TWISTED (Starkid) Reaction - Ep. 11 of Musicals I Know Nothing About 

📣 Open comment to the friend who inspired this series 📣 Dear V, This is just a series of "aaaaww" and "I can't deal with this" because honestly, I couldn't handle any of it. Love, Babs

A really good summary of Starkid is, "Their nonsense had a point!"

The first time you watch Twisted: "oh god what have they done to Jasmine" The 2nd/3rd time watching Twisted: "okay she's a little confused but she got the spirit" The 500th time watching Twisted: "I WANT THE MOON. I WANT TO LIVE ON THE MOON!"

The fact that they make aladdin the merchant is actually genius because it explains why the aladdin we originally know is the good guy, bc were told the story from the merchant so aladdin just lied the entire time

Don't be too worried about falling into the Starkid hole, it's easier just to go with it. And hey, you've got lots of good conpany!

In The Golden Rule Reprise they actually sing "follow the gold and rule", which I think is just genius

Do spies are forever next (its about spies)

The guy who plays Ja'far is Dylan Saunders, he is an amazing actor and singer, he appears in a lot of the early Starkid shows and also plays one of the leads in Black Friday (his 1st appearence in a Starkid production since Twisted actually).

I don't know if you caught this because I only just did after watching it multiple times buuuut The reason we have the Disney Aladdin that is so different from this one is because it's a story being told by the merchant from the beginning of the movie. And we now know that the merchant is Aladdin. He rewrote the story to make himself the hero

all the other villains being disgusted by cruella de vil is so amazing i love that moment so much

robert manion *was* a baby - he was 19 when he did this show. and what's cool is he got to join starkid because he won a songwriting contest for them, & they all fell in love with him. every fan's dream come true. starkid's main choreographer is james tolbert - he's been with them since AVPM, he's incredible. he's posted a few videos on his youtube channel, teaching his choreo (inc. "no one remembers achmed"), and he's recently started acting with them, starting with black friday, and now, in their nightmare time anthology series. also, if you want more lauren lopez, highly recommend firebringer. it's about cave people, & it's almost all women in the cast. it's so underrated. lastly, because you mentioned batman, starkid did a very silly batman musical, called holy musical batman. it's very entertaining.

the theme for StarKid is really that you're gonna suffer, but you're gonna be happy about it

The Starkid tribe is here ONE OF US. ONE OF US.

If you want a lot of Lauren watch firebringer she's one of the two main characters. She also has a bigger rule in black Friday and the very potter series (which is in my opinion still the funniest starkid character by far)

"He looks like a baby but sounds like a devil" If you like Robert Manion (Gaston in this and Hidgens), please react to poor unfortunate souls from Shitty Broadway and his cover of Be Prepared or Black Friday, he has an enormous range!

You know what else has amazing songs, which unlike these are criminally underrated? *Holy Musical B@man.* I think you would absolutely love that one.

The Wicked references are absolutely in there. The bridge of Happy Ending is basically just The Wizard And I.

Oh also some other points: Jafar is played by Dylan Saunders. He is amazing. He's in all the Very Potter musicals, Holy Musical Batman, Black Friday, Starship. He is also on a concept album for a musical called Starry, which a couple other Starkid people are also in.

"he looks like a baby but sounds like the devil" yup that's robert manion for ya

If you don’t say “what is going on” at least once, are you really watching a starkid show? No but seriously, I love starkid as much as the next person but your reactions are so funny and insightful too, and I really look forward to them now (wether they’re starkid or not, but i’m glad you’re enjoying the craziness) so thank you for making me laugh! I can’t wait to watch the next one, but no pressure, record whenever you feel like it 😊 And yes!! Dylan is so freaking talented, his voice is one of my favorites from the Starkid actors! And I know you have your hands full already but for another time I think you might enjoy listening to Starry, a beautiful musical about the Van Gogh brothers. Dylan plays Vincent, and other starkid people are in it as well! Sorry for the super long comment 😂

The biggest problem with Twisted is the minimal use of Lauren Lopez

"You are kind, and that's enough." "You're a diamond, in the rough!" Endless. Sobbing.

