Jodi Benson in the studio with Howard Ashman recording "Part Of Your World" from "The Little Mermaid." From the bonus features of the film "Waking Sleeping Beauty".
I mean he was even directing the BREATHS she took between words and how important they were to the intensity he was trying to keep subtle and immense at the same time. Phenomenal director.
That would be Howard Ashman. He isn’t really the director. He wrote the lyrics to all the great Disney songs Little Mermaid Aladdin Beauty and the Beast. Sadly he died from complications from AIDS in 1991. Beauty and the Beast is dedicated in his Memory with the dedication reading “He gave a mermaid her voice and a beast his soul.”
Yeah absolutely, the breaths and emotion put in was vital. Without a good relationship the person would probably get really frustrated and stressed out lol. The hardest part is getting what you have in your head out into the audio, and usually it’s done through someone else.
@@AnIdiotsLantern Howard Ashman brought her in because he had worked with her while directing the musical "Smile". It was his vision to cast Broadway actors.
AnIdiotsLantern They usually do pick good actors and singers nowadays. Idina Menzel was perfect for Elsa, and actually, everyone was good in Frozen, Tangled, and Wreck-It-Ralph. They all fit the characters movements, inflections, and overs character.
@@neveroddoreven6597 I wore my Wicked T shirt to see Frozen in Idina’s honor at the El Capitan Theater. I was excited when I heard she was going to do the movie alongside Kirsten Bell.
Oh wow, you can really see Ashman try to pull Jodi towards the version we end up seeing in the final animation. Without his instruction we might have ended up with a really different feel to that scene.
Fun fact: The lights were dimmed in the recording studio so that the atmosphere would be right for Jodi. They wanted every single thing to be perfect ☺️
It wasn’t submitted, but really should have been... Filmmakers can submit 2 songs and the production team chose Under the Sea (won the Oscar) and Kiss the Girl (was also nominated).
Same here, I guess there were too much talent in those years that was hard to choose between. But here we are in 2023 and “peaches peaches peaches” is about to be nominated 😂
@@iago07 first they considered cutting out this song from the movie, now I learned they didn’t even submit Part of Your World for Oscar at all? They’re really a bunch of morons running the company
The fact that she understood and took impossible directions is what made this so epic. Art is easier done than communicated, so it’s awesome that they were able to vibe together to make this so epic.
The directions were very understandable, but you gotta understand music and acting which is what he was conveying to her. She's a musical theater performer, so she's used to projecting her voice to 1,500 people, lol. Meanwhile he keeps reminding her, remember... intimate. Soft voice. Everything you do is BIG. He was taking a very powerful singer and fine tuning her. You can tell when she performs this live that she still has that full on singing tendency, which is fine for a live performance. But for the purpose of the film, he wanted a more sing songy intimate style of musical expression.
“Inner intensity”. YES!! It’s absolute magic when she lets go of the idea that she’s singing and comes from her heart. Such a cliche I know. But you hear it.
Howard Ashman, you left the world too soon. He deeply loved and cared about his work and made lyrics that will be timeless. He was one of the greatest.
Wow. Yup- I just teared up! It was watching this song sung live by the actual singer and definitely the memories of the past and also seeing her passion for it.
Yes! This is exactly why I've liked the live action remakes but haven't loved them like I did the original animated ones. They're going big in the new ones and not just letting the emotion of the songs and the stories shine through. Bigger isn't better sometimes.
Not only is Howard's direction so meticulous, but I'm also so touched by his professionalism in these clips. He's throwing a lot of seemingly contradictory asks at her very quickly and you can see her getting anxious, but he's very gentle and supportive. He uses positive reinforcement throughout and puts her comfort level first. He knows that his job isn't to drain her to exhaustion trying to find what he wants but help her get to an area where she can understand that vision and act on it. Just really cool seeing respect and kindness in a world where a lot of people believe that actors should be treated like brutalized animals.
This is one of the hardest song of all the Disney princess movies to sing live. I got the role to play her in a musical theatre once and it was really hard to sing live. Bow down to her though, she made it sound so effortlessly beautiful i haven't sound as good as her singing this song.
It is fascinating to watch Howard Ashman. He must be what folks like to call "an actor's director" - his vision was so specific and singular. Disney owes an enormous debt to his all-too-missed talents.
@@meeksanimationstudios He doesn't just say "Ariel is sad here, be sadder," he gives really specific directions about intonation of certain lines and what vocal quality he wants Ariel to have. On Broadway you're projecting larger-than-life volume and emotion to reach an audience in a larger space. Howard wanted more intimacy in this setting of voice acting for the screen. He was able to coax it out of her because he knew exactly what he wanted. Listen to his demo of this song on RU-vid. The way the lines are delivered all sound very similar.
