We love Disney songs

It is hard not to love Disney. I know there are some people who do not. I know that Disney has at times been called the Evil Empire and accused of exploiting the emotions of the gullible kids for the sake of big business. That is true. But on the other hand, Disney has only preached goodness and disseminated wholesome images, that are almost always cute, pretty, inspiring and other nice things.

So although I know that Disney is always out to make money from films, music, amusement parks, apparel, toys, etc., I still love Disney and am thankful for all it does to make this world of ours a better place to live in. I do not know if the artists who participated in the making of the album We Love Disney, also feel this way. But even if they do not, the way they sing tells the listener that they do.

Music is an integral part of the Disney franchise. Long before every home acquired TV and many years before the arrival of videos, it was music that kept the Disney myth alive and growing. People then may not have been able to watch the movies whenever they wanted but the songs kept the images in their minds. Disney was aware of this from the start and music played a big role in its productions. This was true even in the animated shorts of Mickey Mouse. 

As the years passed, Disney continued to experiment and expound on ways to use music. This went from the musical comedy styling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to the classical masterpieces of Fantasia to the Broadway extravaganza of Mary Poppins. By the time The Little Mermaid came along, Disney has placed itself abreast with current music tastes.

And with the production of albums like We Love Disney, Disney has managed to keep its music catalog, current and relevant to the times while also retaining that wonderful element of nostalgia. Snow White happened in 1939 but to this day kids, parents, grandparents and more, can go singing Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho and feel good doing so. 

We Love Disney 2015 is a collaboration between Verve Records and Walt Disney Records distributed by MCA Music (Universal Music Philippines). The album brings together hot music artists from the areas of pop, rock, R&B and country together as they reinterpret famous Disney songs in their own unique styles. The result is fantastic, a truly delightful treat for music lovers of all ages and most especially for everyone whose hearts were once upon a time charmed, gladdened or inspired by something Disney. There are a lot of those. I am sure they will love these new versions.

A Friend Like Me from Aladdin by Ne-Yo; Part Of Your World from The Little Mermaid by Jessie J; Can You Feel The Love Tonight from The Lion King by Jason Derulo; The Rainbow Connection from The Muppet Movie by Gwen Stefani; Zero To Hero from Hercules by Arianna Grande; a medley of In A World of My Own and Good Advice from Alice In Wonderland by Jhene Aiko.

I Wanna Be Like You (The Monkey Song) from The Jungle Book by the Fall Out Boy; Colors Of The Wind from Pocahontas by Tori Kelly; A Spoonful Of Sugar from Mary Poppins by Kacey Musgraves; Everybody Wants To Be A Cat from The Aristocats by Charles Perry; A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes from Cinderella by Jessie Ware; Let It Go from Frozen by Lucy Hale and Rascal Flatts; and to close, everybody gets to sing together in It’s A Small World After All. 

At the helm of the production is no other but David Foster, who may be better known nowadays as the Asia’s Got Talent judge but is really one of the greatest music producers of all time. He has done nearly everybody from Frank Sinatra to Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, Natalie Cole, Whitney Houston, Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli and so many others. Like Disney, he has been accused of not having an edge, of being too commercial, too exploitative of feelings and of pandering too much to the beautiful. I will not have him any other way. 

Foster, who is also the chairman of the Verve Music Group,  has something to say about We Love Disney that I think best sums up how the world feels about Disney music: “When the opportunity arose to partner with Walt Disney Records, I jumped on it. The Disney franchise is something that brings out the kid in all of us. No matter how old you are, three or 103, when you hear the word Disney, you light up from within. And there isn’t a person on the planet who doesn’t have a favorite Disney song. 

“We tapped into that passion with all of the artists in the album. I tried to make the songs timeless so you couldn’t tell whether they were recorded 30 years ago or 30 years from now. The Disney catalog is so amazing. You have so many songs to pick from, going back almost 80 years now. So it’s an endless treasure and one of the most rewarding projects I’ve ever done — and I’ve done a lot.”