Alan Menken accepts the Best Original Song Oscar for BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.
Earlier this week, Alan Menken celebrated his 75th birthday. As a stage composer turned motion picture maestro, he's authored a number of original musicals, enchanting generations across the decades. Indeed, many could probably credit Disney's favorite composer with the soundtrack of their childhood – I know I can. For his efforts, Menken amassed 19 Oscar nominations and eight victories, many of which he shared with the writers who put words to his music. To celebrate the man's legacy, I shall give him the same treatment bestowed on John Williams a few months ago and rank all his nods, both in the score and song categories…
Since there are so many of them, let's start with Menken's nominated songs. Here they are, all fourteen tunes, ranked from least impressive to absolute best. As you can imagine, this is a personal ranking influenced by nostalgia and one's relationship to various childhood favorites. Be warned that not all my placements will be to your liking. But hey, when appreciating art, objectivity is a lie, and there's no right or wrong way to do things. Those who tell you otherwise are fabulists of the highest order, some rhetoric villains worthy of their own villain song. Menken has penned many iconic examples, but sadly, most weren't nominated by AMPAS. There's no accounting for taste.
14. "So Close" from ENCHANTED (2007), shared with Stephen Schwartz
Like every song on this list, "So Close" lacks not for beauty or tunefulness. Once upon a time, I might have even deemed it my favorite of Enchanted's three nominated numbers, standing apart for its pop modernity amid a soundtrack in perpetual pastiche cum homage to classic Disney musicals. Nevertheless, as one's taste changes with age, I've become slightly dissatisfied with "So Close." It simply feels too of the moment for the picture's melodious stylings. The incongruence makes sense within the narrative, but I can't help but feel like Menken could have reached a more elegant solution to show how the cartoon princess from a fairytale unreality has fallen for a real man and his real world. It's lovely and romantic, a delight whose low ranking reflects the greatness of the composer's collective works more than this song's quality.
13. "I See the Light" from TANGLED (2010), shared with Glenn Slater
It's not Menken's fault that the Academy decided to nominate Tangled's blandest song, but here we are. "I See the Light" is a serviceable ballad, bolstered by two solid vocal performances and a dazzling staging that sees it become the background for a nocturnal dance of lanterns aflame. "Mother Knows Best" should have been nominated instead, or maybe even "I Have a Dream." The eventual AMPAS honoree further exemplifies how Menken often outclasses his songwriters, with the instrumental composition of "I See the Light" dragged down by Slater's witless lyrics. It wins points for sheer sincerity, but that's it.
12. "Colors of the Wind" from POCAHONTAS (1995), shared with Stephen Schwartz
Speaking of scores that vastly outclass the songwriting at hand, Pocahontas is the most obvious example in Alan Menken's entire filmography. "Colors of the Wind" is especially irritating in its faux-poetics, marring a curiously down-beat love song whose popularity owes a great deal to just how gorgeous the sequence animation is. The robust track underpinning Judy Kuhn's performance makes up for Schwartz's mess, though I always fail to see why one would love "Colors of the Wind" more than "Just Around the Riverbend," whose Menken contribution is even better. That said, I realize my feelings for Pocahontas are a bit out of the norm, and that many rank it and its soundtrack near the top of what the Disney Renaissance had to offer.
11. "Happy Working Song" from ENCHANTED (2007), shared with Stephen Schwartz
By far, the most direct song parody in Enchanted comes in the form of this "Happy Working Song." Menken and Schwartz worked from the model established in films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Cinderella, turning housework into a source of unlikely musical cheer. There's no great originality here, but the humor works, and the reference is strong enough to be universally understood. Plus, Amy Adams performs the hell out of the number, making you believe in the picture's heady concept without ever straining herself. She's Enchanted's biggest trump card, and the secret to making many of Menken's melodies reach their full potential.
10. "That's How You Know" from ENCHANTED (2007), shared with Stephen Schwartz
For the movie's Central Park showstopper, Alan Menken pulled both from film history and his own legacy at Disney. On the one hand, "That's How You Know" is closely connected to the Arthur Freed unit extravaganzas of MGM, re-imagined for an eclectic, yet tradition-bound, 21st-century sound. On the other hand, this is as close as Menken gets to reproducing the feel of his Howard Ashman partnership. It's easy to see the threads tying the number to the Broadway-style ensemble spectacles that Menken and his best songwriter used to put together on the regular, revitalizing Disney Animation in the process.
09. "Go the Distance" from HERCULES (1997), shared with David Zippel
In terms of its narrative placement, "Go the Distance" is a tad deadening, robbing the movie of its propulsive energy for some morose reflection that feels forced. David Zippel's better at mythological gospel and girl group pastiche than at such earnestness, but his words still provide a good basis for this character moment in Hercules' first act. Moreover, they are blessed with a ravishing Alan Menken composition that traces the hero's arc through juvenile insecurity to a newfound confidence, like a golden sunrise peeking through the horizon, heralded by a champion's fanfare. Once more, it's not Menken's fault that the Academy chose to honor "Go the Distance" instead of the superior "Gospel Truth" and "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)."