Rebecca Froehlich excuse me I am French and I love cinema and animation. I would love to do this job. What is the name in English please ? Because I am looking for my university and ect. And it is very difficult to search a job like this in 🇫🇷. I study music 🎶 and I have a little diplom ( 6years )
@@internetual7350 Thanks anyway ! it s crazy i do not remember writing this comment. I am currently a film student. I have just remembered that I used to have a big interest in movies score (which I still have but I dont want to pursue in this field) 😀
@@lutzaby1997 Professional singers can sound amazing, but there's artistic flair and personality here, a polish that goes above and beyond. To a trained ear the difference is obvious, and that is undoubtedly why she got the part over other pro singers and voice talents.
She looks old. Even back then if they would have made a live version of the movie she would still have been the voice behind the character. Voice yes, looks ? Nah 👎🏾
As a 33 year old grown man, this song completely breaks me down every time. What an incredible performance, and such a treat to watch the original recording session as it happened 30+ years ago. Thanks for posting!
They're preparing the scene where Ariel sings, "Part of Your World," in the cavern in the movie, "The Little Mermaid." It's hard to believe that that scene almost got cut from the film! Some members on the production team thought it should be cut because they felt that it would slow the movie down but Howard insisted that it stay in because it's necessary, it shows that Ariel has other reasons to want to be in the human world besides just being in love with Eric. Roy Disney also backed Howard up 100% on this. Roy also insisted that the scene should stay in the movie because it was an important scene. Roy said that sometimes a movie has to be slowed down and added that if his Uncle Walt was here, he'd also be siding with Howard. So it was agreed that the scene should stay and it turned to be a good thing, too.
It had to be in the movie because it's an amazing song which gives us the heart and soul of the central character and elevates the movie to classic status! Cutting this song would be like removing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from the Wizard of Oz!
@@Scripture-Man Exactly! Very good comparison! Howard would've agreed with you on that. Howard explained that the first, second or sometimes the third song in a musical is sung by the main character and it makes you fall in love with them. "Part of Your World," is that song in The Little Mermaid.
@@alexanderpytko5394 Especially since it's Ariel's "I want" song. It's how the audience connects to her character and without it that connection wouldn't be the same
Howard having Jodi in a small room, with not much light because he knew it would get her into character as Ariel is supposed to sing this song in an enclosed cavern with only a little light shining in. Howard really knew how to get actors into their character. Brilliant man.
@@manuelorozco7760 He didn't. By the time they had casted the voice actors for Aladdin, Howard had already passed away. He started working on Aladdin right after The Little Mermaid and got part way through he had written some of the story and 3 of the songs but then Disney wanted him to be in charge of Beauty and the Beast so Aladdin was put on hold. And as we know, Howard died before Beauty and the Beast was fully completed.
The whole song is so emotive but that line and the “bright young woman” line are my favorite moments. That look when she says “ right young women” is just iconic and the pure feeling when she sings that word “burn”. So beautiful
@@CeeBee781its absolutely perfect how she starts completely defeated and merely day dreaming, but by the end she has more resolve and I think the dream feels a little more possible to her 😢
Back when animated films didn’t need to rely on big name actors to voice their characters, only talented voice actors/singers that actually fit the characters
@I-Will-Destroy-U Ppl like you are so foul. You realize gay and black ppl have always been talented worthy performers? And that black ppl in party were underrepresented in show biz for most of history? And now it’s “Waaahh what about the past? I miss the past boohoooo” please.
I noticed that too. Why do we need celebs to come in pj’s and half ass the voice acting? Hire broadway actors/actresses that can sing 100x better and cost 1/100th of the price. From an economic standpoint it makes sense. Just need an original script and good direction.
I love the fact that Ashman is directing her and telling her exactly what needs to be done. He had a clear vision of what impact this scene/song needed. Also the fact that she's willing to take criticism and work with him shows that she cares just as much. Not like nowadays where they say, "Yeah just sing the song. It'll be fine. No acting necessary". In these live-action remakes, they cast great singers but when there's no actual acting and direction involved, the songs fall incredibly flat. Zero emotion from the singer = Zero impact on the audience.
It’s because in the remakes they’re just imitating the work of the earlier songwriters, whereas here, you see Howard Ashman meticulously directing Benson to give the perfect performance because he- the songwriter- knows exactly how he wants it done. Nowadays they’re just imitating and it shows. The passion of a Howard Ashman to get the most out of every little detail is gone.
