Category Archives: Soundtracks

Sleeping Beauty “Hail to the Princess Aurora” (1959)

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Cinderella “So This is Love” (1950)

Cinderella Part 2

Cinderella “So This is Love” (1950)

In her new carriage, Cinderella finally arrives at the castle where the ball is already underway. The Prince stands at the head of a receiving line where every single maiden is being presented to him. Cinderella (in her sparkling Christian Dior-inspired dress) arrives and attracts the attention of everyone, particularly the Prince, who brushes right by Cinderella’s stepsisters and asks her for a dance. This leads to “So This is Love” also known as “The Cinderella Waltz.” Unlike Snow White’s songs, Cinderella isn’t exactly singing while she dances, the words reflect her thoughts as she dances with the man of her dreams. While this love scene goes on, several things happen at once. The King orders the Grand Duke to give the couple some privacy (as he is desperate to see his son married) and Lady Tremaine becomes suspicious about who this mysterious young lady is. But before she can get a closer look, the Grand Duke shuts the curtain and doesn’t let her get any closer to the pair.

Mmmmmm, Mmmmmm
So this is love, mmmmmm
So this is love
So this is what makes life divine
I’m all aglow, mmmmmm
And now I know

And now I know

The key to all heaven is mine

My heart has wings, mmmmmm
and I can fly

I’ll touch every star in the sky
So this is the miracle that I’ve been dreaming of

So this is love

In terms of tone (and placement in the film), “So This is Love” is Cinderella’s equivalent to “Someday My Prince Will Come.” Both are waltzes, and both come not long before the climax of the story. The song ends and the couple is clearly in love, but just as things are getting interesting, the clock begins to strike midnight! This is the part that always confused me. If they are truly in love (and the Prince may marry any eligible maiden he chooses), what does it matter if the spell breaks and Cinderella’s dress goes away?

The original concept for “So This is Love” involved Cinderella and the Prince appearing to dance in the clouds (a concept that eventually reappeared at the end of Sleeping Beauty). There was supposed to be a different song as well for this sequence, titled “Dancing on a Cloud,” the lyrics of which survive:

Dancing on a cloud
I’m dancing on a cloud
When I’m in your arms the world is a heavenly place

Dancing in a dream
I’m dancing in a dream
For how can I help but dream when I see your face
before me

Love is on its way
And as we gently sway
The moon and the stars appear bringing romance
for two

I just can’t believe that I found you
I just can’t believe that it’s true
Yet here am I dancing high on a cloud with you
Dancing on a cloud, I’m dancing on a cloud

While the lyrics are different, the sentiments expressed in “So This is Love” are still present, Cinderella and the Prince are completely in love at first sight and they want this moment to last forever. Let me know what you think about “So This is Love” in the comments below and have a great day!

Cinderella “Sing Sweet Nightingale” (1950)

Cinderella “The Work Song/Cinderelly, Cinderelly” (1950)

Cinderella “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” (1950)

Disney/Dreamworks/Pixar/etc. Soundtracks A-Z

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Cinderella “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” (1950)

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Cinderella “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” (1950)

After having her dress destroyed, poor Cinderella has finally reached her breaking point and just when she is on the verge of giving up, *POOF* here is her Fairy Godmother! And with the power of magic, Cinderella will be able to go to the ball after all! The Fairy Godmother was voiced by Verna Felton, who played a number of roles in Disney films during her career, including the Queen of Hearts, Aunt Sarah (in Lady and the Tramp), Flora in Sleeping Beauty, and Winifred the elephant in The Jungle Book (a posthumous role as she passed away before the film was released).

Listening to this song brings back all the good memories of childhood. The melody practically bounces from one note to the next, this is because the primary melody is a string of triplets (groups of three notes, see the number three under or above each group, that signifies a triplet.) Also, it’s really fun to try and say the nonsense words! During the song, some of Cinderella’s mice friends become horses, while her dog and horse become a coachman and a footman.

