Eric staggering into the ocean fully clothed like a lunatic slowly going insane from a mermaid siren he heard and singing about it was definately a moment
If they changed some stuff around, it could have become a horror movie. Like if there was an Unreliable Narrator(Ariel) and she was more of a Yandere than a mermaid with a crush...
Well the witch cutting out her tongue for the potion, adding some of her own blood as we, and the feeling if beeing stabbed with every step with her magic legs would probably be useful.
@DavidtheSlothClassic The funny thing is, none of the live action remakes have ever won that award Hell none of the live action remakes have ever been nominated for that award
Came here to mention Her Voice! If you want to flesh out how much Eric is haunted by Ariel, that and its reprisation in If Only was the way to do it. If you wanted to flesh him out as a _character_, One Step Closer is perfect. It actually makes him feel like a Prince worth crushing on.
i love 'her voice' along with the rest of the new songs in the broadway version of the little mermaid, i would've loved to see those songs in the movie
i got so bored during this song in the theaters. it also HEAVILY reminds me of contemporary christian music. i expected him to start mentioning Jesus guiding and saving him.
Oh my gods I didn’t notice that but you’re right. It sounds kinda like that one christian song about water, the one that was like “take me deeper than my feet could ever wander” or something like that I hate how well those songs burned themselves into my brain
The song 'her voice' that Eric sings in the broadway did what 'uncharted waters' was trying to do but better. Where it sounds like the writers were given more time to write and it comes off as more poetic. Plus the broadway song did that thing where they take segments of songs from the original movie and add them into the new song so when the audience listens to it the for the first time it sounds familiar to them and they can connect to it more.
I don't understand why Disney live-action remakes never use the ready-made Broadway songs. It draws in theater fans, who are a huge subset of the Disney audience, and you don't have to spend effort on writing new songs. Maybe it's so they can claim a "best original song" Oscar. But even then, you can write new songs AND use Broadway songs. It's baffling, like so much of modern Disney. I was SO excited to see the live-action "Lion King" because I thought it'd include the songs from the stage show, which I performed in when I was but a wee whipper-snapper. If you ask me, the stuff they added for the stage is better than the stuff from the film. Whenever we reached a point where a Broadway song would've gone, I sat in anticipation that slowly turned to disappointment, like sand being washed away from over a rock. When Simba saw a vision of Mufasa, I at least held out hope for "He Lives in You" to be included, but NOPE. By the way, that whole scene is so badly done in the remake. In the original, the heavens opening up and shining on Simba as the voice of his father tells him to fulfill his God-given role as king is one of the most epic moments in all animated cinema. In the remake, the clouds make the vague shape of a lion, as James Earl Jones says the same thing he said 30 years ago but with less passion because he's 90 years old. That scene really is a microcosm of everything wrong with Disney nowadays. In the words of Karl Marx, "History repeats itself. First as tragedy, then as farce."
I love the song but honestly I think Eric and Ariel should have been given a duet. After he is rescued and he’s remembering the woman who saved him and singing about her from the land while Ariel is under the sea singing about how she longs not just for a human life but to be with this man again. This would be right before under the sea and lead into it. I love how the beginning of this song has Ariel’s voice ringing in the background. I wanted more of that.
Maybe it’s just me but I feel like this song is way too melodramatic. He’s singing about meeting a hot girl but it feels emotionally like he’s singing about his wife being lost at sea.
I mean songs in general are a little melodramatic imo, that's why people usually just say things instead of belting them out in song. I also agree that he's being particularly melodramatic but it fits his somewhat rebellious nature, he's about as rebellious as Ariel is.
@@GLTTERXRAZI His future wife lol. A good song for that is You Belong to Me, It was written in the 40s about someone's significant other going off to fight in the war, but my favorite is the acoustic version by Jason Wade.
@@sarahberkner Maybe that's not exactly what I meant. I mean to say, he sounds like his life has been ruined by seeing a hot girl, when normally you'd imagine a love song to be... I don't know, upbeat? Because love is good and makes people happy? I just really don't like the tone of it. I keep thinking "will you calm down? Is this the first time you've SEEN a woman? She isn't even dead, she's just not in front of you right this second."
As a first time watcher of TLM, the line "Oh, over you, I cannot get over you" Made it obvious that it is a new song. His movements(especially in the late 2nd verse) makes me feel like I'm watching a music video.
Even putting aside their _many_ other issues, the biggest problem with all three of the new songs is that Lin Manuel Miranda's style as a lyricist/musician is completely different from Howard Ashman's, and since Miranda doesn't even try to switch up his style at all, his additions are blatantly out of place when placed alongside the original Ashman/Menken numbers. It's symptomatic of the writing in general, not only for this film but for _all_ the Disney remakes. They keep tacking on new scenes, songs and even new characters to pad out the runtime, but since they're different writers, their work doesn't gel with the original material at all. You can always tell straight away when a line or scene is taken verbatim from the original, and when the new writer has changed or added something. And yet, despite the fact that they can add so much meaningless crap to pad out the run time by up to an hour, all the meaningful moments from the original are phoned in and rushed through.
I had that same thought! The remake had this odd musical dissonance between songs from the original movie and Lin's style of writing for the new songs.
Having different writers wouldn't necessarily be a different problem if they were flexible in their writing styles. As much crap as fanfiction communities get, this is where experienced fanfic writers who write for multiple fandoms and are dedicated to honing their craft have an advantage over writers who've never done so. Fanfic writers are used to writing for different characters, different genres, and different storytelling styles because good fanfics tend to be the ones where the characters most feel like themselves. This requires writers to study and analyze scenes in full detail in order to write the characters well because they did not create the characters themselves. These live action remakes prove it's clearly an important skill in a writer's toolbox.
I agree, except when it comes to “For the First Time” which I think is a great new song that represents the chaotic and terrifying experience Ariel is having in her first few hours on land
@@JenamDrag0n LMM is a one-trick pony. it worked once, but he lacks the creativity to do anything other than one thing. At this point, I don’t even like Hamilton anymore.
Omg my friend and I went to the theatre to see the movie together (neither of us had seen it before) and the MOMENT he started singing this was the moment she got up to go the bathroom 😂
Brooo my younger sister (7 years old and LOVES Ariel) said out LOUD that she was bored. I told her to hush and I said if she wanted to go sneak out and see Across the Spider-Verse. Tbh we should’ve seen that movie but we ultimately decided not to because we wanted to give this movie a chance.
The mixture of weird lyrics and the actor’s singing got me so bored of this song in the theatre tbh, I don't know much about singing but it was like the singer was out of breath or rushing to get to the next line
I remember sitting in the theater and going "Oh Prince Eric gets an I want Song, neat!" and proceeded to forget the song as he sang it. The scuttlebutt hit like a fucking truck and killed me Zombieland Saga style
can we talk about how the repetitive melodic contour only emphasizes the redundancy of the lyrics lol in that chorus we're always going up to that exact same E-flat. edit: okay- until we modulate up towards the end of the song. but that kind of just feels like a cheap gimmick to force the highest note up by one since there's no variance of the high notes within the actual melody he wrote🤔
I thought the same. I felt like maybe Alan Menken pulled it off but just barely; if I had written that I’d have rewritten it, but of course I can’t match Menken in melodic writing so who am I to judge I guess…
What makes this whole thing even more interesting, is the fact that when TLM opened on Broadway in 2007, they added a few more songs, written by Menken and - you've guessed it - Glenn Slater. A new show-tune for Ursula, an expositional song for Ariel, Scuttle's solo (which was also quite questionable), "If only" quartet, sung on the night before the third day, "A Contest" section, since Vanessa and the whole idea of Ursula turning into a false bride was dropped early on, and two new songs for Eric, which were practically perfect, stayed completely in line with the brilliancy of original Ashman's lyrics and were not just time-gap fillers, but also good numbers on their own. And now, I understand that there are various reasons for why Disney didn't include those songs in the live-action remake, but hell, they are at least better than the ones they did include!
The repetitive/simple rhyme choices, coupled with the redundancy and odd flow of some verses make me genuinely think this song was a first draft. I don’t even mean this as a dig at LMM, it feels like he wrote an outline, then Disney just said “ship it, we need you to write a Scuttle Rap now!” and left it without a chance to tighten it up. Because I can see where the ideas come through: emphasizing Eric’s obsession with the woman and Siren Song that saved his life would add weight to the Mute Ariel trying to win his heart. I think the “Horizon Line” lyric was in reference to the visual of her framed by the sun when he came to which would be a striking image for him. The story lacks room for this to “advance” it the same way as the pre-existing Musical numbers, but it’s like on the cusp of at least being some decent “character meat” to give Eric if it was just given a bit more time to cook (disparity with Ashman’s lyrical style obviously notwithstanding).
