#music from movies

[jules-has-notes]

The Little Mermaid medley — VoicePlay music video

Everyone has something from their childhood that stays with them as they grow up. For many of us who grew up during the Disney animation renaissance of the 1980s and 90s, that includes the movies of the era. The Little Mermaid is a story about the importance of curiosity, family, friendships, and self-acceptance that endures even decades later. And its soundtrack is one of the best of its genre. But sometimes you don't have time for a whole movie. VoicePlay has condensed all the best bits into less than eight minutes. Enjoy!

Details:

title: The Little Mermaid medley (feat. Rachel Potter)

original songs / performers: "Fathoms Below"; [0:25] "Part of Your World"; [1:15] "Under the Sea"; [2:24] "Poor Unfortunate Souls"; [4:42] "Les Poissons"; [5:12] "Kiss the Girl"; [6:27] "Poor Unfortunate Souls reprise (Vanessa's Song)"; [6:51] "Part of Your World (reprise)" by the cast of The Little Mermaid (1989)

written by: Howard Ashman & Alan Menken

arranged by: Layne Stein & Hannah Juliano

release date: 18 September 2020

My favorite bits:

the group emerging from the mist with a jaunty sea shanty

Layne's delicate bubble noises as the narrative voice transitions from the surface world to underwater

Rachel's sweet longing tone in "Part of Your World"

J.None's nimble ascending riff on ♫ "going up there" ♫

all the instrumental moments as they're mentioned in the lyrics

the high-pitched "Whee!" from the J-snail as he's flung away 🐌💨

the lighting dimming to enhance the creepiness of entering Ursula's realm

Eli and J's creepy Flotsam and Jetsam voices

the slight chuckle Geoff puts into ♫ "please don't laugh" ♫, and his bored disdain on "pathetic"

the trio's crunchy harmonies for ♫ "Ursula, pleee-eease!" ♫

all the gulping sounds in Layne's percussion as Ariel is drawn in

Rachel slipping into a floaty, almost operatic tone as Geoff purrs his demand for "your voice"

J and Eli jamming out to Layne's skittery percussion line

Geoff's incredible four-octave descent from a high rock scream to the subharmonic ocean floor

the abrupt tone change into "Les Poissons"

"What do you have there, Layne?" "A cleaver!" 🔪 "Nooo!" 😱

Eli's velvelty crooning on the lead for "Kiss the Girl"

Rachel's adorably shy little smile and wave

everyone's puzzled reactions to the second Scuttle interruption

the deepening of Rachel's timbre when she's playing Vanessa

how smoothly Rachel and Eli manage the transfer of the mirror from his back pocket to her and back again

Geoff frowning in mild umbrage at J taking the second "Sing it with me now!" (Hey, that's my line.)

the increasing breadth of those exultant final chords

that outro dance remix 💃🕺

extra shout-out to Layne for all the cool visual effects he added

Trivia:

This video was filmed almost two months in advance. In fact, they recorded two projects with Rachel while she was in town, the second being their annual selection from The Nightmare Before Christmas, "Kidnap the Sandy Claws", which they released on the day before Halloween. They had employed a similar efficiency a few years earlier when they shot the music videos for their "Moana medley" and their "Attention" cover in a single weekend.

This is VoicePlay's longest music video to date. (Even their epic "Wicked medley" is nine seconds shorter.) They just couldn't bear to leave out any of these songs or character moments.

The VP guys had last demanded that Rachel "Sing!" five years earlier in their dramatic "Phantom of the Opera" cover.

Rachel had gotten her own turn in Ursula's tentacles three years before, when she recorded a mashup of "Poor Unfortunate Souls" and "I Put a Spell on You" with Voctave.

Their wardrobe is inspired by characters from the movie, though they don't strictly adhere to those vocal parts. Rachel represents Ariel, Eli is Flounder (and Scuttle), J.None is Sebastian, Layne is Chef Louis, and Geoff is Ursula.

Because of the extensive character makeup, Geoff isn't wearing any of his usual array of jewelry for the first time. His rings are absent entirely, his medallion has been replaced by Ursula's shell necklace, and his smart watch and brown leather bracelet have been substituted with wide, bright green buckled wristbands.

PattyCake fans may recognize Ursula's hologram couple as real-life couple Rachel Copeland-Evans and E. Michael Evans. Rachel has played Vanessa for them since "The Grande Mermaid", as well as many other roles. Michael is primarily their Gaston for the Villains Lair series.

VoicePlay had previously included excerpts from The Little Mermaid in all three of their Disney-themed "Aca Top 10" countdowns — "Part of Your World" in "Disney Heroes", "Under the Sea" in "Disney Sidekicks", and "Poor Unfortunate Souls" in "Disney Villains".

