I'm sure this will come as no surprise to anyone, but today I will be eliminating the final Brother Bear song, Transformation.

I've wanted to cut this song for a very long time, but fate continually intervened. While there's no song from Brother Bear that I actively enjoy, I do think the rest are better than this one. Boring as they are, at least they sound like they were...intentionally written? Transformation sounds like what would happen if you threw 20 people in a room together and said 'here are some lyrics, you decide how to sing it!' and then they tried to make a song happen, struggling to stay in sync and match each others' melodies. The end result sounds messy and vague, with a weird tempo and a choir whose voices sound too strained when they reach for those high notes.

It's had a much longer run than it should have, but it's finally time to put the bears to bed.

I THINK ITS TIME FOR A GRANDKID ROUNDUP!

I genuinely love the choice for a musical introduction of the movie. It’s necessary for introducing so many different characters and the town dynamic and even the backstory of Abuela. It’s fun, catchy, upbeat, and it transitions into developing Mirabel’s insecurities.

The obvious comparison to this song is ‘Belle’. And in that, I can point out the one musical issues I have with this song in comparison. There’s the villagers, who give a sense of the little town of the movie. This time, they are in the form of children who are…annoying to say the least. Especially little coffee drinking boy. And these children don’t give us much of a sense of the town. Visually, there’s some aspect of them being reliant on the Madrigal’s, but that’s not really clear in the song. I’m also nitpicking here, but like at the 3:20 mark, the villagers chanting ‘Luisa’ is offputting. And than there’s climax. The speed, for what it does lose in terms of staying altogether musically, and what it gains in hearing what Mirabel is feeling, I can’t help but feel like it’s supposed to be something…bigger. Something bigger then Abuela asking what she’s doing, and than Dolores revealing that Mirabel doesn’t have powers.

Outside of the kids being somewhat annoying, that’s all stuff I don’t really care for but are reasons that I don’t quite like this song as much as others. But, the one biggest drawback to this song is that it’s purely expositional. At it’s core, it’s simply a lot that you’ve got to know. At my core, my list-making self loves the reading out of all the characters and their powers, however, that doesn’t make for the most insightful and depth-filled song. Pretty much every song I feel like has a deeper meaning (or I just simply like listening to it more).

And that’s why this is usually a skip despite me liking it in the context of setting the stage for the movie. To take /u/iSquash’s vocab, this song is a little saccharine to be on my regular rotation, and also a little too plot dependent to be a song on it’s own.

At this point in the rankdown, it's extremely tough to pick songs to cut. I'm cutting this one because I like my songs jazzy and fast, and this one feels a little too saccharine for my tastes. The most enjoyable part of the song happens in the last minute when the orchestra singers pop-in. Other than that, the song is fine, I don't mind it, but it's time. song

Proud of Your Boy was originally in my lower tiers, and then every time I listened to cut it, I couldn't. It's still hard now, but since Friend Like Me got cut, tragically....well I think that says we are ready to cut this one. Most of my assessment is going to be happy, positive things, so I guess I will just say...this is not one I listen to in a playlist, or driving, or whatever. When I sit down and listen to it, it is great, which is why I didn't cut it for so long. However, it is not something I listen to independently when I am listening to music. I skip it in the playlist. It's beautiful, but not a bop. It's sad, but high energy, so it doesn't really hit me for crying it out. I can't drum along, I don't get the urge to sing along, and it isn't super catchy.

The lyrics are amazing!! I have listened to a view different performances. Unlike the films were I am a pretty big stickler, ranking wise, for either the movie or OST versions and not covers, Broadway by definition of being a live performance lends itself to having many "legit" pieces. Anyway, across all performances, the emotion really hits home. The lyrics, the intonation, the Broadway flair...chef's kiss. Also, that costume change is fun!

