Alan Menken News & Discussion

[Disney's Divinity]

I'm sure Miranda will get it eventually; Disney will help him. You know, I was reading back a few pages in this thread looking for that quote about Tangled I remembered from Menken, and I was reminded of how things seemed to change very suddenly for Menken when Lasseter was ousted (he was invited back to do a song on Ralph Breaks the Internet). I wonder if him winning this award is another case of that weight being lifted, that Disney actually pushed for him to get this award? And even though I'm not a fan of Miranda, I can imagine him pushing Disney in Menken's favor, too, if he really is the fan of TLM he claims to be. And since Miranda is Disney's golden child at the moment (who knows why, you'd think they'd be more grateful to the Lopezes), maybe his influence would mean something?

Who knows. I just think it's funny all these years it seemed like Disney wouldn't even push anything by Menken to be nominated at the awards when Lasseter was in charge. And then he suddenly wins for a children's show that didn't even have great ratings? Feels like a wind change to me. I'd be surprised if he ever made music for a new WDAS film again, but at least the studio doesn't seem against him anymore.

[Sotiris]

I'm a bit disappointed Menken missed out on a Primetime Emmy nomination for The Little Mermaid Live!, but I'm not surprised. Variety Special (Live) is competitive category and The Little Mermaid Live! was not received well. The video/live performance hybrid format put a lot of people off. Hopefully, they'll rethink this approach for future productions. If you want to put on a live show, you need to go all in.

[D82]

I just think it's funny all these years it seemed like Disney wouldn't even push anything by Menken to be nominated at the awards when Lasseter was in charge. And then he suddenly wins for a children's show that didn't even have great ratings? Feels like a wind change to me. I'd be surprised if he ever made music for a new WDAS film again, but at least the studio doesn't seem against him anymore.

Personally, when it was announced he would make the songs for the show I was sure he would finally get the Emmy. I was even more convinced when I saw the quality of the first songs. But after all the snubs, I had lost almost all hope. I'm glad it finally happened because I don't know if he would have had many more opportunities after this show.

I hope he makes music for at least one more WDAS film, but now that he's working at Skydance I see it even more difficult than before. I'm glad he's gotten the opportunity to work on an animated film again, though, even though it's from the studio led by Lasseter.

[Farerb]

Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda Will Perform Together at Virtual Walt Disney Family Museum Fundraiser:
http://www.playbill.com/article/alan-me ... fundraiser

[Disney's Divinity]

I hope he makes music for at least one more WDAS film, but now that he's working at Skydance I see it even more difficult than before.

I think it's more possible he could do a WDAS film again now than any time in the last decade, with power having shifted there. He's also worked at Dreamworks, I think, but I don't think that would stop him from going back to WDAS. He still does things for other parts of the Disney company after all. Who knows what the future holds.

[D82]

I think it's more possible he could do a WDAS film again now than any time in the last decade, with power having shifted there. He's also worked at Dreamworks, I think, but I don't think that would stop him from going back to WDAS. He still does things for other parts of the Disney company after all. Who knows what the future holds.

I had forgotten he was going to do a film for Dreamworks, but it seems that was cancelled and I don't think he has done anything else for them. But you're right that he has worked for other studios and that hasn't stopped him from returning to Disney. However, he usually provided just one song or the score to these projects and now he's doing a full musical for Skydance. And I'm not sure things have changed for him with the new management at WDAS. If Disney had offered him an animated film, he probably wouldn't have gone to Skydance. Anyway, what I meant is that right now I don't see it very likely, but I agree that he could return to WDAS in the future.

[Farerb]

An Evening with Alan Menken:
https://youtu.be/ns0ordtTo4Y

[Sotiris]

Alan Menken, Glenn Slater, and More Sign On for Animal Farm Musical Adaptation
https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/A ... n-20201203

[Disney's Divinity]

I always liked Animal Farm. It'll be interesting to see how it can work as a musical.

[Redadoodles]

Am I the only one who thinks Alan's scores are kinda weak now.. I mean sometimes when I listen to Enchanted, Tangled or the score for the Beauty And The Beast's remake, I feel like he got lazy and just reuses some of his old cues.