Salago-doola
Menchicka boola
Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo
Put ’em together
And what have you got?
Bibbidi-bobbidi-Boo

Salago-doola
Menchicka boola
Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo
It’ll do magic
Believe it or not
Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo

Now salago-doola means
Menchicka boole-roo
But the thingmabob
That does the job
Is bibbidi-bobbidi-boo

Oh…

Salago-doola
Menchicka boola
Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo
Put ’em together
And what have you got?
Bibbidi-bobbidi…
Bibbidi-bobbidi…
Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo

While all of this looks lovely, there’s still the matter of Cinderella’s dress, which the Fairy Godmother almost forgets. Allegedly, Walt Disney’s favorite piece of animation is the moment Cinderella receives her ball gown (which was always one of my favorites as well). Of course, with any bit of magic, there is always a catch: the spell that created her carriage, her dress and everything else, will break at the last stroke of midnight “and all will be as it was before.” Essentially, the Fairy Godmother is giving Cinderella her one chance to make her dreams come true, so she needs to make the most of it. That being said, I always wondered why Cinderella had to leave before the spell broke, surely if the Prince really loved her she could tell him the truth (I’m probably missing the point, I know).

As I’ve gotten older, I can’t help but notice the irony in this situation. If Lady Tremaine had let Cinderella come to the ball in her homemade dress, it’s possible the Prince would’ve never noticed her in the first place. But because she had to be spiteful, Cinderella receives a magical gown that guarantees she will be noticed.

Let me know what you think about “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” in the comments below and have a great day!

Cinderella “Sing Sweet Nightingale” (1950)

Cinderella “The Work Song/Cinderelly, Cinderelly” (1950)

Cinderella “So This is Love” (1950)

Disney/Dreamworks/Pixar/etc. Soundtracks A-Z

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Cinderella “The Work Song/Cinderelly, Cinderelly” (1950)

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Cinderella “The Work Song” (1950)

The message Cinderella gets at the end of “Sing Sweet Nightingale” is the one announcing a royal ball where “every eligible maiden is to attend” so that the Prince may select a bride. This does include Cinderella and Lady Tremaine knows that perfectly well. However, as she herself says, “IF Cinderella can finish all the chores, get her sisters ready AND have a suitable dress to wear, THEN she may indeed come with them.” The key word in that entire sentence, is IF (as a kid it took me years to understand that Lady Tremaine never intended for Cinderella to come with them at all).

The mice and birds, hearing the stepsisters and Lady Tremaine keeping Cinderella busy by running all over the house, are furious and decide to work on her mother’s dress so that she can go to the ball in spite of her stepfamily. This leads to “The Work Song.” I personally love this song, especially the opening part where Jaq is imitating the nagging voices of the family.

“Poor Cinderelly. Every time she find a minute, that’s the time that they begin it! Cinderelly! Cinderelly!”
“CINDERELLLLLLA!!!” (Jaq kicks the door shut in disgust)

Cinderelly Cinderelly
Night and day it’s Cinderelly
Make the fire!
Fix the breakfast!
Wash the dishes!
Do the mopping!
And the sweeping and the dusting!
They always keep her hopping!
She go around in circles till she very, very dizzy
Still they holler…
keep-a busy Cinderelly!

“Yeah, keep-a busy. You know what? Cinderelly’s not goin to the ball.”
“What?”
“Not goin?”
“What did you say?”
“You see. They fix her. Work, work, work. She’ll never get her dress done.”
“P-P-P-Poor Cinderelly.”

“Hey! We can do it!”
We can do it, we can do it,
We can help-a Cinderelly
We can make a dress so pretty
There’s nothing to it really.
We’ll tie a sash around it
Pull a ribbon through it
When dancing at the ball
She’ll be more beautiful than all
In the lovely dress we’ll make for Cinderelly

Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry
Gotta help-a Cinderelly
Got no time to dilly dally
We gotta get-a going

I’ll cut it with these scissors
And I can do the sewing
Leave the sewing to the women
You go get some trimming
And we’ll make a lovely dress for Cinderelly
Yes, we’ll make a lovely dress for Cinderelly!