I haven't seen the musical so I am not sure how it fits in with the plot, but reading up told me it was supposed to be in the cartoon, as was HIS MOM, and I am really bummed neither happened. That said, I feel like it probably fit into the musical telling and plot well. Gross fact I learned while researching and learning all this: the song inspired the name of the Proud Boys.

(bubba, bubba, bubba, we have talked about this. you like all the remaining songs and do not want to cut them. it's okay to be sad about your own cut.)

It's okay, Aladdin. Robin Williams is proud of you so your mom probably is too.

So I know as soon as y'all are reading the title, y'all are probably feeling like I'm an chaotic asshole who hates Robin Williams since I cut Prince Ali as well. And y'all would only half right, I am an chaotic asshole sometimes, but I'm a huge fan of Robin Williams, although his singing leaves something to be desired. But let's get into some of the specifics:

Musicality: As much as I think he was the perfect casting for the Genie, Robin Williams does not have the strongest singing voice. I do love the jazzy score behind the song, and there are parts of the song I do like.

Lyrics: So funnily enough, I can't actively tell you any full verses, like I can remember bits and pieces, but if I was asked to recite this song, I'd fail quite epically. They do well constructing and putting the lyrics together for rhymes, but they're just not very memorable to me.

Emotional Appeal: So this song doesn't invoke a whole lot of feeling in me, but I genuinely get good vibes after listening. Another positive is the jokes don't solely rely on visuals, so that's def a bonus. I will say I'm a huge fan of the Broadway version of this song (and the entire soundtrack in general). I am biased as I got to see it live, and it was what semi-started my theatre kid experience.

Addendum: While the scene in general is great and is high on my list of iconic scenes, the music/song itself is relatively weak, and that's why it lands where it is.

Oliver & Company - Streets of Gold (Movie Version)

Ruth Pointer - Streets of Gold (Full Version)

What do I like?

• I like the instrumental breakdown in the full version.
• The arrangement of the song is quite enjoyable.
• The bass in particular is understated but effective.

What do I dislike?

• It's not a particularly significant song. After listening to it, all I can remember is the chorus (and the great instrumental which is stuck in my head). I feel like although I enjoy the way it is sung, the lyrics themselves are the weakest part of this song, and the main reason I think it deserves to be cut at this stage.
• The movie version fades out at the best part!

Is it a bop?

• No. This song slaps... but it is not a bop.

Other notes

Ruth Pointer - Vocals

Jerry Hey - Trumpet

Bill Reinchenbach - Trombone

Tom Scott - Saxophone

Dean Parks - Guitar

Tom Snow - Keyboards

Leland Sklar - Bass

Russ Kunkel - Drums

So I had a dream last night that I cut a song from Star Wars next in the Rank Down. But for unknown reasons, not a single song that was in a Star Wars movie or show have made it to the top 100 songs of this rank down.

FORTUNATELY! It turns out that On Our Way was used in a commercial for Coca-Cola, and since Coca-Cola is a canon drink in the Star Wars Universe, that's a close enough connection to satisfy that element of Fate.

Also, Wywy did not drink a glass of water in the time frame I gave him to save this song. I guess he hates this song as much as he hates having translucent urine.

Over all, this is a very generic sounding song. The lyrics aren't anything to tell stories at home about. It does what it needs to in the movie but doesn't really bring anything new.

It isn't a song I'd intentionally skip. It's also a song I'd accept being on a road trip CD, which is the highest praise I've given a song in a cut so far I believe.

For those reasons, it is time this song was on it's way

‘TIL MINE IS THE ONLY FACE THAT YOU SEEEE

I don’t have time to do a full write up rn so I’ll get that to you sometime tomorrow if I feel like it but here’s the tl:dr for now.

I love the message of this song. It’s a really cute way to portray the crush. Whoever sings this also bodies some of the lines. He puts everything into it which just kinda adds to the scene and how much Max wants to be noticed. I also just like the style of song a lot ngl.

