'Songs are the close-up': Why Disney tunes differ in movies and musicals

Alan Menken, composer of the songs in Disney’s "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin", believes the right combination of music, lyrics and story can transport audiences to "A Whole New World."

Currently, Disney has three movies that have been adapted into now-touring musical productions: "Frozen", "The Lion King" and "Aladdin." Aladdin is touring across Canada, making stops in Ottawa, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.

Menken joined CTV's Your Morning on Monday, to explain how songs are performed in movies compared to the stage, and what working with different mediums is like as a composer.

"In film, you have close-up, so you can sort of see what somebody's thinking," Menken said. "On stage, in a way, songs are kind of like the close-up. So there are more song moments in the (stage) musical than, let's say, in a film musical."

With fellow Disney composer Howard Ashman, who died in 1991, Menken composed multiple versions of the songs in the animated version of "Aladdin."

"So there was a rich trough to pull from, enriching the story and telling it as a stage musical," Menken said.

Disney has been producing live-action adaptations of its animated movies, too, including the latest: "The Little Mermaid."

Menken said working on the new movies brings up memories of composing the songs for the original movies and watching them on VHS with his daughter.

"The only safe space in the world were these movies," Menken said. "I definitely felt that we were contributing something that was very, very big and powerful."

 

To watch the full interview with Menken click the video at the top of this article.