2:27 What's funny is that "as days and months go by" would've fixed both of the issues with this line. It really feels like someone did not re-read their work.
@@zigzagintrusion To be honest I don't know how much time passes in the movie. I just meant that days and months follows the logic of smaller unit of time befor larger unit of time and months has less sylables than hours so it would fit better in the line.
I don't know why they had Lin Manuel do the new songs when the original composer is still alive and available. I was half expecting Prince Eric to look at the camera and say "Alexander Hamilton". Ashman was a better lyricist compared to Miranda. Howard knew how to make the characters express their inner thoughts and feelings.
6:45 "You're like a siren, that guides me" I absolutely HATE this line. "You're like" shows this line was intended to be a creative simile about Ariel. But instead it's literal. Ariel IS a siren and he just had a lucky guess??? It's so uninspired and does nothing for the story Honestly i feel like the best song Lin could've done was The Daughters Of Triton. Lin has this technique of overlapping multiple character theme songs (like in the climax of We Dont Talk About Bruno). He could've given each of Ariel's sisters their own melodies that would harmonize together. The concert scene was removed likely because it's too expensive for the CGI team to animate. However, this song is important to the story. Ariel missed a royal concert for the entire kingdom which makes Triton reasonably upset with her. Since this song was cut Triton's anger and Ariel's guilt fall flat in the remake. Instead, Ariel just missed a family meeting and it feels like Triton is just keeping one of his subjects in line.
I would also like to point out that following a siren is not a good thing. Sirens are the ones that drive sailor to their death, while mermaids are more neutral. If you are being guided by a siren, I take that to mean that you are following something that you know will destroy you but can't resist. Wich is a bit of a wierd feeling in a song that I think is suppose to be romantic (?).
@@dw1419 that's so funny how did they not catch that?? And even if they were trying to lean towards the whole "ariel is also a siren" thing a line like that still wouldn't work!
It's plausible that he would mention a siren and happen to get it right. This is an odd example, but Kermit the Frog was on The Masked Singer (his puppeteer was Matt Vogel) and someone was thinking, "you know, it sounds like Kermit the Frog" but of course they didn't actually guess him. And Eric didn't believe mermaids were actually real. And it's also unlikely that he'd be singing his heart out to the ocean as well, but it's just a musical, with a mythical main character. I mean, I do sing a lot, but I'm not normal.
As someone who does singing, this song has me conflicted. On one hand, as a baritone disney doesn’t often give us much to work with in terms of songs so this is a bonus for me, and as you said Menkin’s orchestration is actually decent here. On the other hand, the lyrics leave quite a bit to be desired and don’t flow very well for singing, so I don’t know
I actually enjoyed this song a lot and Jonah singing it is one of the main reasons I went to see the movie for the 2nd time in the theatre. I appreciated the cinematography during this song and how the crashing of the waves and turmoil at sea reflected how torn he was for missing Ariel.
It’s ok to enjoy the song! She is only pointing out things within the song that could’ve been better written, pronounced, and find a better reason for it to even be there.
Fine to give Eric a song… but why have an actor who needs autotuning to death, have a generic ‘I want’ subject, and have such a boring way to sing it? And what was his direction? To stumble acting drunk? He could have expressed his trauma of nearly dying and changing his perspective on life, how NOW he realises he feels trapped how he is and despite nearly drowning, he wants to explore more and find the owner of the voice (only as a bonus)…
Some people felt like Disney shouldn't have used Auto-Tune for him, if you look up his cover of Hallelujah he has a pretty good singing voice. So does Emma Watson. Jonah is cute and charming and was the perfect person to play Prince Eric and I will die on this hill.
This song was musically lovely and lyrically a nightmare….the less said about the singing, the better. It was slightly less autotuned than Emma Watson in Beauty and the Beast, but in both instances you can tell the actors had zero musical background. Which is certainly A Choice™️ in a musical film. You nailed every single point that bothered me except one: the lyric “And your voice is like a siren that guides me.” Sirens have never, in any mythology I know of, guided anyone to anything positive?? A “siren call” is used to describe being lured toward something dangerous, foolhardy, and/or deadly. It’s a completely incorrect sentiment. Though with all the other mixed metaphors, I guess it’s not the most egregious mistake, lol. I feel like Lin-Manuel does best when he’s given room to riff or get into a rap flow, but this was absolutely the wrong film for that. If Disney wanted to pull someone from their usual stable of songwriters, they absolutely could have called the Anderson-Lopez team. They’re not perfect, but I think they have a much better grasp on how to write modern Disney songs.
I like how it opens with the music and siren song in the beginning as he walks towards the sea, it feels very atmospheric. Otherwise, however, I find it rather uninspired and bland. It doesn't even do much to add development to Eric's character as it's so generic. Like what does it tell us about Eric that wasn't already obvious enough? I don't find it gives me any further insight just reminds me that he's there to be the love interest.
It doesn't tell us anything more than Part of Your World told us about Ariel, and it's kind of a parallel to that. Yes it's a sappy love song, but also he was already drawn to the ocean like she's drawn to land.
Ok my friends and I were laughing out loud the first time we witnessed this. The song has grown on me a little ( probs cuz Jonah is so nice to look at ) but yeah I wanted a better song lyrically tbh
Once again, I’m struck by how dark and muted this movie’s colors are. It feels like some Brontë knockoff period piece in which an extremely pale heroine spends hours roaming the moors in complete silence while the camera lingers lovingly on closeup shots of shrubbery.
So funny and true! I kept turning up the brightness on my phone trying to watch this because I couldn't see any details! I don't understand the washed out filming they seem to prefer for everything now.
Sounds like The Secret Garden. Personally I don't mind the darker tones, and it wasn't like that the whole movie. People say the same about modern Star Trek and I don't get it because old scenes on a dark planet or in caves are way harder to see, plus the cinematography is better nowadays.
This song is fine. Jonah Hauer-King's vocal performance is alright, but his lip-syncing is off most of the time. He also does some goofy movements that sort of fit the melodramatic tone of the song, but it's just kind of weird. Also, the sudden transition from the shoreline to a ship is odd, as its unclear whether or not it's supposed to be in his head or not. That's what I got out of it, at least. As for the key change, I think it works, as most key changes often do, in my opinion. I'm no music theory expert, but that's just me. I like the song well enough and it furthers Eric's character in this new version pretty well.
You should do a breakdown of this versus the broadway song ‘her voice.’ It was absolutely gorgeous, managed to sound like it belonged in a Disney movie _and_ broadway at the same time, and on top of that it was reprised in a quartet song later that managed to flesh out Trident and Sebastion in the meantime
Finding you has been fanstastic You do great breakdowns and at such LOW sub count cant wait to watch you blow up!!! Also hope you do one explaining how INSANE under the sea is now that areiel sings
i am absolutely obsessed with "For The First Time" (i can't wait for you to do a dissection of that one if you plan to), but it's the *only* new song i like from the movie. the scuttlebutt and wild uncharted waters are just confused in rhythm and are hard to follow, i feel like they are much too complex song structure-wise to play over just one scene. For The First Time takes place over a small path from the sea to the palace so I think that's why it was so much easier to ride with, along with being generally more consistent in tempo and structure (imo), then having it fall at the end for the moment of devastation. in short im very excited to hear your own takes on it
I like this song and I just think it's because I love Halle’s singing and the fact that the song perfectly shows the emotions of her first getting onto land and her disappointment later
It was a good idea to have her sing For the First Time in her head. I like the idea that she just really, really likes to sing, apparently the actress is like that as well, I am too though not nearly as good of course. I like Wild Uncharted Waters but it was an acquired taste and I hated Scuttlebutt but I think it's more for kids and I didn't like kids music when I was a kid. I also love the Opening Theme.
It's weird, the most audibly pleasing lyrical parts of the song sounded like something pulled from a Bastille or Ed Sheeran song. It's just not... idk it's not _RIGHT_ for this.