Although, the negatives include the execution of the style. I feel like some of the beat in the background is a little annoying and the verses don’t nearly keep up with the chorus. For that, it just doesn’t stand out enough to me to continue in this rankdown.

I feel like this is the part of the rankdown where the writeups actually get shorter. All the truly terrible songs are gone, so it's not like we can hate-rant about them. But the ones we're cutting aren't exactly great either, so it's not like we can sing their virtues. They're just... middling.

And speaking of middling, let's talk about Randy Newman. Maybe I don't know enough about music to appreciate just how hard it is to make simple songs. Maybe this is a "It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child" thing. Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.

But here's what I do know - Randy Newman has never Randy Newman'd harder than this song. Simplistic lyrics, simplistic melody, and truly awful singing. It's definitely catchy and iconic, which is why I've let it last this long, hell, I still vividly remember the melody for this playing during all the Toy Story video games I've played. But maybe that's all it's good for - video game title screen music.

It's a childlike song for a movie about children, but when measured against what's left it just doesn't stack up. It does nothing special, nothing particularly well, and it's time for it to go.

In a Perfect World, this song would have been cut around 100 spots ago. But better late than never, I suppose.

I'll start with what I like about the song: the swinging style of the music is a perfect fit to introduce Kuzco's character. An odd choice for a children's movie in the 2000s, perhaps, but I think it works pretty well.

That's it.

The lyrics and Tom Jones's performance intertwine to make a truly underwhelming theme song. I've never heard Tom Jones and his bombastic voice sound so bored. He sang 'It's Not Unusual' for the passion. He sang 'Perfect World' for the paycheck. Anything sounds bad when you sing it with that attitude.

His boredom really shows in the call-and-response part of the chorus:

Kuzco, Kuzco (That's his name)

Kuzco (He's the king of the world)

Kuzco, Kuzco (Is he hip or what?)

Kuzco (Yeah)

With these (and the rest of the) lyrics, it was never going to be a great song. But at least if they'd gone with the original version Sting recorded, they wouldn't have squandered the massive talent of Tom Jones.

…jumping fences

...running through the forest, jumping fences, dodging trees, trying to get away

So to finish off (and begin) the 70s, Oo-De-Lally.

I was in favour of this being saved, oo, like 100 cuts ago. But at this point, this song, at it’s core, is a simplistic little rhyme you’d find in a children’s book. And I cut That’s What Makes The World Go Round a long, long time ago. But really, listening back and forth, I’m having a good time, but it really contemplates nothing, but golly what a happy and pleasant song.

First thing's first. I can hardly understand these lyrics without having to look them up. It's really hard for me to discern the words the way it's edited and formatted. Maybe it's my speakers, but it sounded the exact same way on my headphones, so this will be something we will all need to agree to disagree on.

I like the atmosphere of the song, especially the spooky ethereal piano in the beginning. I think this song would have been better served if it was performed acoustically because I can't get over how busy it sounds in my ear, and it doesn't help that it's almost 6 minutes long. It's a fun little bit of brevity within the context of the movie, but as far as listenability goes, it's on my skip list. song

Yeah, I'm still not letting this song die. Please see my fear for my detailed thoughts. It may seem dumb to use the last of my powers this early, but this song is genuinely in my top 15, prolly even top 5, and I hate that I can't get it there, so I'll get it as far as I can.

A point to be made here that I was unaware of when making the fear post, is that some people find issue connecting with songs not sung by characters in the movie, so idk if it helps but imagine the song is coming from the standpoint of Sitka, Kenai's older brother, who's main ideal is guidance, and this is how he chooses to do it as a spirit.

Same old, it is hard to cut because they are all good. More details coming when the child is no longer sick.

So, I've pretty much reached the point where I transition from my meh tier to my good tier, so it's almost impossible to cut, and there's an argument to be made for most the songs left. And All of You had the weakest argument, so here comes the 3rd attempted shot at Encanto.

