Great Disney Tunes: Movie Edition

Wow, where has the time gone? I've been so wrapped up in the real world, I haven't had time to update this sucker.

For those of you not into running, well you are in luck. I'm moving my running posts to a new blog (to be named later). I want to get better at using this space to talk about the great things WDW, with a little extra overall Disney talk here and there. Which brings me to today's post.

First of all, I love music. If I had my choice between a lifetime FastPass or access to the Disney Audio Archives, I would run out an buy the biggest iPod I could find. You may have heard me talk about music in the past (namely, because I spent a good amount of time working in the recording studio at Universal Orlando, as well as being an accomplished musician) so I wanted to devote a post to something I'm incredibly passionate about, Disney music.

The Sherman Brothers, Bruce Broughton, Irwin Kostal, Joel Hirschhorn, Buddy Baker, among others - just amazing and creative artists. To me, they bring Disney to life.

I plan to make this a reoccurring post focusing on different aspects of Disney music - Today, I want to focus on my favorite Disney tunes from Classic Disney movies. Classic? What does that mean? Well, we're going to look at tracks from the early days of Steamboat Willy, up to about the late 90's. I plan to do a more contemporary one, but since the more recent soundtracks are kind of terrible (save any Pixar movie) I'm less motivated to pick them. Plus, as you know, I'm more of a "live in the past" kinda guy.

 Here are my top 15, do you agree?

#15 - Mine, Mine, Mine - Pocahontas
First of all, let me say this was a terrible movie. Just awful. But, the music made it bearable, especially this track which features the talented David Ogden Stiers (Charles Winchester III from TV's M.A.S.H) as the bellowing Governor Radcliffe. He delivers his lines with such passion it's hard not to feel for his character a bit. Not to mention, the orchestration is just superb (especially, the bridge at the 1:52 mark, check out those sweet chimes in the background). Bravo!

They should have just played the soundtrack in a dark theater

#14 - Best of Friends - The Fox and the Hound
If you don't like this song you, simply aren't a human being. Not only was the movie a treasure, but getting the legendary Pearl Bailey to lend her golden voice to this song was a stroke of genius. I still remember listening to this track on a special Fox and the Hound picture record when I was a kid.

"I'm a fox..."

#13 - Candle on the Water - Pete's Dragon
Hang on, kids. You're about to find out I'm a huge Pete's Dragon fan. Ever since my sister bought the VHS for me for Christmas when I was little I have since watched this movie about a million times. Sad, this movie didn't get better attention, as it followed the template - which was the typical Disney movie, filled with cheesy, Disney goodness. A poor protagonist, the evil villains, a red-herring, and of course a mythical best friend. Like every Disney movie, it all works out in the end.
Candle in the Wind really can stand on its own as a pop chart, since it really filled the feel of the time (1970's) and Helen Reddy was a pretty popular singer back then. This track was nominated for an Academy Award, so good on you Pete's Dragon!

"Boy, I sure hope this all turns out okay."

#12 - Out There - The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Hunchback was another one of those movies that just didn't have an audience. This was really a low point for Disney animation, but luckily for us the music department had Alan Menken and he ate his Wheaties when penning this score. Out There is another Broadway-feeling, uplifting track marrying the audience to our grotesque protagonist through his passionate declaration that he will live life. Back in the day, Disney MGM Studios had a stage show based on this movie and the actors in that show killed it on a daily basis. Drop Beauty & The Beast and bring back Hunchback!

Broadway quality

#11 - Carrying the Banner - Newsies
This movie had so much potential. Unfortunately, it was saddled with a lot of issues - poor writing, acting, directing, and an audience that just wasn't diggin' musicals. The filler score itself was meh, but when you add Alan Menken's themes and Jack Feldman's lyrics, well all bets are off. Carrying the Banner just has that Disney feel to it. And it's just so damn catchy. I'm really glad Disney gave Newsies a second chance and put it where it should have always been, on stage.

"Extra! Extra! This music is awesome."

#10 - Rocketeer to the Rescue/End Title
Everybody: "The Rocketeer? Oh, I love that movie!" Me: "Why?" Everybody: (silence). The Rocketeer is just one of those movies that you just love, but you just don't know why. Dollars to donuts, it's the music. James Horner is a critically acclaimed composer (Apollo 13, Titanic) and man, did he rock this soundtrack. It really captures the campy, cartoony, comic book feeling of the movie, while at the same time really taking the audience on a supersonic flight through the skies. This is a perennial favorite and remains a favorite on my running mix.

Ready for liftoff

So, there you have it, tracks #10-#15 of my favorite Disney music songs. Stay tuned for the next 5!

Thoughts?





 

2012 Soldier Field 10 Mile Race Recap

Saturday, I had the pleasure of running the Fleet Feet Soldier Field 10 Mile race here in Chicago. I was really looking forward to running this course since it was this time last year I was diagnosed with my stress fracture, just two days before the 2011 Soldier Field 10 Mile. The other reason being I’m working on solidifying my A corral for all the upcoming Disney races (I should already be good, but have time to improve my standing).