Wild uncharted waters is just another song in a series of attempts to give the love interests songs in the remakes. Beast got evermore. Jasmine got speechless, and nala got… well unless you count that spirit song she didn’t really get anything but that’s besides the point. I think the creative team was just like oh beauty and the beast and Aladdin gave their love interests songs, we have to do that to, even though it serves no purpose. And I know this is probably an unpopular opinion but I think this one is the best one of the love interest songs. It’s by no means a great song, but it just feels much more warranted than the others. Does it existance make sense? Not really. But I can at least see why they thought it was necessary, unlike evermore, and speechless especially. I’m curious how this song would sound with a better performer. A great performer could make lackluster lyrics sound better than they are. Jona’s obviously trying, but his performance is very rough. I disliked every single new song they wrote for the remakes so my expectations for this were very low, so I’m guessing that’s why it didn’t bother me much.
And the new reprise that they added! A good concept that I don’t think they really took far enough. I was being hit by the emotions then frustrated that it stopped after ‘here beside you-‘
That one got me insanely mad, tbh. Like, hell! There is a demo-version of the reprise from the original movie, why not just use it? Its lyrics are much more powerful. "I'd give my life, I'd sell my soul, Cause I can feel I'll never be whole. But I can see, I'll never be Part of your world..."
Honestly I wasn’t sure about the song the first time I heard. I’m a die hard little mermaid fan and giving Eric a song seemed like an odd choice (makes way more sense then giving Skuttle a song but I digress). Anyway the second time I saw it I liked it almost as much as Ariel’s new song which I loved instantly. It’s simplistic in its lyrics but I think that works. You hear more of the score which I think is awesome. It sounds like he’s caught up. It makes you feel like your on this ride with him. The actors performance also really drives it home. You can see this almost obsessive passion he now has and he can’t understand why. We hear Ariel’s song in the background enchanting us as it enchanted him. I really like this song. I wouldn’t consider it a masterpiece but it’s definitely great for and added song. I think Ariel’s new song is more dynamic and more successful overall but this gave everything it was supposed to. Insight into the character who was formerly a dog loving himbo and an understanding of this obsessive chase of a woman who barely met and doesn’t know.
I loved Menken's whole composition for this song. I thought it was beautiful. I also think the actor playing Eric did a great job with what he was given (I dont mind his voice). However, I agree the lyrics feel lazy and uninspired. I also wish a flute was used at least at some point to emphasize Eric's thoughtfulness like we see him do on the balcony in the og. I always thought of him as a musician himself since we see him use it there in that moment to think/work out his feelings. He also uses it to be playful as we see him play on the ship with the crew.
If he used a flute at any time it would remind me of the "My Heart Will Go On - Bad Version" video and I wouldn't be able to take it seriously 😂 I know that's on recorder, but still.
A draft of Her Voice does what this first verse tries to so much better: Once I searched for freedom in the wild uncharted reaches of the waters Once I looked for beauty in the glimmer of the sunlight on the sea Once I hunted happiness beyond the far horizon Strange that I would find them where I never thought they'd be Even with the rewrite to come it's a tighter lyric, and might be where Miranda got the title from.
I agree with most of your analysis; great video. One thing I’d like to add though is that I heard this song in contrast to “Her Voice” from the Broadway musical version, and I would have liked to hear your thoughts on how these songs differed. (I prefer “Her Voice” and I liked Prince Eric having that song, and its reprise in the “If Only” quartet.) Overall I think it would have been better to make the musical into a movie.
The problem, in my opinion, is that a Disney classic musical has the perfect amount of music to tell exactly the story it’s trying to tell. In Disney’s desire to shoehorn in unnecessary songs, they are breaking the basic rules of musicals. I don’t need a song to tell me Eric wants to know who Ariel is! I had scenes of Eric looking longingly into the ocean playing his flute, and that gave me that emotion without him breaking into song. I didn’t need a song to tell me that Jasmine was a strong, independent lady! Guess what, you SHOWED me that in the story.
I've been watching all of your videos and didn't really know where else to say it, so this is largely unrelated... but I really like the rhyming of "island" with "island" with "island" with "island" in "How Far I'll Go." She feels like it's a prison, like it's dampening her potential. The island is day in, day out, day in, day out, day in, day out, after day, after day, after day. It being repetitive is part of the character's emotion. That being said, from what I've seen, you haven't exactly done a full deep-dive video on "How Far I'll Go" aside from mentioning it in passing, in relation to other songs... so... you may already agree with me, for all I know. Keep up the good work!
I like the intro of this song because it has the nostalgic feeling of a song I have forgotten. The rest of it is a bit offputting to listen to, it just feels confused.
This is an excellent analysis, but I could barely get through it because I noticed how much Eric sounds like the lead singer from Bastille, and now I can't stop laughing.
Its funny. As I listened to the song the first time I thought it was okay, but felt wrong somehow. This explains everything! As much as I hate the live action beauty and the beast, The Beasts song is much better than Erics. Sad cause this song could have been really good. Another reason the new little mermaid flopped. 😢
While honestly, yeah I liked this song, the major issue I had with it was that it sounded way to different from the rest of the tracks. It sounds way too different from every other song, which is an issue I have with most of the new songs on the track. If I didn’t already know and just listened to this song with the originals, I would swear that this was not from The Little Mermaid. I honestly think this is more like a really great pop song, and yeah, this is the only good new number in my mind (The Scuttlebutt is stupid and for the first time can sound somewhat awkward at points).
New favorite channel. All of my friends mock me for caring about rhyme scheme and meter, so seeing these exact issues heighted (especially in songs like this that drove me crazy) is very refreshing. Keep up the good work! I would love to see you review some popular pop music, especially the new Taylor Swift album which- for being an album based on poetry- has some of the worst writing ever. ("Quick quick, tell me something awful, like you are a poet in the body of a finance guy" is hands down one of the stupidest things Ive ever heard. Coming from a Swiftie.)
I liked it. I liked the melody. Delivery was very good. Didn’t think his belting was distracting at all. His voice was soft and mysterious when it had to be but bright and strong - for a pop song - when singing full chested. The song felt modern, broadwayish at times. Personally I wouldn’t have gone for a modulation because I’m a bass and cant reach a G4 so easily. 😅 I fully agree about the lyrics. It’s somewhat careless at times. Also the plot not being related to this.. true enough. In the big picture I liked it. It gives the character something of his own to hold in his hands.
I decided to listen to the song after watching this, and I was like “oh crap I actually like this”. I like how they gave him a song and how he’s drawn to the sea and Ariel’s drawn to the surface. I liked that parallel a lot. I don’t really pay attention to lyrics that much either, so I thought this was good. This is just my opinion though.
'When your eyes outshine the horizon line' feels like an Owl City lyric, which would probably be all well and good in a diffeent kind of song but not in this one.
Lin rhyming the same words with each other seems to be a trademark. In every Disney film he's worked on he's done this. It really ruins an amazing moment for me in Moana when he rhymes "You" with itself THREE TIMES during Who You Are. Right after he does this he rhymes "are" with itself. I really don't like him at all but I seem to be a minority so I can live with it I guess, but he deserves much more criticism than he gets.
I know this is a channel about songwriting, but the filmmaking is also bizarre and first draft. Like, the song transitions from a medium shot of the palace terrace to sweeping wide shot of castle with nothing to connect the two locations or bridge the gap in time and space, then Eric starts singing before the camera can focus on where he is so for almost the entire first verse, it's not clear who in the shot is actually singing or what is happening. And this happens twice in the song! And the very beginning and the transition to the second verse.
I just finished watching all of your Little Mermaid videos, and thought they were very well researched. I haven't seen the remake bur i have listened to the soundtrack, and I have to agree that the lyrics for "Wild Uncharted Waters" leave a lot to be desired which is a shame because I loved the melody. I hope that in the future you do videos about "Under the Sea" and: "Kiss the Girl". I would also love to see you discuss the songs from other Disney remakes like "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Lion King". Again great videos you've earned yourself a new subscriber.
This was basically just their evermore song. It's a song sung by the main love interest about the girl who is still on his mind and how he either will remember her or tries to find her. Not much difference otherwise.
I like this song out of all the new ones but it feels jumbled together lyrics-wise. Your description of the repetitive lyrics is spot on. I wish they took more time it crafting the lyrics so it flows better and gives more insight into Eric.
I didn't like the addition of the whole "Siren Song" detail... It turns the movie from being about a man and a woman falling in love, to a man falling for a siren's song. Its not a very positive message. Ariel didn't need a siren song in the original. She didn't need to basically hypnotize him with a magic song.
I missed this song because I'd had an alcoholic drink at the movie theater and the shipwreck scene before this scene had me feeling ill. Glad to know I didn't miss anything important! I'm curious to see if you talk about 'For the first time', that was the only new song that stuck with me (other than scuttlebutt, but that didn't stick for good reasons...)
