Movies That Should Be On Stage: Disney On Broadway

by Daniela

Some of you may or may not know that I’m an avid listener of the Rotoscopers: Animation Addicts Podcast and I also love their website. In fact, they were actually the inspiration to start this blog when I first mentioned the idea to Justine. Earlier this year they posted a list of Disney Classics they’d love to see on Broadway (which you can check out here) and it made me think about what movies I’d like to see turned into full-blown musicals. So although this may be a similar list, these are my own reasons.

Over the last year or so, I’ve started to really enjoy listening to cast recordings like Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Wicked and Newsies so I’m fairly new to the Broadway fandom (if you have any show suggestions for me, please comment them down below or leave me a message on tumblr). I enjoy musicals even though I don’t even know how a show is put together. So please excuse my very unexperienced point of view. I’ve only seen a handful of musicals in my 21 years. The first being one in Philippines with THE Lea Salonga, unfortunately I can’t even remember what it was called… I was 5 or 6. I did see Beauty and the Beast when I was 10! Now I constantly check the ticket websites and try and find the next big show playing in the city.

Disney has had its hand in Broadway musicals and they’re pretty good at it. Just check out their Tonys and nominations! Their most recent venture is an adaptation of Aladdin and they are also currently working on developments for The Jungle Book and also Frozen’s big break on Broadway (it was bound to happen). They’re also responsible for bringing Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Tarzan, and The Little Mermaid to life on stage. Other shows also include Mary Poppins, Aida, Newsies and many more. So here’s a few more movies I’d love to see make their Broadway debut.

Beauty and the Beast

Top 10: Disney "I Want" Songs

by Daniela

An "I Want" song is a monologue of sorts that defines what the character uhhh wants. For protagonists it's usually the start of the hero's journey and shows us what their main goal for the movie will be. Villains can have "I Want" songs too ahem HELLFIRE. But since I've already made a post about villain songs, we'll be focusing on our beloved heroes! As always, this is all my own opinion and just the order of songs that I prefer. Also, I had a hard time narrowing these down so I'm going to cheat a little bit and have my honourable mentions at the end.

10. One Jump Ahead (Reprise) - Aladdin

Aladdin wants people to find out that there's so much more to him! Unlike it's original, it's much slower and shorter. Part of me wishes it was a bit longer but I even though it's only a few lines long, it's incredibly effective and one of the most memorable scenes in the film. Fun fact, a song called Proud of Your Boy was deleted early on in the development of the movie and it would have made an amazing addition to this list. Fortunately, it made it into the Broadway production and it's pretty much amazing. You can check out Adam Jacobs (Aladdin on Broadway) singing Proud of Your Boy with the legendary Alan Menken on the piano HERE. (Prepare your tissues!)