I want to reccomend firebringer by starkid too. Basically cavepeople, amazing music composed by the actor that played sherazade in this musical (Meredith stephien), it heavily features Lauren Lopez and her beautiful voice, shirtless Joey richter, amazing puppets. Plot twists and the discovery of fire.

Welcome to the Starkid fandom! I discovered them mainly because I had time with everything happening and remembering that their Harry Potter musical existed. Dylan's 'Kick It Up a Notch' (from Starship) is a true favorite of mine when it comes to his voice. Definite must see!

Welcome to Starkid. Where comedy shows end up breaking your heart and they make you love characters you hated and make you hate characters you loved. Where the songs are incredible and the talent is out of this world. There are a few Starkids you might know from elsewhere or are now famous for other things: Devin Lytle (very Potter series) now known for Ladylike, AJ Holmes (band and music writer, very Potter series) who was in the book of mormon, Britney Coleman (very potter series) who was in Tootsie, Carlos Valdes (Band, very Potter series) who was on Flash and Darren Criss (very potter series) who is now a Golden Globe and Emmy winner

I've been a fan of Starkid since 2009-2010 and I love everything they've done; but I think Twisted is probably their best work. It's just such a solid show from beginning to end.

Making Aladdin the Merchant is actually really genius move. Think about it. In the actual movie the Merchant is telling the audience the story of Aladdin. But if an older Aladdin is actually the Merchant then that means he’s twisting the story so he looks like the hero and Jafar is the bad guy. The version of the story we’re all familiar with. So if you wanted you could call this cannon and the movie version is just Aladdin lying his ass off.

*Jasmine:* appears on stage and says something stupid *Barbara:* facepalms My reaction exactly

The music in this is by AJ Holmes - best known for playing Elder Cunningham in The Book Of Mormon on Broadway, US National Tour, London’s West End and Australia! He also co-wrote some of the music for the Very Potter Musicals alongside Darren Criss

10:22 the fact that this line actually plays into the plot twist at the end

I can't wait for you to see Starship. Dylan sings one of the most awesome villain songs ever, called "Kick it up a notch." It's kinda like "Poor unfortunate souls" but with aliens. The whole entire musical is "the little mermaid," but in space

Girl I still get all of these feelings whenever I watch this show. 10/10 recommend watching all of Starkid, Twisted is imo their best work artistically, but their other stuff is amazing too. I love their original stuff

We're slowly initiating you into our cult. I love it!!!

OH OH OH IF YOU LIKE VILLAINS YOU WOULD LOVE SPIES ARE FOREVER ITS INCREDIBLE AND FEATURES LAUREN LOPEZ TOO!!

I literally discovered you 20 mins ago and here you are again. 😂 The Starkid Fandom welcomes you with open arms. ❤️

Some extra info you might want to know - The person playing Jafar also played Van Gogh in starry which Mariah rose faith, Lauren Lopez, Jamie Lynn Beatty (charlotte from tgwdlm) and Jeff blim ( aladdin) were also in - Judging by your room decor you like star wars, Theres a starwars musical by starkid called ani - the audencie member who said i dont think so near take off you clothes was darren criss, the person who played harry in the harry potter musicals - starkid recently released short stories from the hatchetfield universe - the person who played gaston (and others) is called Robert Manion and he was 19 at the time and hes the only starkid who isnt from america (he's from australia)

the actors who play jafar and sherrezad also fall in love in their starship musical. It's more comical but their duets are beautiful to listen to!