I haven’t watched the video yet but I remember that when I saw the movie, and heard the song, I kept waiting for there to be more. The song is very ballad-y, and it felt like there should’ve been that “climax” to the song where he just belts out the lyrics with his whole heart but jt never came, it just felt very safe.
I instantly clicked because I'm excited to see someone talk about this song! It sticks out to me as one of the worst parts of the movie. Once the movie was over, if you had asked me how the song went I don't think I could have told you, because its just that boring.
Ugg. Having never heard this song before, I was surprised as you got about 2 min into it that it was still going (and that he was suddenly on a ship again getting soaked while appearing to shout about his feelings). I then went and watched the full song and gimaced/smirked with secondhand embarrassment throughout. The intro with her voice is sych a great choice, and the general concept of now finding himself in uncharted waters is super clever and I love it, but man it is so badly implemented. I imagine they told him "look like you're disoriented by sea water and a siren" but he went so far with it that he looks a little drunk and not very commanding. I love when a man expresses his emotions, but if he does it without command, well, it's honestly not very manly (...in a musical, real life is different, lol). Follow that up with an unwarranted key change and loud singing and it just feels so forced. It's such a bummer because it seems like TLM had real potential to creatively set itself apart from the original. It seems like they succeeded with that in a few ways, but have fallen short everywhere else as per usual 😕
I love your videos! Thank you so much for doing these breakdowns! I'm so here for all of these. I also found the song sort of boring and pointless. I think the "redundancies" you mentioned point to the song's failure to really have an arc? or momentum? (as opposed to the other "I want" song in the movie, Part of Your World) -- like it just feels so uninspired, non-consequential? I think SOMETIMES a sign of a good use of a musical theatre song is whether it moves the plot forward or slows down; and I definitely think this song has no real importance or impact.
Why is he singing that way? 😂 The faces and movements he makes are kind of comical. Like it’s a skit making fun of musicals and he’s overacting on purpose. His voice doesn’t match the effort he’s putting into his facial movements and expressions. Besides that, he’s not as handsome as I’d hope he’d be 🫤 This whole movie is a mess.
I think there are a lot of problems with the writing of the remake in general. This happened because the new writers didn't try to understand the way each character was written, they simply took the characters and tweak the lines they have. As a result, audiences came in the theater expecting the characters to stay in character by the standards of the animated movie, but what the audiences are getting are characters that are completely out of character by the animated version's standards. I don't get why they removed some of the scenes though. 1. They removed the concert scene, which is an important scene in the animated version because they established Sebastian as the court composer in that scene which led to Sebastian composing two more songs that are important to the story, this may not seem much but it's an important detail in the animated version, children watching this remake are not going to know Sebastian is Bach's middle name and make the connection that he's the court composer and is good at composing songs on the spot if they missed this detail. 2. Eric feels really out of character in the remake, Eric is a more shy and reserved guy who you would expect that he feels awkward on his first actual date, but with the new song added for him to sing and the lines tweaked for him to say, he just isn't that shy, awkward but sweet guy who may not say the best words on his first date but always means more than what he says. Not every male character has to say what's perceived as the "sweet words" to be lovable or to be perceived as better because that may not be his original personality and character, and I feel like this is especially the case with how they changed Eric, and when he just started singing like that it feels out of place. And since they changed the narrative of the story to make the original songs no more than a bait for people to see the movie, the story just falls apart. And the lyrics for this new song just not that great to begin with
Ngl out of all the love interests in the live action remakes getting songs, Eric’s is 100% my favourite. I don’t remember Jasmines & The Beasts songs at all. I felt Uncharted Waters was very memorable (same with For The First Time). Haunting, romantic and dramatic. I love seeing men like this on screen!
You should look up Evermore, sung by the Beast. Some people didn't like Dan Stevens voice (I did) so you might like the Josh Groban version better. I like this song too. I didn't care much for Jasmine's song but she has a great voice.
It sounds like a nice enough song if you don’t think about it too much, for like a pop song, or a different broadway musical. Absolutely doesn’t fit in this movie, it doesn’t fit the style and is no way good enough for the little mermaid and does not honor Howard ashman
I just watched all of your videos. I absolutely love how you analyze these songs! If it's something youre interested in, I'd love to hear your opinion on the song they added to Grease in NBC's Grease Live! In my opinion, it's an atrocious addition and doesn't fit the show whatsoever, and I haven't seen anybody talk about it! (Maybe because it's been several years since Grease Live! broadcasted...) Thanks for making these videos; I can't wait to see more!!
Boy this does not feel like it fits in this score. I always have so much trouble with these - there's just no avoiding a comparison with Her Voice, which is just so much better. I still never listened to Evermore from new Beauty and the Beast because If I Can't Love Her is so stunning, I know any other number in that place would just fall flat.
I recently discovered your channel, I'm really enjoying your perspective on the Disney movie songs. As for this one, I feel the same way about Wild Uncharted Waters as I did about the new song added to Les Mis for the 2012 movie adaptation, "Suddenly". It's not really necessary, it doesn't really add anything to the story, and it doesn't quite fit in with the rest of the music. I also feel like the trend of adding new songs to adaptations of beloved works is only (or at least mainly) done for Best Original Song nominations, not because the production team really believed the movie needed it, artistically. That might be a bit cynical, but I don't believe they would make a decision like this purely on artistic grounds "ars gratia artis". I'd be really interested in hearing your thoughts on the "Speechless" song added to the live-action Aladdin, in which Jasmine says all the quiet parts out loud and removes all subtlety and subtext from her character arc.
I learned a lot about making songs for musicals through watching your videos. Can u make a video analysis on a Disney song u think is rlly good please? ❤
Eric staggering into the ocean fully clothed like a lunatic slowly going insane from a mermaid siren he heard and singing about it was definately a moment
He was going full Awakening there for a sec.
If they changed some stuff around, it could have become a horror movie.
Like if there was an Unreliable Narrator(Ariel) and she was more of a Yandere than a mermaid with a crush...
@@millie567 You know in the original story she doesn't have a happy ending and turns into sea foam?
@@sarahberkner Almost forgot to reply to this.
What does the TRAGIC original have to do with my HORROR STORY-like idea...?
Well the witch cutting out her tongue for the potion, adding some of her own blood as we, and the feeling if beeing stabbed with every step with her magic legs would probably be useful.
Wouldn't it make sense for Eric to have his flute in his song
righttt
Yep.
Yeah they robbed so many good things from og Eric
EXACTLY
I think they forgot :'D
If they wanted to give Eric a song that badly, "One Step Closer" and "Her Voice" were right there
I suspect that the reason they would not use those is because by making a new song instead, the can try for "Best Original Song" at the oscars.
@@DavidtheSlothClassicYep. That’s why all the love interest get new songs now in the remakes
@DavidtheSlothClassic
The funny thing is, none of the live action remakes have ever won that award
Hell none of the live action remakes have ever been nominated for that award
Came here to mention Her Voice! If you want to flesh out how much Eric is haunted by Ariel, that and its reprisation in If Only was the way to do it. If you wanted to flesh him out as a _character_, One Step Closer is perfect. It actually makes him feel like a Prince worth crushing on.
i love 'her voice' along with the rest of the new songs in the broadway version of the little mermaid, i would've loved to see those songs in the movie
i got so bored during this song in the theaters. it also HEAVILY reminds me of contemporary christian music. i expected him to start mentioning Jesus guiding and saving him.
LMAO!!
WOW LMFAO
Oh my gods I didn’t notice that but you’re right.
It sounds kinda like that one christian song about water, the one that was like “take me deeper than my feet could ever wander” or something like that
I hate how well those songs burned themselves into my brain
that's so true! what a good comparison
Ariel of Nazareth real??
The song 'her voice' that Eric sings in the broadway did what 'uncharted waters' was trying to do but better. Where it sounds like the writers were given more time to write and it comes off as more poetic. Plus the broadway song did that thing where they take segments of songs from the original movie and add them into the new song so when the audience listens to it the for the first time it sounds familiar to them and they can connect to it more.
Agreed! I love that song
I don't understand why Disney live-action remakes never use the ready-made Broadway songs. It draws in theater fans, who are a huge subset of the Disney audience, and you don't have to spend effort on writing new songs. Maybe it's so they can claim a "best original song" Oscar. But even then, you can write new songs AND use Broadway songs. It's baffling, like so much of modern Disney.
