A great soundtrack, ruined
Feb. 14th, 2014 06:50 pmToday, in my latest round of Disneyana, I went out and bought a replacement copy of the Alladin soundtrack. The kids had a copy many years ago, and when I finally got around to ripping it I discovered that it was so badly damaged that I couldn't read any of the tracks off it. Which saddens me, because it was the first edition of the soundtrack. This new version has changed lyrics of Robin William's introductory song, Arabian Nights:
Apparently, someone object to the lyric:
Oh I come from a land, from a faraway place
Where the caravan camels roam
Where they cut off your ear
If they don't like your face
It's barbaric, but hey, it's home
And so now, with a voiceover by someone who is not Robin Williams, it says:
Oh I come from a land, from a faraway place
Where the caravan camels roam
Where it's flat and immense
And the heat is intense
It's barbaric, but hey, it's home.
Really? That's lost a lot of the punch I cared about in the original. It's boring. And it's not as much fun. It's not like Agrabah is a real place, and it's no worse a cultural appropriation than The Frog Prince was of New Orleans or Mulan was of some obscure, unnamed, never-never version of China.
Just count me disappointed.
Apparently, someone object to the lyric:
Oh I come from a land, from a faraway place
Where the caravan camels roam
Where they cut off your ear
If they don't like your face
It's barbaric, but hey, it's home
And so now, with a voiceover by someone who is not Robin Williams, it says:
Oh I come from a land, from a faraway place
Where the caravan camels roam
Where it's flat and immense
And the heat is intense
It's barbaric, but hey, it's home.
Really? That's lost a lot of the punch I cared about in the original. It's boring. And it's not as much fun. It's not like Agrabah is a real place, and it's no worse a cultural appropriation than The Frog Prince was of New Orleans or Mulan was of some obscure, unnamed, never-never version of China.
Just count me disappointed.