[Disney's Divinity]

I expect you're not the only one, but I can't say I agree. "Kingdom Dance" is better than half the songs on the Tangled soundtrack (thankfully we got a TV show without those directors involved to finally get something worthwhile with those characters). You're probably right about Enchanted though. I think that one's weaker because he tries to imitate the older films... Actually, now I think of it, I think it makes sense if he re-uses cues on Enchanted (an ode to the past) and B&tB 2017 (a remake)?

[D82]

Alan Menken, Glenn Slater, and More Sign On for Animal Farm Musical Adaptation
https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/A ... n-20201203

I'm glad he's working on a new musical. I know Animal Farm is a very famous story, but I haven't read the book or seen any adaptation of it. I've thought of watching the animated film several times, but I haven't done it yet. I guess the fact that it's a political allegory makes me think it's going to be boring. Now I have another incentive to watch it.

Am I the only one who thinks Alan's scores are kinda weak now.. I mean sometimes when I listen to Enchanted, Tangled or the score for the Beauty And The Beast's remake, I feel like he got lazy and just reuses some of cues.

What do you mean by reusing cues, that he uses the melodies from the songs in the score or that some of his current compositions sound like things he has made in the past?

[estefan]

Redadoodles is likely referring to the latter. Although this is a common thing with composers. If you listen to enough scores by composers like John Williams, Danny Elfman, James Horner, Alan Silvestri, Jerry Goldsmith, Hans Zimmer, Michael Giacchino and the Newman family, you begin to recognise familiar cues. For example, Giacchino's score for "Doctor Strange" had echos of his work on "Star Trek" and Randy Newman's score for "Marriage Story" had a very "Toy Story" feel to it. Although I see reused cues from composers less to do with laziness and more to do with them having a signature style and they will inevitably write similar pieces. Remember, there are only so many musical notes.

[Redadoodles]

I expect you're not the only one, but I can't say I agree. "Kingdom Dance" is better than half the songs on the Tangled soundtrack (thankfully we got a TV show without those directors involved to finally get something worthwhile with those characters). You're probably right about Enchanted though. I think that one's weaker because he tries to imitate the older films... Actually, now I think of it, I think it makes sense if he re-uses cues on Enchanted (an ode to the past) and B&tB 2017 (a remake)?

Well, both Tangled and BB2017 copy Enchanted score in some places. "Narissa's theme" for example is heard when Belle tries to make a rope out of her curtains.

Redadoodles is likely referring to the latter. Although this is a common thing with composers. If you listen to enough scores by composers like John Williams, Danny Elfman, James Horner, Alan Silvestri, Jerry Goldsmith, Hans Zimmer, Michael Giacchino and the Newman family, you begin to recognise familiar cues. For example, Giacchino's score for "Doctor Strange" had echos of his work on "Star Trek" and Randy Newman's score for "Marriage Story" had a very "Toy Story" feel to it. Although I see reused cues from composers less to do with laziness and more to do with them having a signature style and they will inevitably write similar pieces. Remember, there are only so many musical notes.

Goodness yes.. James Horner's signature one is almost insulting. He used the exact same notes all the time notably in Zorro, Deep Impact, The Perfect Storm and Troy. Before I noticed that he did that, I thought I was going nuts and confusing those films.

[D82]

Redadoodles is likely referring to the latter. Although this is a common thing with composers. If you listen to enough scores by composers like John Williams, Danny Elfman, James Horner, Alan Silvestri, Jerry Goldsmith, Hans Zimmer, Michael Giacchino and the Newman family, you begin to recognise familiar cues. For example, Giacchino's score for "Doctor Strange" had echos of his work on "Star Trek" and Randy Newman's score for "Marriage Story" had a very "Toy Story" feel to it. Although I see reused cues from composers less to do with laziness and more to do with them having a signature style and they will inevitably write similar pieces. Remember, there are only so many musical notes.

That's true. And it not only happens with composers, but with other artistic jobs as well, like film directors, painters, photographers, etc. who tend to explore similar topics or styles in their works over and over again. Personally, I love Alan's style, so I've never really been bothered by that, plus in my opinion he works on a really wide range of styles and I don't usually find his music repetitive, but I can see why others could feel differently about this.