08. "A Whole New World" from ALADDIN (1992), shared with Tim Rice
Howard Ashman was one of a kind. Since their Broadway days and into the Disney Renaissance, the songwriter and Alan Menken created miracle after miracle. Sadly, the lyricist died in 1991, as Beauty and the Beast was getting finalized and Aladdin was still in production. Though he had worked on many songs for the latter film, various Ashman originals didn't make it to the final cut, and other tunes were left incomplete. Tim Rice did a solid job as the picture's new songwriter, but there's a gigantic gap in sophistication between his work and Ashman's. Compare the wordplay of "Prince Ali" with Rice's "One Jump Ahead," or the romanticism on the verge of maudlin that is "A Whole New World." Still, I can't deny how iconic the song is, nor the passion Menken's composition brings to it. Though the final quieting after the climax is a repeat of another Disney love song – more on that later – the structure still provides a gorgeous grace note. You sense the euphoria of love growing in you, exploding, and then settling into something that lingers on the soul, ringing in the ear.
05. "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space" from LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1986), shared with Howard Ashman
The Little Shop of Horrors musical is one of Alan Menken's crown achievements, but when it came time to transpose the triumph from stage to screen, some changes had to be made. One came in the form of this electrifying villain song for Audrey II, the alien carnivorous plant intent on devouring the world. Truth be told, the monster has other songs in the movie, but "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space" serves to score its final stand against Seymour, turning the dramatic highpoint of the story into a riotous rollicking affair. Ashman's lyrics turn the energy levels to eleven as Menken's music amps the playfulness. It all results in a set piece bursting at the seams with mean-spirited, self-satisfied joy, a predator singing its glory with the zeal of a church sermon, and the hunger of an eater of worlds. What's not to love?
06. "Kiss the Girl" from THE LITTLE MERMAID (1989), shared with Howard Ashman
From this number on, every one of these songs is a virtual masterpiece, with only minute degrees of greatness separating them. It's also a matter of personal preference since any of the following six songs could vie for a first-place placement. Take "Kiss the Girl," whose construction practically begs the audience to consider the dimensionality of its sound and how different components join to create the sonic essence of romantic attraction, falling in love. Mellow and melodious, the song is about the evocation of feeling through symphony, communicating Ariel's need for confirmation of her and Eric's love through the magic of a musical marine menagerie.
05. "Under the Sea" from THE LITTLE MERMAID (1989), shared with Howard Ashman
The first song to earn Alan Menken represents the first iteration of a type that would become a staple in animated movies to come. Pulling from theatrical tradition and the popularity of the 1980s mega-musical, the composer and Howard Ashman punctuated their films with showstoppers that tended to include a good percentage of the ensemble putting on a spectacle for the protagonist – and the audience. It's Broadway transfigured into cartoons, built as a crescendo that pops like a champagne cork flying through the air by the tune's conclusion. "Under the Sea" makes for a good first go at the format, serving to justify the music men's decision to make Sebastian into a Calypso-singing crab. Genius isn't strong enough a word to describe what Ashman and Menken achieved here.
04. "Be Our Guest" from BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991), shared with Howard Ashman
If "Under the Sea" started the showstopper craze for animated musicals to come, "Be Our Guest" perfected it in Beauty and the Beast. Even the staging makes no qualms about putting the filmmaker's reference points on the forefront, underlining the picture's debt to Golden Age Hollywood musicals and the Broadway stage. Most impressively, Menken modulates the sound, complicating the crescendo structure of the original subaquatic circus. There are moments of rhythmic and even stylistic variation, little cul-de-sacs within the song that allow different performers to shine, and keep the spectator on their toes from start to finish.
03. "Friend Like Me" from ALADDIN (1992), shared with Howard Ashman
The final showstopper that got Ashman and Menken a nomination was also their best. Built on intricate lyrics and Robin Williams' improvisations, "Friend Like Me" is a frenzied rollercoaster of a song, so extreme in its big swings that it almost feels like the music is struggling to keep up with everything else going on. That's not a dig, mind you, for it makes the number vibrate with the potential for chaos, and no matter how many times one might watch it, part of it always feels dangerous, risky, and refreshing. The animated is suitably demented, drunk on the same creative absinth as Menken's swirling tune, culminating in one of the best character introductions in the history of movie musicals.
02. "Belle" from BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991), shared with Howard Ashman
But if "Friend Like Me" makes the pantheon of musical character introductions, "Belle" might top it. In its most basic form, the audience's first impressions of the beauty in Beauty and the Beast fits the style and structure of an operetta, reconfigured to the precepts of late-20th century musical theater. Like "Be Our Guest," this one's full of gorgeous modulations, little crooks and crannies within which Menken unspools repeated motifs and starts to lay the foundation for the movie to come. In that way, it's not just a character introduction, but a way to familiarize the viewer with the storytelling and sonic devices that will dominate the movie-watching experience. It also has the best lyrics out of any Disney song, a mini sung-through farce in the space of a few minutes.