Rachel Potter's first theme park job in Orlando was playing Ariel in Disney World's "Voyage of the Little Mermaid" live show. She also played the lead roles in the Beauty and the Beast and Finding Nemo stage shows, the latter alongside Earl and the Cardona boys. (No wonder she's been VoicePlay's go-to princess for so long.) The "Voyage" attraction had shut down with the rest of Disney World in March 2020, and was closed permanently around the same time this video premiered.

Layne's sister-in-law commented on Instagram that his expressions during "Les Poissons" reminded her of his youngest daughter when she's up to mischief. His younger sister retorted that it runs in the family. (And Layne himself has noted that Doris very much takes after both him and his dad.)

The full version of "Les Poissons" in the movie incorporates a portion of an orchestral piece commonly referred to as "The Can-Can", which Layne later included in VoicePlay's "Classical Chaos" medley, also featuring Rachel Potter as their guest.

The audio for this medley was released as an album with eight separate tracks on streaming services, largely for copyright reasons. (Although, sadly, without the outro remix.)

"Poor Unfortunate Souls" and "Les Poissons" were re-released on their "VoicePlay Villains" compilation album in 2024.

Geoff recorded himself reading the original Hans Christian Andersen story early the next year.

[uwudonoodle]

The Chipettes - Diamond Dolls

Started my workout to this banger.

[rebelsafoot]

i took out the other people sitting at the table in the original comic because i did NOT want to draw glindas gay ass friends

[johnnyvalance]

mutuals seeing me post about The Character again

[texaschainsawmascara]

Jennifer Tilly playing poker

[dogpawsswapgod]

certified banger

[elcieford]

let me know if you recognize this from anything.

[jesterscircus]

gelphie + good luck babe

[noknowshame]

always a fun time when real life people are doomed by their own narratives. like guys you know it doesn’t have to be like this right? this isn’t a stageplay the foreshadowing isn’t real until you make it real

[kathaynesart]

REPLICA PLAYLIST

MUSIC UNDER CUT

I have been receiving requests for any songs that inspired Replica, so here, have my personal playlist. Sorry it’s not Spotify/Soundcloud but they don’t have some of these songs available so uh… guess you’re stuck with YouTube vids. For fun I'll include my personal titles for them (which might give a few hints of what to expect in the future/end).

Replica Main Theme - “Die for You” by Grabbitz Like Father Like Son Like Brother (Omega and Shelldon) - "As Above So Below" by Alistair Lindsay Mikey's Theme / The 1st Vision - "Suzume no Tojimari" by Nanoka Hara Military (Mad) Dogs / Central Park Colony - "Imperium" by Madeon Shanghai - "Icarus" by Madeon Boom Goes the Donnie-mite (Mikey/Donnie vs the Sweeper) - "The Red Zone" by Mitsuoto Suzuki The Day the Sky Bled Red - "7 Seconds Till the End" by Nobuo Uematsu Going Out Like a Boss (Raph and Leo) - "Agape" by Nicholas Britell Remembering the Right Way (Mikey and Leo) - "The Souls of Many" - by Alistair Lindsay Mystic Hands / The 2nd Vision - "Am I Dreaming" by Metro Boomin x A$AP Book 2 Trailer - "Sea Dragon" by Covet 7 Years Later - "Iron" by Woodkid Leo's Theme / Attack on the Labor Camp - "Ego Death" by Polyphia Omega's Theme - "Touch" by Daft Punk Flat Lines (Omega Alone) - "Die Toteninsel Emptiness" by 1000 Eyes Spear - "Monsters" by Tommee Profitt Final Protocol - "The Kraken" by Katie Dey Rise / Epilogue - "Close in the Distance" by Masayoshi Soken & Tom Mills

I will admit, it's a little embarrassing since you can easily see the patterns of what I've been listening to for the past year or two. I swear I listen to more than just videogame OSTs, these songs just jive well with the story and I often find lyrics distracting when brainstorming scenes. Regardless, the music I listen to is such an important part of my creative process and some of these songs really defined the scenes I now have locked in my head. So I figured it was only fair to give them the credit they're due.

I will continue to add to this playlist, and will note in comic updates when one of these songs is applicable!

[jules-has-notes]

Frozen 2 medley — VoicePlay music video

The Frozen phenomenon was pretty inescapable for several years, and these lifelong Disney kids were not immune to the hype. So when they were considering how best to feature their newest (and youngest) collaborator, the sequel film's soundtrack quickly became an obvious choice. Its combination of whimsy, musicality, and earnest coming-of-age stories was a perfect fit for these performers.

