In my last review I mentioned the idea of ranking the new songs the Disney remakes have made for the love interests, specifically in the Disney Renaissance remakes. I think this is the best time to do this because looking at the Renaissance films yet to be remade Megara and Esmeralda already have their own songs, The Rescuers Down Under isn’t a musical and Tarzan is a different kind of musical. The only Renaissance film I could see them doing this again with is Pocahontas but I doubt it’s going to get a remake, but if it does and it remains a musical I’ll be sure to update this list with whatever song they give John Smith.
#4
Spirit (The Lion King)
This is at the bottom of the list because it’s not even a Nala song, it’s just a Beyoncé song. Beyoncé does a great job singing as Nala in Can You Feel the Love Tonight but instead of giving Nala a solo song like the rest of the characters in this list they just have her sing a completely unrelated song an stick it in the scene of Simba running home. This probably shouldn’t count but I can’t make this list without talking about it.
#3
Wild Uncharted Waters (The Little Mermaid)
The newest entry on this list. The strength of this song is the fact it highlights the way Eric was written in this film. It’s a bit like how in the direct to video sequel Melody had a love of the sea but in a way that can overlap with Ariel’s goals. It is also nice that Eric gets a song because unlike the others he never got a duet.
#2
Speechless (Aladdin)
I have my criticisms of the placement of the reprise (especially as it meant cutting the Prince Ali reprise, Jafar’s only song) but as a Jasmine song it works really well. From what I’m aware this is also the most popular of these songs as I remember it getting a decent amount of attention as a stand alone song.
#1
Evermore (Beauty and the Beast)
But the best of these is weirdly the first one. Out of all of these it’s the one that fits best in the point in the movie it’s used and the one that fits in best with the songs from the original. It’s not the only new song I’d say this about (For the First Time in The Little Mermaid is another good example) but when specifically comparing the love interest songs it’s a big part of what makes this the best one and the exact opposite of Spirit.
And that’s the list. Mostly in release order and a bit different from my rankings of the films themselves. Maybe in a few years I’ll make a similar list for new songs in Disney remakes in general or talk about another way these remakes can be compared to each other. If you’ve seen all four of these movies which new love interest song did you like the most?
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