01. "Beauty and the Beast" from BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991), shared with Howard Ashman
After such effusive words on "Belle," you might wonder why, like the Academy, I prefer the title song from Beauty and the Beast. As ever, sentimentality plays a part in it and so do the years thinking of the tune as the height of romantic wistfulness on film. It's a beguiling melody if nothing else, a cross between a paean to the blossoming of love and a lullaby from a mother to her child. Having Angela Lansbury sing is an inspired choice, her cadence providing its own musicality to mesh with Menken's lush creation. Still, within the loveliness, a note of melancholy can be heard, soft and near inexistent, a color that makes the amorous stylings more vivid than they would otherwise be. While listening to it, even a cynic believes in the possibility of fairytale love. In summation, "Beauty and the Beast" is a perfect tune for a perfect movie.
After those fourteen songs, there's the film score quintet for which Menken received five Oscar nominations and four wins. They range from an Arabian Nights riff to a masterpiece of liturgical song and Broadway-style theatrics.
05. ALADDIN (1992)
Like many Hollywood composers, Alan Menken can't resist a bit of Orientalism when the opportunity presents itself, ridding Aladdin with melodic clichés. However, this is a master of his craft, capable of turning the broad strokes of "Arabian Nights" into a haunting prelude, making Jafar's presence a viscerally-felt threat and the Gennie's sonic incongruity into a feature rather than a fault. If I rank it last, it's merely because all the other Oscar-nominated scores in Menken's repertoire are a bit more magnificent. Still, it's impossible to begrudge the man this Academy Award win or to even argue against it as a fair result.
04. POCAHONTAS (1995), shared with Stephen Schwartz
Like The Lion King, Pocahontas is marred by a pretension of prestige that punches some air out of it. They are both animated classics whose qualities I can appreciate without ever falling in love with them. But to praise the parts more than their sum means I can recognize the marvel in something like Pocahontas' soundtrack. Here, we find Menken in a more self-consciously important tone than usual, ostensibly scoring the movie as a historical epic whose flights of fancy never overwhelm the dominant drama. The contrast between the martial sonority of the colonizers and the orchestral opulence of the natives and their natural world is an obvious dynamic that nonetheless works like gangbusters. Similarly, the bleeding of war into romantic themes delineates the tragedy of its love story, culminating in a farewell that might be among Menken's most beautiful compositions.
03. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991)
As you might've noticed, I tend to think Menken's scores are more beautiful than the music he writes for their movies' songs. Beauty and the Beast might be the great exception, where the best of Menken's work can be found in the musical set pieces, negotiating the demands of Ashman's lyrics and storytelling strategies. That's not to say his instrumental score is lacking when not accompanied by song. In fact, the thing is a marvel that helps the whole thing function as a classic musical – it was the first Disney movie in a long time to be conceived from the start as one. If asked to name a favorite track, I'd be hard-pressed to choose between the prologue and the transformation sequence, whose trumpeting joys sound like the light of heaven breaking through storm clouds. The Oscar win was well-deserved.
02. THE LITTLE MERMAID (1989)
Mainstream animation wouldn't be the same without the success of The Little Mermaid and the renaissance it helped ignite. In short, it's a movie that demands high consideration, a historical mark whose importance can sometimes lead one to take it for granted or underappreciate its glory. And behind it all is the music Menken composed for it, the backbone of the movie that provides its structure and tone, its remarkable sensibility, and the emotional flush of its highs and lows. While I don't rank it first in this piece, I would wager it's the most beautiful of Alan Menken's scores for Disney, so pleasurable to the ear it's inconceivable to imagine a world where its wonder didn't exist. I get goosebumps just thinking of the choral work that bubbles up during the opening, as a fish escapes from a fisherman's hands and swims down into the depths, across coral reefs, to the splendor of an underwater kingdom. Pardon the unoriginal saying, but it's a magical thing – that's the only appropriate way to describe this score.
01. THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1996), shared with Stephen Schwartz
It strikes me as ironic, perhaps even a tad cynical, that the score I rank highest among Menken's Oscar-nominated work is also the only one of them who lost the prize. Yet, I don't pick it out of anti-AMPAS contrarianism. It's simply difficult to deny the musical majesty of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Before he turned gospel into Greek mythos and turned fairytale precepts into parody, Menken somehow managed to construct an entire score for a kid's cartoon on the basis of Gregorian chants and other liturgic musicality, going as far as using Latin prayers as motif, melody and counter-melody.
Sure, the Broadway sound still manifests, but it always feels secondary to a score that reaches for the darkness in Hugo's original text and the grandiosity of Gothic architecture. Like those buildings, it stretches up toward the sky above, toward a proximity to the divine that is both a blessing and a curse. Just as quickly, Menken's appropriation of religious rites may beckon ecstasy and turn it into terror in the next scene. Don't believe me? Close your eyes and listen to "Sanctuary!" followed by "And He Shall Smite the Wicked," appreciate the variations in mood, the pain into salvation, and the peace broken by threat, death and absolution. Feel the repeated prayers vibrate themselves into a metamorphosis, Man's appeal to God re-worked as a Greek Chorus from the beyond.
If The Little Mermaid is Menken at his most beautiful, The Hunchback of Notre Dame sees him turn animated cinema into a spiritual experience.
What about you, dear reader? How would you rank Mr. Menken's Oscar nominations?