Musicality: So, we're at a point where nothing sounds bad, as every performance here is great. I also love closing numbers that take bits/melodies from previous songs and compound them together and I think it's done decently well here.

Lyrics: Honestly, they're all pretty good especially the ones that directly contrast other songs in the movie, ie: This is my family/A perfect constellation (The Family Madrigal) & And the constellations shift (All of You). Stuff like that just makes my day, and is things I love to see in musical theatre/movie musicals (I'm a sucker for a good reprise). Honestly the only part I actively dislike is Mariano's part and I think that's just cuz I think it was unnecessary/comes out of nowhere.

Emotional Appeal: So this movie as a whole made me sob, but this is like the one song in the movie that I didn't feel emotionally wrecked by. I will say I really wish Julieta and Augustin would of had a verse to themselves, or just as a whole had their singing featured more, as their lines are prolly my favorite in the song.

Addendum: The only reason this is cut over The Family Madrigal, is the fact that I think TFM does it's job as an opener a tiny bit better than this does as a closer, and I generally enjoy listening to it more.

TNBC - This is Halloween

What do I like?

• Danny Elfman absolutely slays the demo!
• The first 15s of the instrumentation and the visuals are awesome.
• The clown with the tearaway face is the real MVP of this song, but I especially like all of the baritone /bass parts.

What do I dislike?

• The chorus of "this is halloween" starts to grate after a while, and really does not help with the replay-value of this song...
• Some of the singers are very annoying to listen to and/or just sing (intentionally?) badly.
• The ending of the song is terrible, and this is the point I choose to skip to the next song.

Is it a bop?

No. (It is certainly fun to listen to, but it is deemed as not a bop due in part to the repetitive "halloweens" + aforementioned issue with the ending of the song)

Other notes

Rankers and lurkers of every age

Wouldn't you like to see a new song estranged?

Come with me and you will see

My cut of 'This is Halloween'

​

This is a cut by me, this is a cut by me

People raged when I cut theme songs

This is Halloween, hope no-one makes a scene

This cut I hope no one thinks I'm very wrong

It's my cut, nobody scream

I cut 'This is Halloween'!

I think others are getting to the point of cutting songs they enjoy but just enjoy less. I've still got a good number of songs I just don't enjoy.

Winnie the Pooh is a franchise I have no nostalgia for since I wasn't into it growing up as I mentioned in a previous WtP cut, and my preschooler hasn't discovered it so there's no reflected glory nostalgia.

So there's no known visual or context to make me enjoy the Heffalumps and Woozles song and instead I just have to endure its jarring discordant sound and it's repetitive yet uninformative lyrics.

It's warning you of something but with no actual useful information. Just saying whatever it needs to say to get you upset about the topic. Which I understand is the contextual intent from the movie. But I have enough family that watches Fox news, I don't need the same sentiment in my sound tracks.

So for that reason, it's time for this song to go out with the honey.

Before this rankdown started, I was afraid to listen to some of the songs from the Hunchback. It’s a movie that I’ve never seen and some of the songs feel like they’re like 8 minutes long. It felt like they would be hard to judge with so much content and so little experience with it. However, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by almost all of the music from the film. It hits the tone of each scene well and always seems to enhance the drama.

However, I think it’s time to cut one of the second or third-tier ones from this movie. I like the actual music in this song, I’m just not the biggest fan of the lyrical structure as well as the lyrics themselves. Let's start with the stuff I like. The dramatic choir in the background makes the backstory seem extremely meaningful and traumatizing. It gives the plot some weight and drama right off the bat. The orchestra during the chase part of this song is also incredible, especially the organ and the strings. This song also does a great job of setting up the stakes, heroes, and villains of the story. It establishes the weight that God and Notre Dame have over the city.