Details:

title: Frozen 2 medley, feat. Adriana Arellano

original songs / performers: "Some Things Never Change"; [0:47] "Into the Unknown"; [1:38] "When I Am Older"; [2:28] "Lost in the Woods"; [3:22] "Show Yourself"; [4:48] "Into the Unknown" reprise; all by the cast of Frozen 2 (2019)

written by: all songs by Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez

arranged by: Layne Stein & Hannah Juliano

release date: 24 December 2019

My favorite bits:

the guys' offended reactions to Adriana singing ♫ "we're all getting older" ♫

Layne's adorable shrug at J.None's assertion that ♫ "reindeer are easier" ♫ and his cartoony Sven voice for ♫ "some things never change" ♫ 🦌

the ethereal North Wind calling to Elsa

those gentle staccato harmonies on ♫ "had my adventures" ♫

the whooshing sounds Layne includes in his percussion 🌬

Adriana's fantastic belting of ♫ "into the unknOOOWN" ♫

the deep growl and descending arpeggio Geoff does in the transition to help change the emotional tone

Eli's spot-on Olaf voice and Earl's lovely whistling in "When I Am Older"

J.None and Earl nodding in agreement that ♫ "it's really good" ♫

carrot chopping percussion 🥕 🔪

turning the terrified scream into a deliciously dissonant chord

the slightly goofy ♫ "woaw" ♫ transition into "Lost In the Woods" that lets Geoff get a little melodramatic in his spolight moment

J.None's silky smooth timbre for ♫ "chasing your heart" ♫

the carrot drumstick miming Layne indulges in after the cutting board is taken away 🥕 🥁

Adriana whipping out her phone's flashlight in place of a lighter to wave back and forth

the soft alto she achieves at the start of "Show Yourself"

Earl puppeting the salamander plushie on Adriana's shoulder

the heartbeat percussion Layne puts under the quiet moments

Adriana's descending riff on ♫ "show yourse-e-e-e-eeelf" ♫

Geoff's repeated slides into the basement

the delicate bell chords behind ♫ "come my darling" ♫

Layne's woodblock-y sounds in the build up to the ending

that lush final chord with all seven voices

Trivia:

○ Adriana was just 15 years old when they recorded this. VoicePlay included their invitation for her to collaborate with them in a birthday message delivered via her mother, Michelle, who the guys knew from the theme park performance community.

○ The haunting North Wind vocals were provided by Elizabeth Garozzo, another theme park buddy, who later appeared on screen in their videos for "Just Sing" and "In the Hall of the Mountain King".

○ Everyone's outfits are reflective of characters in the film, though they don't strictly adhere to the same vocal parts. Eli is Olaf the snowman, Earl is Princess Anna, J.None is Destin Mattias, Layne is Sven the reindeer, Adriana is Queen Elsa, and Geoff is Kristoff Bjorgman.

○ Adriana and Michelle created a behind the scenes video of the filming day that includes footage of some perilous carrot chopping percussion, an impromptu bit of their Moana medley, and the intentionally bad singthrough.

○ The Facebook upload of this video racked up 2 million views in less than a week. Never underestimate the combined power of Disney fans, children's desire for repetition, and the extra leisure time that comes with the December holidays.

○ The arrangement and video got the seal of approval from the original songwriters on Twitter.

○ That interaction led to a mention on Broadway World.

○ The audio version was uploaded to streaming sites as individual tracks in an album entitled "Slushy", and includes a bonus remix of "Lost in the Woods".

○ Their artist friend Leon King was inspired to draw a joyful little Laynedeer.

○ The guys had previously performed and recorded some songs from the first movie, as well.

"Let It Go" was the finale of their "Wow! Hits" medley on the 2015 Sing-Off tour. It was also one of the alternate interruptions Layne occasionally used in their "Road Trip" skit.

"In Summer" was included in their "Aca Top 10 – Disney Sidekicks" countdown the year before.

J.None was part of the ensemble for the album version of DCappella's "Let It Go / Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" mashup a few months after that.

○ Although this was their first recorded collaboration, it wasn't actually the first time VoicePlay and Adriana had performed together. They had been part of the entertainment at an event in early June 2018, along with Paradigm Party Band, J's nephew, and Layne's nieces.

[j4y-k4y]

“elphaba and i are getting married; she doesnt know yet… 🩷”

[rebelsafoot]

justice for the green glasses they were one of my favourite parts of the musical

[archdevilsupreme]

stealing the show in Ice Nine Kills' "A Work Of Art"