Of course, to finish the dress on time, the mice end up…borrowing…a few things that Anastasia and Drizella threw away (particularly a necklace and a sash (the ribbon that ties around the waist). You can’t blame the mice for taking them since the two sisters clearly don’t want these items (deriding them as “worthless” and “trash.”) However, you also have to know that incorporating some of her stepsister’s belongings into the dress practically guarantees that this isn’t going to end well for Cinderella (even though she knows nothing about it). Despite knowing the fate of this dress, it’s still fun to watch the mice and birds come together to make a nice dress for Cinderella.

Let me know what you think about “The Work Song/Cinderelly, Cinderelly” in the comments below and have a great day!

Cinderella “Sing Sweet Nightingale” (1950)

Cinderella “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” (1950)

Cinderella “So This is Love” (1950)

Disney/Dreamworks/Pixar/etc. Soundtracks A-Z

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Cinderella “Sing Sweet Nightingale” (1950)

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Evolution of Disney: Cinderella Part 1

Cinderella “Sing Sweet Nightingale” (1950)

Anastasia and Drizella are taking music lessons from their mother and we are “treated” to the sound of Drizella’s…..talents….followed in contrast by Cinderella’s take on the same melody. This song is special because in it, Walt Disney pioneered the use of double tracked vocals (years before the Beatles did the same thing). A double tracked vocal is when you record an artist singing a song, then record it again and have the artist sing in harmony with the first recording. Ilene Woods did this at least four times, to create a four part harmony with her own voice, and the results are spectacular.

Oh, sing sweet nightingale
Sing sweet nightingale
High above me
Oh, sing sweet nightingale
Sing sweet nightingale

High above
Oh, sing sweet nightingale
Sing sweet nightingale, high
Oh, sing sweet nightingale
Sing sweet nightingale
Oh, sing sweet nightingale
Sing sweet
Oh, sing sweet nightingale, sing
Oh, sing sweet nightingale
Oh, sing sweet
Oh, sing

One of my favorite animations in Cinderella comes when all the different “bubble Cinderellas” sing together. This song also highlights Cinderella’s beautiful singing voice (in comparison to the Drizella’s singing voice and Anastasia’s questionable ability on the flute). You know I think this scene is further proof that Lady Tremaine is completely blind to the realities of her daughters. Anyone with half an ear can see that these two have no musical talent whatsoever, but does Lady Tremaine chastise them for being off-key? Nope!

Like most of the scenes in Cinderella, this scene was also filmed in live action before it was animated and I love looking at the picture of the actresses playing Drizella and Anastasia because it’s almost exactly like the final animated version.

Let me know what you think about “Sing Sweet Nightingale” in the comments below and have a great day!

Cinderella “The Work Song/Cinderelly, Cinderelly” (1950)

Cinderella “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” (1950)

Cinderella “So This is Love” (1950)

Disney/Dreamworks/Pixar/etc. Soundtracks A-Z

Become a Patron of the blog at patreon.com/musicgamer460

Check out the YouTube channel (and consider hitting the subscribe button)

Don’t forget to like Film Music Central on Facebook

Cinderella “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” (1950)

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Cinderella “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” (1950)

A lot has happened since Walt Disney released Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to worldwide acclaim. World War II has come and gone, along with a string of several flops at the box office. Heavily in debt, Disney agreed to produce another animated feature film, this time using the classic fairy tale Cendrillon by Charles Perrault as the inspiration. Begun in 1948 and released in 1950, Cinderella was hailed as the greatest animated film since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and is widely considered to be one of the greatest animated films ever made. The future princess was voiced by singer Ilene Woods. She had become friends with songwriters Mack David and Jerry Livingston, and one day they called her over to record demo tracks for three songs: “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo,” “A Dream is A Wish Your Heart Makes,” and “So This Is Love.” When Disney heard the recordings, he hired Woods immediately to voice Cinderella, choosing her over 300 other girls who had auditioned.