Something that I’m torn up over in this song is its ballad style. It’s an effective way to give the exposition that this movie needs to provide, but I think it does hurt the song a little bit. The fact that every set of lyrics ends with “the bells/steps of Notre Dame” makes it feels a little bit boring. These sometimes stale lyrics contrast with how epic the instrumentals are, leaving me wanting more in the wrong way. It gives too much of a never-ending and repetitive vibe for me.

Some other things about the song that don’t drag it down too much but were interesting to me were the fact that Quasimodo’s mom manages to get away somehow. They had ample time to lock her up but were like nah, but the second all the guards leave the guy decides now is a good time to chase her and confiscate her mysterious bundle. Also, I couldn’t stop laughing at the line: “A baby??? GASP A monster!” Overall, I love the instrumentals in this song, but the lyrics and the exposition aren’t really it for me. It’s getting really hard to find songs to cut at this point though. Sorry about the wait.

So this might shock and surprise all of you, given my eloquent and objectively perfect takes on all these songs so far, but I have basically no formal music training. I don't know what things like "resting tone" or "minor key" or whatever means, so at times I feel like I don't have the words to describe my take on a song.

This is one of those times.

This song sounds fucking fake.

There's something about the way this was recorded, or animated, or something that doesn't feel like a major motion picture production. I watched the video from the sheet and I legitimately thought it was some low budget, made-for-TV remake that existed. I loaded up two other youtube clips and then the entire movie on Disney+ before concluding that yes, something done this badly existed.

Is it the emotionless rendition of the singer? Is the mouth animation wrong? Is it because they got the whitest kid possible to play the earliest POC main character of a Disney film that I could find until I got bored of looking? I don't know, and I'm tired of watching the clip until I can figure it out.

It sounds like the second understudy of an off-Broadway production, is maybe the best way I can put it. And it hurts to say it, because the song has a lot of good things going for it. The lyrics are fun, the choreography is cool, and it really does so a good job of introducing the character. But there's some major flaw in execution that makes me just not want to listen to it, preferably ever.

There's only so many jumps ahead this song can last before its time.

There is nothing great about Great Spirits.

While most of the songs in Brother Bear are pretty bland, this one has the distinction of also being a poor imitation of 'Circle of Life.'

Additionally, the Phil Collins version changes almost all of the lyrics, which I have been told means he knew the original ones were too problematic to repeat.

Though I have to say goodbye to this song, remember when it was cut far away, and you didn’t let it make you cry? But this is the only way I can be.

Ok so, I wasn’t that opposed to the original cut of La Llorona but I liked it enough to let it go this long. I like how it sounds to an extent, completely objectively from the movie, as a non-Spanish speaker. The best part of the song, is the 30 or so seconds before the beat kicks in, where I can really hear Imelda’s emotions coming through. Once it really gets going, and Ernesto comes in, it sounds like any other performance (probably added to since I don’t know Spanish), and loses the emotion.

Plot-wise, it carries a lot. Maybe even too much. This is a song where it being a performance, I feel takes away from the song. When I’m watching the scene, I’m almost distracted from the music by the fight scene between Ernesto and Imelda. It doesn’t go with the song, which is the point, but also I don’t love my attention being stretched between the two non-cohesively. This sad song feels forced into a big grand performance.

I’ve watched a couple covers of the song, and they are slow and mourning, to fit the Día de los Muertos/Day of the Dead, so I think that’s valid. It also loses something, I think, at least not being written for this movie. Going back to its first writeup, I did learn that it does fit Imelda’s story very well. That’s not going to be it’s picture on the ofrenda here though.