It's less "rehearsed" and "sing-y". I think it's very evident in the directions she's given here and the distinction between this take and the final version that made it into the movie. The final version is a lot more raw, real, human, full of character and emotion. It's like what Howard Ashman's saying here: "Every little breath you take is enormous [and] registered... It's about emotion and not letting it out..." It's more about the inner intensity instead of the "noise". Had Jodi Benson chose to belt throughout the entire song, the magic and the human quality of the piece will be lost. It will be entirely pointless. Which is why I absolutely love Disney's Renaissance era and Part of Your World; everything was executed with such integrity and respect for the art and was done to the essence of Disney. Part of Your World is one of the best musical character studies I know; it's such a good "I want" song and it tells the audience everything they need to know about Ariel. That burning desire to get to the shore and explore another world which she loves so very much, getting held back by her father and own circumstances and having all that emotions, passion, joy, desperation, anguish built up to that very point. Ariel (Jodi) gasps and takes such exhilarating breaths full of wonder and excitement when she sings about all the gadgets she has collected from the world she so very wants to be a part of; it's all about that human emotion and it's absolutely beautiful. This take in the video sounds beautiful musically and Jodi has a wonderful voice, but it pales in comparison to the take they chose for the movie.
Howard Ashman, RIP, doing his best to massage Jodi's beautiful voice down to a more gentle conversational monologue. You can see his frustration in his eyes in trying to be as polite as possible. What this shows is that true visionaries know what they want. That's the difference, they're not winging it.
Well, he's working with a musical theater performer, and she is not used to the whole "less is more" concept in performing. She doesn't have that luxury, so she kept asking for feedback if her intensity has dropped enough. They're both professional and working well despite the constant tweaking and directing. They're both amazing in their collaboration.
@smarts It's not an eyeroll. It's more like his eyes go up in a slight wince. Like he's thinking to himself "No that's not quite what I'm looking for."
She's so magical, the remake can't come close to the magic of this one. Her emotions just hit you so hard, you feel her joy and sadness at the same time, about wanting something that's impossible to get.
I can’t WAIT to see the new one. I always thought this would make a beautiful live action. I just hope they change it d ouch to let this be the classic it is and let the new one be something new. I hate when they just copy the animated film almost line for line and just make it live. Lame and disrespectful to the original
This is why people can’t compare the live action and 1989 cartoon. They let hailey hit the high notes and show off her voice, while they cared more about the pure emotion in 1989 because the stage wasn’t set yet.
Her voice is the best voice Disney has ever had. Hands down. Her talent and understanding of music and the emotion behind it is unmatched. She inspired my love of singing ❤
Reminds me of my daughter. I sang this to her everytime she was upset since she was a newborn. Always bought her Ariel dolls, and stuffed toys. We got gifted Disney tickets when she was 15 months old. The girl was so uninterested in every single princess. Cinderella? Boring. Snow White? Boring. Rapunzel? Boring. But when we got to Ariel…her little face 😭 She smiled, talked to her, it made me cry. She knew that was Ariel. Ariel said “we’ll you’re the cutest little guppy I’ve ever seen” Thinking of it brought tears to my eyes. Those pictures are my absolute favorite, and sure to cheer me up in my darkest moments.🥹❤️
Props to him he was very correct to push for the energy that was captured in the film. No one would care for the song if she did it all broadway and super technical. He wanted something raw and authentic and that’s what we got and adore.
Jodi admitted that she tends to sing it loudly because she is a musical theater person, but she's happy that she achieved what Howard and Alan wanted, intensity without being to loud.
The songs from The Little Mermaid are probably among the best songs Disney ever put out. Howard Ashman was such an awesome songwriter. He left us way too soon.
At this time Jodie Benson was an unknown actor/singer in her mid twenties and just landed her dream role. Amazing to see her in the studio working on this song when she has no idea how special it will be and that people are still captivated by it and singing along with it 35 years later and it’s ranked by many media outlets as one of the greatest Disney songs of all time.
If you listen to the final version they really did keep a lid on that bright tone she's producing here... It works tho the producer got exactly what he wanted
As a 37 year old man, I didn't connect with the little mermaid as a child, but seeing the singer and her support staff work through this is more touching than what I experienced as a child. They were artists and trying to communicate something deeply human.
The direction is so interesting to watch. Howard Ashman is so locked into Ariel’s character and trying to communicate that quiet desperation for the outside world, and Jodi Benson is young, talented, hard working and trying to translate his direction into concrete singing techniques (more/less sing-y etc). You can tell they really had to work to get to the end product we all know, but the results were worth it. It’s a shame Ashman passed away when he did.