I was SO excited to see the live-action "Lion King" because I thought it'd include the songs from the stage show, which I performed in when I was but a wee whipper-snapper. If you ask me, the stuff they added for the stage is better than the stuff from the film. Whenever we reached a point where a Broadway song would've gone, I sat in anticipation that slowly turned to disappointment, like sand being washed away from over a rock. When Simba saw a vision of Mufasa, I at least held out hope for "He Lives in You" to be included, but NOPE.
By the way, that whole scene is so badly done in the remake. In the original, the heavens opening up and shining on Simba as the voice of his father tells him to fulfill his God-given role as king is one of the most epic moments in all animated cinema. In the remake, the clouds make the vague shape of a lion, as James Earl Jones says the same thing he said 30 years ago but with less passion because he's 90 years old. That scene really is a microcosm of everything wrong with Disney nowadays. In the words of Karl Marx, "History repeats itself. First as tragedy, then as farce."
I love the song but honestly I think Eric and Ariel should have been given a duet. After he is rescued and he’s remembering the woman who saved him and singing about her from the land while Ariel is under the sea singing about how she longs not just for a human life but to be with this man again.
This would be right before under the sea and lead into it.
I love how the beginning of this song has Ariel’s voice ringing in the background. I wanted more of that.
I wonder if the actors saying a duet in real life, if not they should even though he's not nearly as polished of a singer as she is.
Maybe it’s just me but I feel like this song is way too melodramatic. He’s singing about meeting a hot girl but it feels emotionally like he’s singing about his wife being lost at sea.
that would honestly be a better context for the entire song
This is how I’m going to recontextualize the song in my mind from now on.
I mean songs in general are a little melodramatic imo, that's why people usually just say things instead of belting them out in song. I also agree that he's being particularly melodramatic but it fits his somewhat rebellious nature, he's about as rebellious as Ariel is.
@@GLTTERXRAZI His future wife lol.
A good song for that is You Belong to Me, It was written in the 40s about someone's significant other going off to fight in the war, but my favorite is the acoustic version by Jason Wade.
@@sarahberkner Maybe that's not exactly what I meant. I mean to say, he sounds like his life has been ruined by seeing a hot girl, when normally you'd imagine a love song to be... I don't know, upbeat? Because love is good and makes people happy? I
just really don't like the tone of it. I keep thinking "will you calm down? Is this the first time you've SEEN a woman? She isn't even dead, she's just not in front of you right this second."
The line “when your eyes outshine the horizon line” made me laugh so hard 😂 It’s just such a bizarre line
Alan Menken has fallen from grace.
@@vetarlittorf1807didn’t lin write that line
As a first time watcher of TLM, the line
"Oh, over you,
I cannot get over you"
Made it obvious that it is a new song.
His movements(especially in the late 2nd verse) makes me feel like I'm watching a music video.
Yeah that surprised me, like there’s no more eloquent way to describe this wildly powerful new bond you feel?
Even putting aside their _many_ other issues, the biggest problem with all three of the new songs is that Lin Manuel Miranda's style as a lyricist/musician is completely different from Howard Ashman's, and since Miranda doesn't even try to switch up his style at all, his additions are blatantly out of place when placed alongside the original Ashman/Menken numbers.
It's symptomatic of the writing in general, not only for this film but for _all_ the Disney remakes. They keep tacking on new scenes, songs and even new characters to pad out the runtime, but since they're different writers, their work doesn't gel with the original material at all. You can always tell straight away when a line or scene is taken verbatim from the original, and when the new writer has changed or added something. And yet, despite the fact that they can add so much meaningless crap to pad out the run time by up to an hour, all the meaningful moments from the original are phoned in and rushed through.
I had that same thought! The remake had this odd musical dissonance between songs from the original movie and Lin's style of writing for the new songs.
Having different writers wouldn't necessarily be a different problem if they were flexible in their writing styles. As much crap as fanfiction communities get, this is where experienced fanfic writers who write for multiple fandoms and are dedicated to honing their craft have an advantage over writers who've never done so. Fanfic writers are used to writing for different characters, different genres, and different storytelling styles because good fanfics tend to be the ones where the characters most feel like themselves. This requires writers to study and analyze scenes in full detail in order to write the characters well because they did not create the characters themselves. These live action remakes prove it's clearly an important skill in a writer's toolbox.
I LOVEEEE all the new songs. Lin is a genious
I agree, except when it comes to “For the First Time” which I think is a great new song that represents the chaotic and terrifying experience Ariel is having in her first few hours on land
@@JenamDrag0n LMM is a one-trick pony. it worked once, but he lacks the creativity to do anything other than one thing. At this point, I don’t even like Hamilton anymore.
I just feel like “Her Voice” from the stage musical accomplished everything “Uncharted Waters” wanted to but better and more convincingly.
Indeed.
I didn’t mind the song but I’ve heard from multiple people that this was the part they excused themselves to go to restroom
Omg my friend and I went to the theatre to see the movie together (neither of us had seen it before) and the MOMENT he started singing this was the moment she got up to go the bathroom 😂
Brooo my younger sister (7 years old and LOVES Ariel) said out LOUD that she was bored. I told her to hush and I said if she wanted to go sneak out and see Across the Spider-Verse.
Tbh we should’ve seen that movie but we ultimately decided not to because we wanted to give this movie a chance.
@@roxanne_ lol Kids have no filter I swear 😂😂😂
When this song was on my mom was like “shut up or I’ll throw this popcorn at you” but in Spanish lol
Spicy Latina.
The mixture of weird lyrics and the actor’s singing got me so bored of this song in the theatre tbh, I don't know much about singing but it was like the singer was out of breath or rushing to get to the next line
I remember sitting in the theater and going "Oh Prince Eric gets an I want Song, neat!" and proceeded to forget the song as he sang it.
The scuttlebutt hit like a fucking truck and killed me Zombieland Saga style
can we talk about how the repetitive melodic contour only emphasizes the redundancy of the lyrics lol in that chorus we're always going up to that exact same E-flat. edit: okay- until we modulate up towards the end of the song. but that kind of just feels like a cheap gimmick to force the highest note up by one since there's no variance of the high notes within the actual melody he wrote🤔
Great catch!
I thought the same. I felt like maybe Alan Menken pulled it off but just barely; if I had written that I’d have rewritten it, but of course I can’t match Menken in melodic writing so who am I to judge I guess…
What makes this whole thing even more interesting, is the fact that when TLM opened on Broadway in 2007, they added a few more songs, written by Menken and - you've guessed it - Glenn Slater.
A new show-tune for Ursula, an expositional song for Ariel, Scuttle's solo (which was also quite questionable), "If only" quartet, sung on the night before the third day, "A Contest" section, since Vanessa and the whole idea of Ursula turning into a false bride was dropped early on, and two new songs for Eric, which were practically perfect, stayed completely in line with the brilliancy of original Ashman's lyrics and were not just time-gap fillers, but also good numbers on their own.
And now, I understand that there are various reasons for why Disney didn't include those songs in the live-action remake, but hell, they are at least better than the ones they did include!
Her Voice is much better than Uncharted Waters.
Yes!
What's the name of that two songs please?
@@gabyr.883 "Her voice" and "One step closer".
I feel like they easily could’ve fit “her voice” in the movie instead of this boring song in the remake
ANNAPANSU did a really good cover and while it didn’t fix the lyrics her singing talent did elevate it
Didn't Eric already have a song in the Broadway adaptation of The Little Mermaid? Why didn't Disney just use that song?
oscar bait
The repetitive/simple rhyme choices, coupled with the redundancy and odd flow of some verses make me genuinely think this song was a first draft. I don’t even mean this as a dig at LMM, it feels like he wrote an outline, then Disney just said “ship it, we need you to write a Scuttle Rap now!” and left it without a chance to tighten it up.
Because I can see where the ideas come through: emphasizing Eric’s obsession with the woman and Siren Song that saved his life would add weight to the Mute Ariel trying to win his heart. I think the “Horizon Line” lyric was in reference to the visual of her framed by the sun when he came to which would be a striking image for him.
The story lacks room for this to “advance” it the same way as the pre-existing Musical numbers, but it’s like on the cusp of at least being some decent “character meat” to give Eric if it was just given a bit more time to cook (disparity with Ashman’s lyrical style obviously notwithstanding).
2:27 What's funny is that "as days and months go by" would've fixed both of the issues with this line. It really feels like someone did not re-read their work.
I don’t think that fits any more, honestly. Did this movie take place over months?
@@zigzagintrusion To be honest I don't know how much time passes in the movie. I just meant that days and months follows the logic of smaller unit of time befor larger unit of time and months has less sylables than hours so it would fit better in the line.