I also agree it has less to do with laziness and more with them having a signature style. Although, maybe you're right in the case of the remakes of Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, Redadoodles, since Alan himself said he prefers to work on original films. It's possible he felt less motivated than usual working on them and didn't make a big effort with their scores. Though, of course, another reason why they're not too different from the scores of the animated originals is that these two remakes in particular don't deviate much from them.

"Kingdom Dance" is better than half the songs on the Tangled soundtrack (thankfully we got a TV show without those directors involved to finally get something worthwhile with those characters). You're probably right about Enchanted though. I think that one's weaker because he tries to imitate the older films... Actually, now I think of it, I think it makes sense if he re-uses cues on Enchanted (an ode to the past) and B&tB 2017 (a remake)?

I agree about Tangled. In my opinion, its score is really good. My favorite tracks from it are the prologue, "Waiting for the Lights" and "The Tear Heals", but I also love "Horse with No Rider", "Campfire" and "Kingdom Dance", as well as the moment when Rapunzel first pulls Gothel up the tower, for example, which is not on the soundtrack.

As for Enchanted, I agree its score is not as good as some of Alan's previous scores from Disney musicals, but apart from what you said, I think that's also due to the fact that the film is half a movie inspired by Disney animated musicals and half a regular live-action romantic comedy, so it can't sound like a full-blown musical all the time. Except for "So Close", the musical numbers are all inspired by the animated world and happen because of Giselle, while the characters from the real world don't sing. The track from the soundtrack I've listen to the most is probably the "Enchanted Suite", but I really like "Robert Says Goodbye", "Girls Gone Shopping" or Narissa's theme too.

[Redadoodles]

The thing is he never did that before Tangled. From The little Mermaid to Enchanted, each soundtrack had a clear, unique vibe and style to it. It's only when I watched Tangled that I started to notice a familiarity in the score and I had the confirmation with Beauty And The Beast. Also, even though I love both "Evermore" and "Speechless", it is quite obvious that he wrote those two to get an oscar and it's quite funny to realize that neither got a nomination.

[estefan]

I did find it lovely the way Menken incorporated "Home" from the Broadway musical into the score for the "Beauty and the Beast" remake.

[Disney's Divinity]

The thing is he never did that before Tangled. From The little Mermaid to Enchanted, each soundtrack had a clear, unique vibe and style to it. It's only when I watched Tangled that I started to notice a familiarity in the score and I had the confirmation with Beauty And The Beast. Also, even though I love both "Evermore" and "Speechless", it is quite obvious that he wrote those two to get an oscar and it's quite funny to realize that neither got a nomination.

I don't think that's obvious at all. While I'm sure he wouldn't say no to more awards--who would?--Beast and Jasmine were both going to get songs if there were any additions to those films, just like I expect it's likely Eric will get a song in the TLM re-make. "Evermore" in particular sounds a great deal like music already present in B&tB; it reminds me of how "One Step Closer" from the Mermaid Broadway show was created from "Jig" out of the animated film's score.

[Redadoodles]

Well,the fact that they didn't use "human again" or better yet "If I can't love her" makes it pretty clear that he needed to write a new original song to qualify for the oscars.I am not saying that his only goal is to get an award but at this point, he doesn't need to work on these remakes when we know how busy he is.

I mean, both "Evermore" and "Speechless" are beautiful but neither bring much to their respective film. There is also the fact that both songs happen at the worst moment possible in each picture...But then again don't listen to me because even though I appreciate "I See The Light", I don't think it was deserving of a nomination either.

[Disney's Divinity]

Personally, I loved all of "Evermore," "Days in the Sun," and "Speechless." I even liked Celine's "How Does a Moment Last Forever" and the "One Jump Ahead (Reprise 2)." Those additions are really the only thing I get out of the re-makes' existence. I imagine the need for new songs is more a requirement on Disney's part than Menken's, which is why they added songs to TLK 2019 as well. (And IMO "Evermore" is better than "If I Can't Love Her" by miles; although I came to like the latter a little more after I heard Josh Groban's cover. "Days in the Sun" isn't as good as "Human Again," but it's still a great song in its own right for me.) I don't really care for "I See the Light"--would've much rather had a big ballad there--but it deserved to win considering what it was up against that year.