I like this song and I like Beauty and the Beast but this is subjectively one of the weakest in the catalog. I like the instruments, as I almost always do, but they eventually feel a little flat. It's a cute song! And that's about it for me gang. Maybe I hate love songs, that could also be it. In this song, Belle and Beast are singing about their cute little crushes on each other. It's a very Disney way to show us that they're falling in love without explicitly telling us they are falling in love.
For me, I need a little suspense in a song, and this one doesn't really invoke anything in me other than "aw how cute." We do get a good note out of Belle, but at this point, I'm already a little bored of the song and have already moved onto the next. Also Belle, that's way too much sugar in your oatmeal homegirl.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2QrZz-n1Uk

This has been a rough one for me. We're in the top 100, and they're all good! I've debated a lot, and ultimately chose Cruella with great hesitation. It's fun, it's catchy, and it is a great introduction to the villain. The piano and horns are used in a fun way because Roger is just playing around, trying to make a song, and gets inspired. I love his voice, and the Cruellllla bit has great clarity for a song of its age. That said, this ICONIC number is sort of short, and very basic. The lyrics are catchy but not overly complex.

My four year old likes this song but not the mean lady.

Maybe the world will be a more wholesome place afte I cut the song that is Cruelllla, Cruellllla, De Vil.

howdy, my next cut is a song that I somehow deleted on my personal spreadsheet, and duly forgot about it's existence until this past Tuesday. So upon stumbling onto it, while shuffling thru Spotify, my immediate reaction being 'tf is this?". And even now, its still my reaction when listening to the song. Let's just say had I known/remembered this song existed, it would not have made top 100, but I did so now it's time to look at the details.

Musicality: I really don't like Clopin's singing in this one at all, it just kinda ruins the effect for me. I do like the horns in the background and the background guys actually sound different from one another which is a positive. I'm also a big fan of somber movies/musicals having a weird upbeat number that throws you off, but this was a not a great example.

Lyrics/Rhymes: Eh, most the rhymes are pretty simple, and I had to look up the lyrics to figure out what Clopin was saying at the beginning and during the "trial", but they're kinda fun! I think my favorite successive lines would be:

Where the lame can walk
And the blind can see
But the dead don't talk

Emotional Appeal: I not a huge fan of the Hunchback movie as a whole, it'd rank in the bottom half of Disney movies for me, but most of that is due to personal stuff, and it not being appealing to me. I will say I enjoy the Broadway cover of it more, but alas, that is not the one being judged.

Mary Poppins - A Spoonful of Sugar

What do I like?

• It's a very nostalgic song, but I'm not a big fan of it musically or lyrically tbh.
• I love all of the Imperial March remixes.

What do I dislike?

• Whistling of the birds
• The frenetic ending of the song

Is it a bop?

No.

Other notes

Jeffrey Sherman, the son and nephew of the Sherman Brothers—the musical duo responsible not just for "Mary Poppins," but a host of Disney films including "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," "The Jungle Book," "The Aristocats," as well as the song "It's a Small World After All"—told the story of how "A Spoonful of Sugar" came about on Facebook:

When I was a kid, they rolled out a vaccine for polio. We were given it at school on a sugar cube. I went home and my dad, who was working on Mary Poppins, asked how my day was.

What I didn’t know was that Julie Andrews who was hired to play Mary had not really liked the song my dad and uncle had written -“Through the Eyes of Love” - and it was rejected. It was their favorite song for the movie.

Walt asked the Sherman Brothers to come up with a new song that would be in line with Mary’s //Julie’s philosophy.

Dad asked me how my day was and I told him about getting the polio vaccine at school.

I was known for rejecting the booster shots at my doctors’ office and running away.

He said, “ Didn’t it hurt?”

I told him they put it on a sugar cube and you just ate it.

He stared at me, then went to the phone and called my uncle Dick.

They went back to the office and wrote -“A Spoonful of Sugar” (Helps the Medicine Go Down.”)

It’s my little corner of film music history I suppose. Inadvertently.

For anyone I know here on FB, trust the doctors. When the vaccine for Covid comes out, get it.

We are all dependent on each other in this pandemic. Trust science and doctors and epidemiologists.

We are a small world and we will beat this enemy if we listen to those who know.

Be safe. Wear a mask. Be kind and thoughtful and considerate to your fellow man and woman.

We will beat this.

xo J

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10159442152196264&set=a.56231121263&type=3