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DAY 31: PART OF YOUR WORLD
This has quite a backstory, very similar to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz. It was on the brink of being cut out. Why? Get a load of this: Because Katzenberg saw during a screening the kids were squirming a bit but mostly because one kid, ONLY ONE KID, dropped his popcorn & was more concerned with picking it up…………… Unbelievable, right? Something THAT stupid & that’s why he said delete it. Disney’s reaction: “NO!” They fought back as hard as they could, but smart ol’ Jeffery (I’m being sarcastic) kept refusing for this “bore-fest song”, until Howard stepped up, asked for another screening going to sue, & THIS time, it was well-received & was kept. With decisions like these, it’s no wonder Jeffery got fired.
For “Part of Your World”, it’s one of Howard’s most beautiful ballads. Ariel has as many human items she can find, but what she really wants is to be on dry land. The music’s very soft, Glen Keane’s animation is fantastic & Jodi Benson’s performance is beyond gorgeous; it can actually mood you to tears, just as the sheer beauty of it. For the drawing, it was part to get the colors right, especially with the shading. It was often called “Somewhere That’s Dry” by Howard & Alan, due to it sounding similar to “Somewhere That’s Green” from Little Shop. For other covers, aside from Sierra Boggess, the others are too pop or too rock, losing the serenity of the original. I like to think that “Up There” from the South Park movie was heavily inspired by this song. Jodi would later sing the song at the Disney Legends Awards, the TLM attraction’s opening & possibly the best version outside the film, at Howard Ashman’s memorial service. No doubt one of Disney’s most moving numbers.
“Part of That World” (c) Disney and Howard Ashman
Little Mermaid (c) Disney
“Somewhere That’s Green” (c) Howard Ashman