The song starts off really well and then just goes downhill😭
And the fact that Eric is literally going downhill too
@@karentookthekids1267too soon
It’s metaphorical for Disney as a company
I don't know why they had Lin Manuel do the new songs when the original composer is still alive and available. I was half expecting Prince Eric to look at the camera and say "Alexander Hamilton". Ashman was a better lyricist compared to Miranda. Howard knew how to make the characters express their inner thoughts and feelings.
Because it's a remake and Ashman is dead.
6:45 "You're like a siren, that guides me" I absolutely HATE this line. "You're like" shows this line was intended to be a creative simile about Ariel. But instead it's literal. Ariel IS a siren and he just had a lucky guess??? It's so uninspired and does nothing for the story
Honestly i feel like the best song Lin could've done was The Daughters Of Triton. Lin has this technique of overlapping multiple character theme songs (like in the climax of We Dont Talk About Bruno). He could've given each of Ariel's sisters their own melodies that would harmonize together.
The concert scene was removed likely because it's too expensive for the CGI team to animate. However, this song is important to the story. Ariel missed a royal concert for the entire kingdom which makes Triton reasonably upset with her. Since this song was cut Triton's anger and Ariel's guilt fall flat in the remake. Instead, Ariel just missed a family meeting and it feels like Triton is just keeping one of his subjects in line.
I would also like to point out that following a siren is not a good thing. Sirens are the ones that drive sailor to their death, while mermaids are more neutral. If you are being guided by a siren, I take that to mean that you are following something that you know will destroy you but can't resist. Wich is a bit of a wierd feeling in a song that I think is suppose to be romantic (?).
@@mariatorres-by6du exactly, and sirens don't "guide" (which is a positive thing), they lure or entice sailors to their deaths (a bad thing)
@@dw1419 that's so funny how did they not catch that?? And even if they were trying to lean towards the whole "ariel is also a siren" thing a line like that still wouldn't work!
It's plausible that he would mention a siren and happen to get it right. This is an odd example, but Kermit the Frog was on The Masked Singer (his puppeteer was Matt Vogel) and someone was thinking, "you know, it sounds like Kermit the Frog" but of course they didn't actually guess him. And Eric didn't believe mermaids were actually real.
And it's also unlikely that he'd be singing his heart out to the ocean as well, but it's just a musical, with a mythical main character. I mean, I do sing a lot, but I'm not normal.
As someone who does singing, this song has me conflicted. On one hand, as a baritone disney doesn’t often give us much to work with in terms of songs so this is a bonus for me, and as you said Menkin’s orchestration is actually decent here. On the other hand, the lyrics leave quite a bit to be desired and don’t flow very well for singing, so I don’t know
I was waiting for him to sing about Flareon learning Solar Beam and a flute solo
Damn girl, you did not miss a beat on this critique. Impressive. Now I want to hear your rewrite!
I actually enjoyed this song a lot and Jonah singing it is one of the main reasons I went to see the movie for the 2nd time in the theatre. I appreciated the cinematography during this song and how the crashing of the waves and turmoil at sea reflected how torn he was for missing Ariel.
It’s ok to enjoy the song! She is only pointing out things within the song that could’ve been better written, pronounced, and find a better reason for it to even be there.
Me too! I don’t really pay attention to lyrics a lot, so this was nice
I can't get past the obnoxiously autotuning of the vocals in this song
Fine to give Eric a song… but why have an actor who needs autotuning to death, have a generic ‘I want’ subject, and have such a boring way to sing it? And what was his direction? To stumble acting drunk?
He could have expressed his trauma of nearly dying and changing his perspective on life, how NOW he realises he feels trapped how he is and despite nearly drowning, he wants to explore more and find the owner of the voice (only as a bonus)…
The autotune here is as bad as Emma Watson as Belle... =/
Some people felt like Disney shouldn't have used Auto-Tune for him, if you look up his cover of Hallelujah he has a pretty good singing voice. So does Emma Watson.
Jonah is cute and charming and was the perfect person to play Prince Eric and I will die on this hill.
This just makes me wish that they brought back “Her Voice” from the Broadway musical 😭
This song was musically lovely and lyrically a nightmare….the less said about the singing, the better. It was slightly less autotuned than Emma Watson in Beauty and the Beast, but in both instances you can tell the actors had zero musical background. Which is certainly A Choice™️ in a musical film.
You nailed every single point that bothered me except one: the lyric “And your voice is like a siren that guides me.” Sirens have never, in any mythology I know of, guided anyone to anything positive?? A “siren call” is used to describe being lured toward something dangerous, foolhardy, and/or deadly. It’s a completely incorrect sentiment. Though with all the other mixed metaphors, I guess it’s not the most egregious mistake, lol.
I feel like Lin-Manuel does best when he’s given room to riff or get into a rap flow, but this was absolutely the wrong film for that. If Disney wanted to pull someone from their usual stable of songwriters, they absolutely could have called the Anderson-Lopez team. They’re not perfect, but I think they have a much better grasp on how to write modern Disney songs.
I like how it opens with the music and siren song in the beginning as he walks towards the sea, it feels very atmospheric. Otherwise, however, I find it rather uninspired and bland. It doesn't even do much to add development to Eric's character as it's so generic. Like what does it tell us about Eric that wasn't already obvious enough? I don't find it gives me any further insight just reminds me that he's there to be the love interest.
It doesn't tell us anything more than Part of Your World told us about Ariel, and it's kind of a parallel to that. Yes it's a sappy love song, but also he was already drawn to the ocean like she's drawn to land.
Ok my friends and I were laughing out loud the first time we witnessed this. The song has grown on me a little ( probs cuz Jonah is so nice to look at ) but yeah I wanted a better song lyrically tbh
ME SERIOUSLY 😭
I DIDNT feel bad not liking this song until I stared at this basic white bread of a man for a little too long.
My mom and I slowly turned our heads towards each other and started to giggle 😂
@@jaz8582Aah that must've been awkward 😆
@@Barbara.Roberts it was sooo funny 😂
😂😂
Once again, I’m struck by how dark and muted this movie’s colors are. It feels like some Brontë knockoff period piece in which an extremely pale heroine spends hours roaming the moors in complete silence while the camera lingers lovingly on closeup shots of shrubbery.
So funny and true! I kept turning up the brightness on my phone trying to watch this because I couldn't see any details! I don't understand the washed out filming they seem to prefer for everything now.
Sounds like The Secret Garden. Personally I don't mind the darker tones, and it wasn't like that the whole movie.
People say the same about modern Star Trek and I don't get it because old scenes on a dark planet or in caves are way harder to see, plus the cinematography is better nowadays.
This song is fine. Jonah Hauer-King's vocal performance is alright, but his lip-syncing is off most of the time. He also does some goofy movements that sort of fit the melodramatic tone of the song, but it's just kind of weird. Also, the sudden transition from the shoreline to a ship is odd, as its unclear whether or not it's supposed to be in his head or not. That's what I got out of it, at least. As for the key change, I think it works, as most key changes often do, in my opinion. I'm no music theory expert, but that's just me. I like the song well enough and it furthers Eric's character in this new version pretty well.
is his vocal performance all right, though? sounds autotuned into oblivion to me
You should do a breakdown of this versus the broadway song ‘her voice.’ It was absolutely gorgeous, managed to sound like it belonged in a Disney movie _and_ broadway at the same time, and on top of that it was reprised in a quartet song later that managed to flesh out Trident and Sebastion in the meantime
Yay, someone else wants this.
Finding you has been fanstastic You do great breakdowns and at such LOW sub count cant wait to watch you blow up!!! Also hope you do one explaining how INSANE under the sea is now that areiel sings
i am absolutely obsessed with "For The First Time" (i can't wait for you to do a dissection of that one if you plan to), but it's the *only* new song i like from the movie. the scuttlebutt and wild uncharted waters are just confused in rhythm and are hard to follow, i feel like they are much too complex song structure-wise to play over just one scene. For The First Time takes place over a small path from the sea to the palace so I think that's why it was so much easier to ride with, along with being generally more consistent in tempo and structure (imo), then having it fall at the end for the moment of devastation. in short im very excited to hear your own takes on it
I like this song and I just think it's because I love Halle’s singing and the fact that the song perfectly shows the emotions of her first getting onto land and her disappointment later
It was a good idea to have her sing For the First Time in her head. I like the idea that she just really, really likes to sing, apparently the actress is like that as well, I am too though not nearly as good of course.
I like Wild Uncharted Waters but it was an acquired taste and I hated Scuttlebutt but I think it's more for kids and I didn't like kids music when I was a kid. I also love the Opening Theme.
