no end but now she's finally getting the chance all because of him he keeps singing about all the stuff she's wanted out of life a new Fantastic point of view no one to tell her no or where to go all that stuff and you can see it in her eyes just how much wonder and excitement these prospects are giving her it's literally too much amazement for her to comprehend unbelievable sights indescribable feelings during the ride the two of them get to organically interact with a lad and picking her a flower insisting she dare not close her eyes and doing the cute lo Apple thing Jasmine meanwhile gets to finally interact with the world at large petting this horse seeing the sights waving the Egypt guy it's blatantly evident that she is cherishing every one of these moments and that this is without a doubt the best experience of her life and that's just magic there's no better word for it I think the song perfectly summarizes how the journey affects her with the lyric I can't go back to where I used to be she really can't after an adventure this mesmerized this is just one huge triumphant experience for her character and it's also a triumph for a landing because he got to share this journey of a lifetime with the woman of his dreams he's also proven that he's worth something by just being himself doing the whole Apple thing being playful mischievous not playing up the whole print stick at all during the flight he's shown someone that there is more to his authentic self than what they'd initially believed and as the journey winds down finally jasmine and Aladdin are able to connect romantically as they vowed to share this whole new world with each other because Aladdin didn't try to bombard jasmine with romance they organically come together much like earlier in the movie and this is the reason why a whole new world is the best disney song ever written it's built on the foundation of characters naturally coming together not through singing about a simplistic love but by giving each other exactly what they've always wanted a whole new world is not about the romance it's about the journey and that is why it's the most romantic song in Disney history coincidentally that is also why the stage musical and live-action remake completely butcher the song I couldn't figure out why I hated the slower sappy aversions until now they are composed in such a way that draws explicit attention to the romance and that's never been the focus of the song just compare the live-action version to the real movie for a second here [Music] without the crescendo without the fast-tempo without the carpet weaving in and out of the endless diamond sky this song is not a whole new world it's no longer about the journey but the destination the romance that inevitably awaits these characters at the end because we know the story already and these are just repackaged lukewarm adaptations Jasmine's world-changing experience is no longer the focal point of the story even though it should be if this song isn't a lightning-fast journey into the unknown no pun intended cuz frozen to is a joke compared to Aladdin that I'm sorry but you've missed the point of a whole new world entirely enjoy your shitty-ass remake where jasmine sings about an endless diamond sky as the carpet dips towards the water which last time I checked is pretty far from the sky but you know what it's okay because this won't be remembered five years from now while the original iteration of a whole new world will be remembered for generations to come it's an exceptional love ballad with a ton of intelligence majesty and above all hearts poured into every aspect of its composition and presentation it's truly awe-inspiring and I will adore it forever oh my what's that music I hear outside the window hey clear the way for this awesome sight hey bro don't you know that this thing is tight oh come 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Channel: Schaffrillas Productions

Views: 340,353

Keywords: Schaffrillas Productions, A Whole New World, Aladdin, Jasmine, Disney

Id: PPMhkP7qgSg

Length: 13min 16sec (796 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 28 2020