Benson’s voice and Ashman’s directing... what a combination. The final version had such a building emotional intensity. It’s amazing to see how painstaking of a process it was to get it to that point, because the finished product comes across so effortless.
All that fascination as a mermaid about the human world must have dissipated after 3 takes ngl, big shoutout to Jodi Benson for pulling this shit off cus Little Mermaid along with the Disney Renaissance made the 90s as magical as it was to live in. I had an amazing childhood because of her and others efforts like hers.
It's all about direction and restraint. Obviously both Jodi and Halle are incredible singers but this version exudes emotion, story and intimacy (she's singing to herself in her own living room). Halle's version is 100% about Halle's voice, which misses the point. She does have emotion in her face but the voice overwhelms all sense of emotion. The writers of "I Wanna Dance" said that they loved Whitney's performance so much because it's restrained in the right moments and yet oozes enthusiasm and passion, which is exactly what the song is about. This Disney song is a very personal song about wanting a different life. It doesn't need to be belted out.
when she changes into that warm mix @ 2:00 (almost like a moan), to me that is absolutely the most beautiful portion of the song and i’ve seen no one be able to perform it the way jodi does. incredible.
Khalil Hissouf when I was younger I didn’t realize how big broadway singers sang. When I did I always appreciated what Jodi did in this song even more. It looks like a bit of a challenge for her at first to not sing big but when she gets it right it’s unforgettable. This video is great and Howard was a great director.
@nightbringer1219 super late to this comment but I never thought other people noticed that part. It's almost nasally but in a beautiful way. Always stuck out to me as a kid. I was in love lol
I'm trying so hard to hear what y'all do, but I'm unable to hear the change at the two timestamps mentioned in this comment and its replies. Maybe I'm just not understanding. Can anyone explain it further? Or perhaps using different terminology? I'd be grateful as this movie was the first "obsession" I've ever had (I was born in 91) ❤
To me its still the most beautiful Disney song ever, always gets me fuzzy. Jodi Benson is the voice of Ariel always and forever. Thank you for gifting us with it all these years. Amazing directors also.
as a black woman Jodi will always be my one and only ariel. she was my childhood. had this movie on tape and used to sing this song all day everyday. ❤❤
I’m sorry but this version is 100x better then the new one, I love Haley’s voice but they changed some of the best parts that the composers of the song meticulous guided Jodi into singing it just how they composed it (as seen in this video) the little breaks in her voice, and how she phrases certain parts, where the song builds, this song is amazing and the composers and Jodi has one of the most beautiful voices in my opinion, this is my favorite childhood movie.
@@NatanBryanit's true it's not racist is just opinions everybody. Don't have to like Halle's version better then Jodi or Jodi's version better then Hallie's. It's just. The Ariel voice before the movie with Hallie's was ever made so that's why people are mad because the voices are both unique and different in. Their. Own. Ways they both put their little spin into it with their voices. Some people like Jodi's better because it's. Old and it was a long time ago. Basically the original that was made before Hallie's so that's just. How people feel and it's no harm. By feeling that way because everybody has their own feelings about Ariel because the movie with Hallie's has a change in the voice. Plus the whole race. Situation in the movie. I have no problem with her race love Hallie's Ariel just the voice change made me like nah at first but when I actually watched the movie I was like ohh I love this i feel in love with Hallie's version that's all I got to say it's just feelings
I personally think Halle's voice is perfect because she sounds exactly like a 15 year old princess, the original version just sounds like an overly mature voice for a teenager.
I heard her speak at a 90s Con and couldn’t believe that the animators didn’t start drawing until AFTER the singing/dialogue. They used HER movements, expressions, emotions to develop the character. The audio wasn’t dubbed over an existing animation. She really had to use her imagination along with the lyricist and musical team to create this character’s every emotion, movement and expressions. Everyone was so talented who worked on this film and all others during this rebirth of Disney animation
To be fair, it's standard in western animation to record the audio after doing the storyboards and before doing the animation. Animating the lips to match the audio is so much more practical than matching audio to already animated lips. Foreign dubs still have to do that but the original language gets to do the voiceover to the storyboards before it's animated.
So powerful to see her performance. Sad that the 90s Disney was the peak of animated movie perfection. We will never see movies like this again. Frames were hand drawn by talented artists interpreting characters and not cgi sweatshops filled with hundreds of mouse clickers. They were wholesome, family movies, filled with love, and adventure, and devoid of political agenda, and societal pressures.
It's amazing to see this voice I grew up with come to life like this. She was under so much pressure to sing in such a way, but in the end it came out perfectly, so much emotion in it. She did so well!