It's weird, the most audibly pleasing lyrical parts of the song sounded like something pulled from a Bastille or Ed Sheeran song. It's just not... idk it's not _RIGHT_ for this.
Wild uncharted waters is just another song in a series of attempts to give the love interests songs in the remakes.
Beast got evermore. Jasmine got speechless, and nala got… well unless you count that spirit song she didn’t really get anything but that’s besides the point. I think the creative team was just like oh beauty and the beast and Aladdin gave their love interests songs, we have to do that to, even though it serves no purpose. And I know this is probably an unpopular opinion but I think this one is the best one of the love interest songs. It’s by no means a great song, but it just feels much more warranted than the others. Does it existance make sense? Not really. But I can at least see why they thought it was necessary, unlike evermore, and speechless especially.
I’m curious how this song would sound with a better performer. A great performer could make lackluster lyrics sound better than they are. Jona’s obviously trying, but his performance is very rough.
I disliked every single new song they wrote for the remakes so my expectations for this were very low, so I’m guessing that’s why it didn’t bother me much.
patiently waiting for you to talk about the part of your world reprise...
And the new reprise that they added! A good concept that I don’t think they really took far enough. I was being hit by the emotions then frustrated that it stopped after ‘here beside you-‘
That one got me insanely mad, tbh. Like, hell! There is a demo-version of the reprise from the original movie, why not just use it? Its lyrics are much more powerful.
"I'd give my life, I'd sell my soul,
Cause I can feel I'll never be whole.
But I can see,
I'll never be
Part of your world..."
Honestly I wasn’t sure about the song the first time I heard. I’m a die hard little mermaid fan and giving Eric a song seemed like an odd choice (makes way more sense then giving Skuttle a song but I digress). Anyway the second time I saw it I liked it almost as much as Ariel’s new song which I loved instantly. It’s simplistic in its lyrics but I think that works. You hear more of the score which I think is awesome. It sounds like he’s caught up. It makes you feel like your on this ride with him. The actors performance also really drives it home. You can see this almost obsessive passion he now has and he can’t understand why. We hear Ariel’s song in the background enchanting us as it enchanted him. I really like this song. I wouldn’t consider it a masterpiece but it’s definitely great for and added song. I think Ariel’s new song is more dynamic and more successful overall but this gave everything it was supposed to. Insight into the character who was formerly a dog loving himbo and an understanding of this obsessive chase of a woman who barely met and doesn’t know.
I loved Menken's whole composition for this song. I thought it was beautiful. I also think the actor playing Eric did a great job with what he was given (I dont mind his voice). However, I agree the lyrics feel lazy and uninspired. I also wish a flute was used at least at some point to emphasize Eric's thoughtfulness like we see him do on the balcony in the og. I always thought of him as a musician himself since we see him use it there in that moment to think/work out his feelings. He also uses it to be playful as we see him play on the ship with the crew.
If he used a flute at any time it would remind me of the "My Heart Will Go On - Bad Version" video and I wouldn't be able to take it seriously 😂 I know that's on recorder, but still.
There was a song I really liked from the play versions called She’s In Love. I wish they added that in
A draft of Her Voice does what this first verse tries to so much better:
Once I searched for freedom
in the wild uncharted reaches of the waters
Once I looked for beauty
in the glimmer of the sunlight on the sea
Once I hunted happiness
beyond the far horizon
Strange that I would find them
where I never thought they'd be
Even with the rewrite to come it's a tighter lyric, and might be where Miranda got the title from.
I agree with most of your analysis; great video. One thing I’d like to add though is that I heard this song in contrast to “Her Voice” from the Broadway musical version, and I would have liked to hear your thoughts on how these songs differed. (I prefer “Her Voice” and I liked Prince Eric having that song, and its reprise in the “If Only” quartet.) Overall I think it would have been better to make the musical into a movie.
loudly groaned when this song came on in the theater. i’m so serious because this song is so bad
The problem, in my opinion, is that a Disney classic musical has the perfect amount of music to tell exactly the story it’s trying to tell. In Disney’s desire to shoehorn in unnecessary songs, they are breaking the basic rules of musicals. I don’t need a song to tell me Eric wants to know who Ariel is! I had scenes of Eric looking longingly into the ocean playing his flute, and that gave me that emotion without him breaking into song. I didn’t need a song to tell me that Jasmine was a strong, independent lady! Guess what, you SHOWED me that in the story.
I'm so here for you dissecting this film lol! Also this was my favorite song in the film I think lol!
I've been watching all of your videos and didn't really know where else to say it, so this is largely unrelated... but I really like the rhyming of "island" with "island" with "island" with "island" in "How Far I'll Go." She feels like it's a prison, like it's dampening her potential. The island is day in, day out, day in, day out, day in, day out, after day, after day, after day. It being repetitive is part of the character's emotion.
That being said, from what I've seen, you haven't exactly done a full deep-dive video on "How Far I'll Go" aside from mentioning it in passing, in relation to other songs... so... you may already agree with me, for all I know.
Keep up the good work!
I like the intro of this song because it has the nostalgic feeling of a song I have forgotten. The rest of it is a bit offputting to listen to, it just feels confused.
This is an excellent analysis, but I could barely get through it because I noticed how much Eric sounds like the lead singer from Bastille, and now I can't stop laughing.
Its funny. As I listened to the song the first time I thought it was okay, but felt wrong somehow. This explains everything! As much as I hate the live action beauty and the beast, The Beasts song is much better than Erics. Sad cause this song could have been really good. Another reason the new little mermaid flopped. 😢
While honestly, yeah I liked this song, the major issue I had with it was that it sounded way to different from the rest of the tracks. It sounds way too different from every other song, which is an issue I have with most of the new songs on the track. If I didn’t already know and just listened to this song with the originals, I would swear that this was not from The Little Mermaid. I honestly think this is more like a really great pop song, and yeah, this is the only good new number in my mind (The Scuttlebutt is stupid and for the first time can sound somewhat awkward at points).
New favorite channel. All of my friends mock me for caring about rhyme scheme and meter, so seeing these exact issues heighted (especially in songs like this that drove me crazy) is very refreshing. Keep up the good work! I would love to see you review some popular pop music, especially the new Taylor Swift album which- for being an album based on poetry- has some of the worst writing ever. ("Quick quick, tell me something awful, like you are a poet in the body of a finance guy" is hands down one of the stupidest things Ive ever heard. Coming from a Swiftie.)
I'm also a Swiftie. I definitely want to cover pop. That might be a good place to start... some painful lyrics on TTPD 😭
I liked it. I liked the melody. Delivery was very good. Didn’t think his belting was distracting at all. His voice was soft and mysterious when it had to be but bright and strong - for a pop song - when singing full chested. The song felt modern, broadwayish at times. Personally I wouldn’t have gone for a modulation because I’m a bass and cant reach a G4 so easily. 😅 I fully agree about the lyrics. It’s somewhat careless at times. Also the plot not being related to this.. true enough. In the big picture I liked it. It gives the character something of his own to hold in his hands.
I decided to listen to the song after watching this, and I was like “oh crap I actually like this”. I like how they gave him a song and how he’s drawn to the sea and Ariel’s drawn to the surface. I liked that parallel a lot. I don’t really pay attention to lyrics that much either, so I thought this was good. This is just my opinion though.
Rip ashman, he would've loved astor rhymemaster
'When your eyes outshine the horizon line' feels like an Owl City lyric, which would probably be all well and good in a diffeent kind of song but not in this one.
ok, why does this sound more like a villain song than the most recent villain song?!
Lin rhyming the same words with each other seems to be a trademark. In every Disney film he's worked on he's done this. It really ruins an amazing moment for me in Moana when he rhymes "You" with itself THREE TIMES during Who You Are. Right after he does this he rhymes "are" with itself. I really don't like him at all but I seem to be a minority so I can live with it I guess, but he deserves much more criticism than he gets.
I know this is a channel about songwriting, but the filmmaking is also bizarre and first draft. Like, the song transitions from a medium shot of the palace terrace to sweeping wide shot of castle with nothing to connect the two locations or bridge the gap in time and space, then Eric starts singing before the camera can focus on where he is so for almost the entire first verse, it's not clear who in the shot is actually singing or what is happening. And this happens twice in the song! And the very beginning and the transition to the second verse.
This song would have ate if i didn't understand english
I just finished watching all of your Little Mermaid videos, and thought they were very well researched. I haven't seen the remake bur i have listened to the soundtrack, and I have to agree that the lyrics for "Wild Uncharted Waters" leave a lot to be desired which is a shame because I loved the melody.