Like Snow White before her, Cinderella is living life under the whim of her brutal stepmother Lady Tremaine and her mean stepsisters, Anastasia and Drizella. They also have a devious black cat named Lucifer, who is always trying to catch the mice and birds that are Cinderella’s friends and helpers. While her stepfamily enjoys a luxurious life, Cinderella is forced to do all the chores in her own home. It’s during this time that she rescues a new mouse from Lucifer and names him Gus.

Cinderella sings at the start of another day about how important dreams are, that “dreams are wishes your heart makes.” This is how Cinderella goes through life. Compare the opening of this song to any song that Snow White sings and you’ll see the difference. Whereas Snow White was a high soprano (Adriana Caselotti was an opera singer later in life), Cinderella’s vocal range is closer to that of a contralto (lower than a soprano, but still with a fairly wide range of notes). Keep in mind that over a decade has passed since Snow White was released, and musical styles have changed greatly since then.

A dream is a wish your heart makes
When you’re fast asleep
In dreams you will lose your heartaches
Whatever you wish for, you keep
Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling through
No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
The dream that you wish will come true

(Speaking)
Oh, that clock!
Old killjoy.
I hear you! “Come on, get up,” you say!
“Time to start another day!”
Even he orders me around.
Well, there’s one thing.
They can’t order me to stop dreaming.
And perhaps someday…

(Singing)
The dreams that I wish
Will come true

La-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
La-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm-hmmm-hmm-hmm-hmm
La-da-la-da-da-da-da-da-dee
Hmm-mm-hm-mm-mm-hmm-hmm-hmm
La-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-dee
La-da-da-da-daaa-da-da-da
Hmm-hmm-hmm-hm-hmm-hmm-hm-hmm

No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
The Dream that you wish
Will come true

This song does a good job in establishing what Cinderella is like, she’s the eternal optimist (she has to be, given the circumstances). Let me know what you think about “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” in the comments below and have a great day!

Cinderella “The Work Song/Cinderelly, Cinderelly” (1950)

Cinderella “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” (1950)

Cinderella “So This is Love” (1950)

Disney/Dreamworks/Pixar/etc. Soundtracks A-Z

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Check out the YouTube channel (and consider hitting the subscribe button)

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Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs “Some Day My Prince Will Come” (1937)

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Snow White “Some Day My Prince Will Come” (1937)

“The Silly Song” is immediately followed by Snow White’s final song in the film “Some Day My Prince will Come,” where she sings to the dwarfs about how she’ll be reunited with her Prince someday and all will live happily ever after. Apparently there was supposed to be a dream sequence to accompany the song but the production either ran out of money or it wasn’t coming up to Disney’s standards, so it was cut. Musically, the song is a gentle waltz (in 3/4 time).

Some day my prince will come
Some day we’ll meet again
And away to his castle we’ll go
To be happy forever, I know

Some day when spring is here
We’ll find a love anew
And the birds will sing,
And wedding bells will ring
Someday when my dreams come true

While “Some Day My Prince Will Come” is a beautiful song, I have a big problem with Snow White being in love with the Prince at all. Leaving aside the fact that Snow White is only 14 years old (yes, really, that’s how old she’s supposed to be), there’s no getting away from the reality that Snow White has seen the Prince once. And that wasn’t even a proper conversation, it consisted of one “Hello” and a brief love song. Even Aurora and Prince Philip spent more time together! Still, despite all that, it is a nice last song from Snow White.

Let me know what you think about “Some Day My Prince Will Come” in the comments below and have a great day!

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs “With a Smile and a Song” (1937)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs “Whistle While You Work” (1937)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs “Heigh Ho” (1937)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs “Bluddle-Uddle-Um-Dum/The Washing Song” (1937)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs “The Silly Song” (1937)

Disney/Dreamworks/Pixar/etc. Soundtracks A-Z

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