DJ Stitch

[sam253]

I found this strange promotional website, which describes Stitch as a DJ... It even has a link to an Elvis song "remixed by Stitch".
http://www.stitch626.com
It's kinda cool, but it made me wonder. Are there going to be Elvis songs, Elvis covers (the Wynonna one) and Elvis REMIXES on the soundtrack? Well, we should find out in a couple of months. I guess I'd prefer the movie score to be on the CD.

 

[Michael Zielski]

Unfortunately, the indications appear to be that we are going to have a soundtrack of Elvis songs--not that I'm anti-Elvis, but as I've harped on earlier, a return to ORIGINAL, character-based songs might once again infuse a magical spark into the recent theater releases. Can you imagine what Walt would think of having one of his movies carried along by "a hunka-hunka burnin' love"(I caught that old Presley song in one of the recent Lilo and Stitch trailers)? Oh well.....Michael Zielski.

 

[Tink]

As much as I adore the "traditional" musical animated features, I don't think that "Lilo and Stitch" is the type of film that would work in that format. As for it using Elvis as Stitch's inspiration... Awesome (and pretty darn funny) work by the creative team. And the Dj Stitch website? Who would've thunk that Disney- with it's current leadership and business attitudes- would have ever thought of doing something like this! Here's to hoping that Eisner will finally allow the creative side to do what they do best; innovate and create!

Tink

 

[Michael Zielski]

But that's just my point--I just don't see how using dated Presley songs that we've all heard over and over again is creative and innovative! It's time to imagine--create-- some fresh, new songs to add to the Disney anthems we all have come to cherish over the years. Michael Zielski.

 

[Scott]

While I too enjoy the many classic animated musicals that have been written, I think it's an awfully narrow view of "creative and innovative" that only includes those. The Elvis songs may not be new, but this definitely sounds like an innovative way of using them--I mean, who'd have thought of something like this before Lilo and Stitch? Was Sleeping Beauty not creative because they used music from the ballet, that we'd heard over and over again?

Heck, it could be argued that writing another tired old musical is the least "creative" or "innovative" thing they could do, since it's been done *so* many times before. I understand everyone has a personal preference, of course, but to say that it's not creative/innovative seems a bit disingenuous to me.

 

[Michael Zielski]

Thanks for keeping this "hot" topic going, Scott! Maybe I'm missing the point, but I don't see how adding old pop-rock songs to carry a movie along is a new idea--it strikes me as an easy, ready-made musical solution. Melding Tchaikovsky's ballet with animation WAS, I believe, innovative, and presented a different problem from adding songs to a story line. I suppose we really need to actually SEE the movie, and then make a final decision--all this may be premature! But if anyone thinks that "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and the Beast" are tired, old musicals, just listen to the imaginative creativity involved, on the 4 CD set, "The Magic Behind the Music", a tribute to Howard Ashman. May the debate rage on! Michael Z.

 

[Scott]

Of course, you're right--we really do need to wait and see the movie, and then we may end up having this whole discussion
all over again!

And, as I said, I do enjoy Beauty or Mermaid as much as a songless movie such as,
say, Atlantis. I think Atlantis' songless score was as appropriate for it as the
Broadway style of the other two. But I do remember, back around Mulan or so, that
lots of people were complaining that we were just getting another same ol', same ol'
Disney musical, they'd done this so many times before, why can't they do anything new,
yadda yadda.

I guess, if I have a point, it's that of course each of us will have his own personal preference...some of
us would prefer only Broadway-style musical extravaganzas, some would prefer cutting-edge
stuff--heck, someone probably even prefers Dinosaur! But I still think that each, in its
own way, is definitely creative. Innovative may be harder to define, but just about all of the movies
definitely show off their creativity, whatever that happens to mean for a particular film.

 

[Louis Gonzalez]

Fact: Did you know that Walt Disney NEVER used a Broadway style musical soundtrack in any of his animated movies?
Fact: Did you know that the recent Disney animation trend for Broadway musicals has become more and more predictable?
Fact: Did you know that by making one animated Broadway musical after another it becomes a cookie-cutter idea?
Imagine if the Disney company would have repeated the same musical style picture after picture. Imagine if the next 10 animated pictures after the Jungle Book would have all been Jazz style? Or if the next 10 pictures after Sleeping Beauty would have been in the classical/opera style? Or if the next 10 pictures after Fantasia would have been all classical music?
Let's face it, there needs to be more variety. I was REALLY sick of Broadway musicals after Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Hunchback (my favorite), Mulan, etc....
Animated Disney films USED to appeal to the whole family. Now they only appeal to kids and adults who like musicals (mostly women and a certain type of men
The fact that they are getting away from this type of musical is VERY refreshing. Do you know how many times audiences grew tired everytime Pocahontas would open her mouth ready to start singing a song?
To close:
There is nothing wrong with the ocational Broadway musical. It's nice to have a movie with no songs once in a while too. What is really missing right now is variety. And it seem like we are finally getting it. Maybe since Lilo and Stich is using mostly standard Presley songs, the focus can be on the ANIMATION. Isn't that what counts the most? And how about Sweating Bullets. That picture is getting a Western musical soundtrack. Sounds very cool to me. If they could only use diffent music styles everytime they did a musical, that would be refreshing. There are many musical styles out there to theme animated movies. And I don't mean to place pop music as a musical style. That's another trent that NEEDS to die. No more Phil Collins or Sting....PLEASE! Wether they use songs or not, they should make it different every time.
In other words: Should the characters start singing again? ONLY WHEN NECESSARY!!!

 

[Michael Zielski]

Right, Scott! I really did enjoy Atlantis--I'm quite a fan of the classic Jules Verne-esque-Indiana Jones adventure story(I'm reading "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" currently)! Dinosaur was great as well--who didn't want to be a paleontologist at some point? I'm also looking forward to "Treasure Planet," songs or not--how can you go wrong with pirates, cyber or not! But I was surprised and disappointed when Atlantis was not looked upon as an immediate "box office success"--why? But, as you say, a change in venue is certainly an important factor in the creativity process--but now that all that ground has been covered for the time being, and the writing is on the wall as far as I'm concerned, maybe another attempt should be made at creating a "true Disney classic," if you know what I mean! Michael.

 

[Tink]

As a musical-theater performer, let me say that my favorite disney animated films are indeed the "Broadway-style" films. But does that mean they should all be that way? I don't believe so. And if my previous post came across as if I didn't like the older animated films, I do apologize. But as for "Lilo and Stitch" being innovative, I truly think it is!

Using Broadway as an example, "Rent" is a rock and roll musical, totally different from anything Rogers and Hammerstein or Stephen Sondheim would write. Very innovative. But is it better than Sondheim or R&H? No, just different. Without innovation- even if people don't like it- the medium will grow stagnant and suffer.

Anyways, I'm always up for a good debate over this type of thing! So flame on!

Tink