Overall, the race was very professional and well done, and while being a die-hard Buccaneers fan, running on the Soldier Field grass was kind of amazing. Also, I was super impressed with Fleet Feet’s social media team, they were on the ball all weekend with updates and personal Facebook replies. They are a top-notch organization. Kudos, Fleet Feet Chicago!

The week leading up to the race certainly wasn’t without drama. The weather forecast looked to be in the high 80’s, which would be murder, and then changed to severe thunderstorms to happen right as we were to step off. Therefore, the EAS warning watch was set to YELLOW (best to keep your wits about you as anything could happen).

Saturday morning, I was up at 4a (my corral started at 7a and Devin’s 7:30a).  We had to get to Soldier Field and while we live in the city, it’s a tough journey to get to there through public transportation, so we were going to have to cab it. I was nervous remembering how we almost missed the Hot Chocolate race in November due to the jack hole cabbies that wouldn’t pick us up as they knew they could get larger fares farther north.

Luckily, we caught a cab without much issue and got to Soldier Field with time to spare. The sky looked a thick grey and ominous, but I knew we’d be okay as I checked the weather before leaving and the storm was going to skirt us by about 10 miles (looking north looked like a hurricane as the sky was black). The air was damp and cool, perfect for running, but the wind was howling making it feel colder.

My corral closed at 6:40a, while my wife was in a later one giving her more time to settle in. I wished her luck and headed over to my area. The runners around me looked like they just got off the Olympic Trials bus, so I just closed my eyes and visualized the racecourse and went over my strategy (which really was anything under 1:24:00). The course was to take us south to Hyde Park and then back to Soldier Field where we would finish on the 50 yard line.

After some well-done Memorial Day fanfare (and the announcement the EAS warning had been downgraded to GREEN (all clear)), the elites set off and we moved into the chute just as one or two rain drops started, but quickly dissipated. The horn went off and we headed on our way.

As expected, some runners quickly gobbled me up, but I just moved over to the right and kept to my race strategy. Oddly enough, later in the race I was able to pick off most of them, which felt great. The first 4.5 miles were all tail wind so I could just set my legs on cruise control let the wind do all the work which really helped me conserve energy for the back half which would be all headwind on a path right next to the lake.

The race put us on Lake Shore Drive, supplying us runners ample room to run our own race. However there was still a lane for car traffic, which always makes me nervous. All it takes is one idiot on a cell phone and serious damage could happen to me, my wife, or any other racer.

Making the turn at mile 4.5, I could immediately feel the headwind which must have been about 20-25 mph and made me feel like I was standing still. I popped a Tri-Berry GU gel, took some Gatorade at the 5 Mile water stop and then tucked in close behind a runner who was taller than me to draft for a while. I never really believed runners could “draft” off of a single runner, but I could really feel it working so mental note for next windy race. I rode that guy’s coattails until about Mile 7 where he started to fall back and I shot by him Ricky Bobby-style (“Shake and Bake!”).  Mile 8 was such a tease in that you could see McCormick Place, which seemed so close, but it really wasn’t. Plus, by this time I was so close to the lake the whitecaps were spraying me (it was that windy). I knew that if I could keep this pace until Mile 9 adrenaline would take me the rest of the way.

As anticipated, at Mile 9 I felt that warm bubble of energy know as the “runner’s high” and picked up the pace as I neared Soldier Field. Upon getting to the stadium we turned left into the player’s parking lot and then into the bowels of the stadium. Turning left, through a tunnel of light and boom, we were on the field! To be honest, I can’t remember the finish only that my final kick was what I am calling “the stuff of legend”. My legs took off like Usain Bolt and I jammed past about 60 people who appeared to be just standing still, it was awesome! Passing the Finish Line, I checked my Garmin, 1:20:50! I had just PR’d by over 5 minutes from my previous 10 Mile race and also killed my 10k time! Although excited to PR, at the same time I felt like I didn’t leave it all on the course, but there’s always next time. 

The Finish Line

BOOM!

I picked up my Soldier Field medal (kinda meh, but then Disney medals kinda blow all others out of the water) and branded blanket and headed into the stands to wait for my wife.

My wife did a great job too! This wasn’t a PR for her, but she had not been feeling well and put in a solid effort.

Overall, this was a tremendous and well-executed race, both by Fleet Feet and myself. The course layout was fast and relatively flat, allowing for some serious running. Again, hat’s off to Fleet Feet, they really have their act together when putting on a race. I can’t wait for next year’s!

Official Time: 1:20:36

Overall Place: 1,623 (12,845)

Gender Place: 1,234 (5,526)

Age Place: 208 (1,012)

***NOTE*** I wanted to call out that some of my loyal readers are not runners and keep asking when I am going to be putting up a Disney Parks related post (that’s not running). Therefore, in the near future I will be launching a blog specific to running (both Disney & non), while keeping All Things WDW specific for Parks posts. Stay tuned!