You forgot one thing. The voice, the hideous voice. I call it the drill press aesthetic, the winsomeness of a table saw slicing through cor-10 steel, the unromantic necromancy which creates children possessed of the pipes of Ethel Merman. Whatever training creates ability to assume banshee levels of vocal projection through the screen into the center of the skull, it must be exorcised. It’s the aesthetic of Erivo, unironically witch-shrieking her ululations (talk about wicked), stereo beam-formed into a lance straight between the eyes, no subtlety, no emotion other than projection and broadway belting.
And sadly; the interval of the perfect fifth, always an echo of the huntsman’s horn, or misty mountains on the edge of a forest, a medieval Arthurian sound, the sound of “Heigh-Ho” is replaced by an octave, a power-pop interval suited for drill press asthetic, but the poor 7 dwarves relegated to a yelp instead of a call.
True. There's no loveliness to the female voices. It's all skull-splitting volume and harshness. And all these Disney "princess" songs of the past couple of decades sound exactly the same.
Interesting. I agree voices are indistinguishable now - post-Frozen, every princess song is an Elsa/Let It Go wannabe belter. I also miss the purity of voices like Illene Woods as Cinderella. However, what about people like Paige O'Hara who did the voice of Belle in Beauty And The Beast (1991)? Or Lea Salonga as Mulan/Princess Jasmine (1992). Do their voices aggravate you the same way - just curious!
O’Hara is much more reminiscent of Julie Andrews, the center of her voice is pitched higher and she doesn’t achieve these incredibly shrieky power-pop vocalizations.
That having been said she sings for stage, not for film.
Lea Salonga in the song I heard is pitched slightly higher but descends immediately (Reflections) into broadway power belting. Unpleasant. Why didn’t they use Bette Midler?
Older films tended to use idiosyncratic voices. In beauty and the beast the most interesting voice is Angela Lansbury, who sounds human and has warmth.
There is also a tic, they land on a note without vibrato, pause, crescendo, then hit the vibrato hard. That’s the Drill Press style. DeeeeeeeeeyooOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW!
The other thing is the songs are all “I” songs I want this I will get this I will be. The girl I’m meant to be.
I can’t find a mention of the word love in Mulan, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast. On the other hand SNaTSD is saturated, Dumbo, etc. Pinocchio (when you wish upon a Star).
Snow Whites big wish is to take the place of the evil queen.
Beauty and the Beast was my absolute favourite too.
Anyway, great piece.
You can’t beat the original Disney movies.
Agreed. I have particular nostalgic fondness for Lady And The Tramp.
Love that movie
You forgot one thing. The voice, the hideous voice. I call it the drill press aesthetic, the winsomeness of a table saw slicing through cor-10 steel, the unromantic necromancy which creates children possessed of the pipes of Ethel Merman. Whatever training creates ability to assume banshee levels of vocal projection through the screen into the center of the skull, it must be exorcised. It’s the aesthetic of Erivo, unironically witch-shrieking her ululations (talk about wicked), stereo beam-formed into a lance straight between the eyes, no subtlety, no emotion other than projection and broadway belting.
And sadly; the interval of the perfect fifth, always an echo of the huntsman’s horn, or misty mountains on the edge of a forest, a medieval Arthurian sound, the sound of “Heigh-Ho” is replaced by an octave, a power-pop interval suited for drill press asthetic, but the poor 7 dwarves relegated to a yelp instead of a call.
True. There's no loveliness to the female voices. It's all skull-splitting volume and harshness. And all these Disney "princess" songs of the past couple of decades sound exactly the same.
I think the last lullaby from Disney was 1964 in Mary Poppins. Compare a song by Julie Andrews to these Ethel Murman banshees.
Interesting. I agree voices are indistinguishable now - post-Frozen, every princess song is an Elsa/Let It Go wannabe belter. I also miss the purity of voices like Illene Woods as Cinderella. However, what about people like Paige O'Hara who did the voice of Belle in Beauty And The Beast (1991)? Or Lea Salonga as Mulan/Princess Jasmine (1992). Do their voices aggravate you the same way - just curious!
O’Hara is much more reminiscent of Julie Andrews, the center of her voice is pitched higher and she doesn’t achieve these incredibly shrieky power-pop vocalizations.
That having been said she sings for stage, not for film.
Lea Salonga in the song I heard is pitched slightly higher but descends immediately (Reflections) into broadway power belting. Unpleasant. Why didn’t they use Bette Midler?
Older films tended to use idiosyncratic voices. In beauty and the beast the most interesting voice is Angela Lansbury, who sounds human and has warmth.
There is also a tic, they land on a note without vibrato, pause, crescendo, then hit the vibrato hard. That’s the Drill Press style. DeeeeeeeeeyooOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW!
The other thing is the songs are all “I” songs I want this I will get this I will be. The girl I’m meant to be.
I can’t find a mention of the word love in Mulan, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast. On the other hand SNaTSD is saturated, Dumbo, etc. Pinocchio (when you wish upon a Star).
Snow Whites big wish is to take the place of the evil queen.
Yay