Before I get into the writeup, let me say that this and the upcoming four songs (that is songs #6-2) are all so extremely close that they could swap places on my ranking at any time and not feel out of place- song #1 is the only one I feel strongly enough about to keep at a constant ranking. That said, the ranking I've decided on is how I feel about them at this exact moment, so they are official.
6) A Whole New World
From: Aladdin
Nominated by: DoctorBIind
Simply put, this song is beautiful. In fact, it's beautiful enough to be the only true romantic song that has never left my top 10 (not just in this list, but of all Disney songs period) at any time. That could be all I need to write about it, but I'm gonna type up some more.
If you take it at face value, "a whole new world" can just mean the vast expanses beyond the palace of Agrabah, which of course Jasmine has never been free to travel. You know... you'd think as a freakin' princess she would have the right to go wherever the hell she wants, but I guess Middle Eastern princesses (during whatever time frame this takes place in) had about as many "rights" as certain oppressed Middle Eastern women today- not many. Anyway, they're seeing these many breathtaking sights and hearing all sorts of melodious sounds that they- an impoverished street urchin and a sheltered princess have never seen or heard before and sharing these experiences together leads to something more...
It's just really sweet. Aladdin's voice isn't very strong on its own, but when the two of them sing together they harmonize extremely well because Jasmine has a sharp, clear and powerful voice- which is atypical of someone who sings in such a high key (I find women who sing in high keys to either have soft voices or powerful opera star soprano voices with there rarely ever being an in-between like Jasmine's)- that more than compensates for Aladdin's vocal shortcomings. That said, Jasmine isn't quite carrying the song by herself despite being the stronger voice. While both are nice on their own, when they're singing together is when the song's true potential is unlocked. My favorite part of the song is when they're alternating singing parts, or more accurately when one is singing about his or her experiences and the other is adding in or speaking to the first. It's just interesting how well they play off of each other.
Also interesting is that they travel over Egypt, Greece, and China. That statuette they pass in Greece looks like the cherub that Megara turns away from her in I Won't Say I'm in Love. And that thing going on in China looks a lot like an Imperial festival like they were having near the end of Mulan. I wonder if later animators had these things in mind when they did their respective movies.
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Thanks Drak - http://img.imgcake.com/drakeryn/genesissagajpgat.jpg
You're such a kid! By fr0q. - http://img.imgcake.com/genirisjpgde.jpg