I hope that in the future you do videos about "Under the Sea" and: "Kiss the Girl".
I would also love to see you discuss the songs from other Disney remakes like "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Lion King".
Again great videos you've earned yourself a new subscriber.
i love wild uncharted waters
Why add songs out of nowhere when you can use the ones they have from the stage adaptation
Just FYI arpeggio has a soft "g" as in "buon giorno" (since it's from Italian "to play the harp")
I loved the song 🎵
This was basically just their evermore song. It's a song sung by the main love interest about the girl who is still on his mind and how he either will remember her or tries to find her. Not much difference otherwise.
Man, at least Scuttlebutt was short and let us watch a silly bird dance around.
It doesn’t help that the chorus immediately goes to extreme and doesn’t really have a build up, a difference from the first chorus and the end, yk?
Lyrics aside, the scene looks like a fan made music video 💀
yeah, Eric was just wandering around 😭
mg did they even plan this how this scene will go
I like this song out of all the new ones but it feels jumbled together lyrics-wise. Your description of the repetitive lyrics is spot on. I wish they took more time it crafting the lyrics so it flows better and gives more insight into Eric.
Bro now I feel like I was the only one that the song actually made sense to me. I really enjoyed the song🤷♀️
I actually liked this song too 😭
Agreed
I didn't like the addition of the whole "Siren Song" detail... It turns the movie from being about a man and a woman falling in love, to a man falling for a siren's song. Its not a very positive message. Ariel didn't need a siren song in the original. She didn't need to basically hypnotize him with a magic song.
I missed this song because I'd had an alcoholic drink at the movie theater and the shipwreck scene before this scene had me feeling ill. Glad to know I didn't miss anything important! I'm curious to see if you talk about 'For the first time', that was the only new song that stuck with me (other than scuttlebutt, but that didn't stick for good reasons...)
I haven’t watched the video yet but I remember that when I saw the movie, and heard the song, I kept waiting for there to be more. The song is very ballad-y, and it felt like there should’ve been that “climax” to the song where he just belts out the lyrics with his whole heart but jt never came, it just felt very safe.
I instantly clicked because I'm excited to see someone talk about this song! It sticks out to me as one of the worst parts of the movie. Once the movie was over, if you had asked me how the song went I don't think I could have told you, because its just that boring.
In the cinema me and my sister were laughing cause it all felt a bit random ? We just didnt like the song
You forgot the most important issue- high school tenors will use this as an audition song for generations to come 😭
Ugg. Having never heard this song before, I was surprised as you got about 2 min into it that it was still going (and that he was suddenly on a ship again getting soaked while appearing to shout about his feelings).
I then went and watched the full song and gimaced/smirked with secondhand embarrassment throughout. The intro with her voice is sych a great choice, and the general concept of now finding himself in uncharted waters is super clever and I love it, but man it is so badly implemented. I imagine they told him "look like you're disoriented by sea water and a siren" but he went so far with it that he looks a little drunk and not very commanding. I love when a man expresses his emotions, but if he does it without command, well, it's honestly not very manly (...in a musical, real life is different, lol). Follow that up with an unwarranted key change and loud singing and it just feels so forced.
It's such a bummer because it seems like TLM had real potential to creatively set itself apart from the original. It seems like they succeeded with that in a few ways, but have fallen short everywhere else as per usual 😕
I love your videos! Thank you so much for doing these breakdowns! I'm so here for all of these.
I also found the song sort of boring and pointless. I think the "redundancies" you mentioned point to the song's failure to really have an arc? or momentum? (as opposed to the other "I want" song in the movie, Part of Your World) -- like it just feels so uninspired, non-consequential? I think SOMETIMES a sign of a good use of a musical theatre song is whether it moves the plot forward or slows down; and I definitely think this song has no real importance or impact.
Honestly, the Eric actor is giving it his absolute ALL and I applaud him.
I love this song and I thought he did a great job. Much better than everything we heard in Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King.
Why is he singing that way? 😂 The faces and movements he makes are kind of comical. Like it’s a skit making fun of musicals and he’s overacting on purpose. His voice doesn’t match the effort he’s putting into his facial movements and expressions.
Besides that, he’s not as handsome as I’d hope he’d be 🫤 This whole movie is a mess.
I think there are a lot of problems with the writing of the remake in general. This happened because the new writers didn't try to understand the way each character was written, they simply took the characters and tweak the lines they have. As a result, audiences came in the theater expecting the characters to stay in character by the standards of the animated movie, but what the audiences are getting are characters that are completely out of character by the animated version's standards.
I don't get why they removed some of the scenes though.
1. They removed the concert scene, which is an important scene in the animated version because they established Sebastian as the court composer in that scene which led to Sebastian composing two more songs that are important to the story, this may not seem much but it's an important detail in the animated version, children watching this remake are not going to know Sebastian is Bach's middle name and make the connection that he's the court composer and is good at composing songs on the spot if they missed this detail.
2. Eric feels really out of character in the remake, Eric is a more shy and reserved guy who you would expect that he feels awkward on his first actual date, but with the new song added for him to sing and the lines tweaked for him to say, he just isn't that shy, awkward but sweet guy who may not say the best words on his first date but always means more than what he says. Not every male character has to say what's perceived as the "sweet words" to be lovable or to be perceived as better because that may not be his original personality and character, and I feel like this is especially the case with how they changed Eric, and when he just started singing like that it feels out of place. And since they changed the narrative of the story to make the original songs no more than a bait for people to see the movie, the story just falls apart.
And the lyrics for this new song just not that great to begin with
You can't tell me Lin did this on purpose, not wanting to actually write or this remake XD
Ngl out of all the love interests in the live action remakes getting songs, Eric’s is 100% my favourite. I don’t remember Jasmines & The Beasts songs at all. I felt Uncharted Waters was very memorable (same with For The First Time). Haunting, romantic and dramatic. I love seeing men like this on screen!
You should look up Evermore, sung by the Beast. Some people didn't like Dan Stevens voice (I did) so you might like the Josh Groban version better.
I like this song too. I didn't care much for Jasmine's song but she has a great voice.
THANK YOU I WAS LOSING IT INSIDE THE THEATERS I WAS ACTIVELY BEGGING IT TO BE CHECKED OVER AGAIN BUT DAMNIT WHYY
God you make such great videos, please become big youtube channel. Love that cute rat on a profile pic
OMG yes, thank you!! You just put to words why I did not like this song and why it frustrated me so much from a music standpoint.
stoppp i love it so much it's perfect
i would love to hear your take on the original songs from the other live-action disney remakes
It sounds like a nice enough song if you don’t think about it too much, for like a pop song, or a different broadway musical. Absolutely doesn’t fit in this movie, it doesn’t fit the style and is no way good enough for the little mermaid and does not honor Howard ashman
I just watched all of your videos. I absolutely love how you analyze these songs!
If it's something youre interested in, I'd love to hear your opinion on the song they added to Grease in NBC's Grease Live! In my opinion, it's an atrocious addition and doesn't fit the show whatsoever, and I haven't seen anybody talk about it! (Maybe because it's been several years since Grease Live! broadcasted...)
Thanks for making these videos; I can't wait to see more!!
Pleaseeee do "Let it go" by Idina Menzel
Boy this does not feel like it fits in this score. I always have so much trouble with these - there's just no avoiding a comparison with Her Voice, which is just so much better. I still never listened to Evermore from new Beauty and the Beast because If I Can't Love Her is so stunning, I know any other number in that place would just fall flat.
I recently discovered your channel, I'm really enjoying your perspective on the Disney movie songs. As for this one, I feel the same way about Wild Uncharted Waters as I did about the new song added to Les Mis for the 2012 movie adaptation, "Suddenly". It's not really necessary, it doesn't really add anything to the story, and it doesn't quite fit in with the rest of the music.
I also feel like the trend of adding new songs to adaptations of beloved works is only (or at least mainly) done for Best Original Song nominations, not because the production team really believed the movie needed it, artistically. That might be a bit cynical, but I don't believe they would make a decision like this purely on artistic grounds "ars gratia artis".
I'd be really interested in hearing your thoughts on the "Speechless" song added to the live-action Aladdin, in which Jasmine says all the quiet parts out loud and removes all subtlety and subtext from her character arc.
Please break down the reprise of Part of your world next🙏🏻
I learned a lot about making songs for musicals through watching your videos. Can u make a video analysis on a Disney song u think is rlly good please? ❤
Working on it!