Jafar is played by Dylan Saunders, who plays one of the main roles in Black Friday! You should totally watch it, it also has more Lauren Lopez and takes place in the same city as The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals :D Dylan Saunders also plays a really adorable character in Starship and is in all the Potter musicals as well

If you want to see a musical where Lauren is the main character watch firebringer

TLDR-Here is a list of ALL the twisted songs and the other songs/shows/ideas they are parodying. you picked up pretty early that the songs are purposely parodies. but even more brilliant is that sometimes in the same song, the music and lyrics mirror 2 different things. sorry if anyone has already done this for you (some of these are obvious, others are my interpretation: Dream a Little Harder: Music: Belle from Beauty & the Beast Lyrics: A dream is a wish your heart makes (lyrics make fun of the consistent sentiment by Disney that you simply have to believe in your wish and everything will be fine) I Steal Everything: Music and Lyrics: One Jump from Aladdin Everything and More: Music and Lyrics: Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid Sands of Time/Golden Rule & Evil Reprise: Music: You've Got a Friend in Me from Toy Story Lyrics: Original (unless someone else thinks of a song where the character is explaining their philosophy of living - maybe Bare Necessities? idk) The Scarab: nothing to note here except it hints at the song a Thousand and One Nights. This is a clue that Sherrezade's story about the scarab is about her and Ja'far A Thousand and One Nights: Music and Lyrics: Beauty & the Beast If I Believed: Original...i think? sidenote AJ Holmes once said that this was his favorite song he wrote from Twisted. Orphaned at Thirty-Three: Music & Lyrics: Proud of Your Boy from Aladdin the Musical Happy Ending: Music: Original but keeping with the style of many musicals to do a mashup of songs to end Act 1 Lyrics: The Wizard and I from Wicked No One Remembers Achmed: Music & Lyrics: Gaston from Beauty & the Beast Take Off Your Clothes: Music & Lyrics: A Whole New World from Aladdin Lyrics: making fun of inappropriate Disney easter eggs Twisted (my favorite starkid song!) Music & Lyrics: No Good Deed from Wicked/Poor Unfortunate Souls (Little Mermaid)/ Be Prepared (Lion King) Lyrics: Too many villains to list lol The Power In Me: Music & Lyrics: Original. I really don't have an equivalent. Maybe For Good from Wicked? A Thousand and One Nights (pop version): Sung in the style of Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson's pop version of Beauty & the Beast (shout out to Britney Coleman & Carlos Valdes for this hilariously oversung rendition) again, sorry if anybody did this already, and i know this is a looooong post so it's fine if you don't look at the whole list. i love this music so much i could write a whole paper about it!

Wicked might my favourite among the "newer" Starkid shows, but if you consider some older material, please , for the love of God, watch Starship! It's got a perfect blend of humour, drama and wonderful music, plus Dylan (the guy who plays Jafar) is there too playing two characters. Also Joey is there in the lead, and the puppetry in the show is stunning! P.S. Love your videos, keep them coming!

Judging from the array of Harry Potter decorations in the background - you would definitely like a very potter musical! Make sure to watch with captions because the audio from 2009 is a little iffy

Clicked on this video purely to see your reaction to the Cruella de Vil joke tbh (although this entire musical is a masterpiece and I’m so glad you enjoyed it!) I am living for these reaction videos!

Your Dark Knight reference makes me think of another Starkid musical you'd like: Holy Musical B@tman!!!

"Ok but what was the point of that" Honestly i thought the same thing. I never thought it would come back later. Only in starkid could something like *that* be an important plot point.

It's been 2 years but I just wanna add that Achmed is actually in the original film. He is literally a throwaway character that Jasmine sets her tiger on. It's just a joke and he's barely in the film

"Im growing true love for StarKid" Thats every StarKid fans first sentence after hearing Dylan sing or watching any StarKid show Welcome to the fandome

I see a Ravenclaw pillow in the background so - if you haven't seen it yet - I recommend Starkid's A Very Potter Musical, A Very Potter Sequel, and A Very Potter Senior Year

The guy who plays Ja'far (Dylan Saunders) also plays Dumbledore in AVPM and it's sequels. And the deep-voiced "it's all your fault Ja'far" guy plays Goyle in AVPM and Firenze in AVPS.

If you continue doing starkid musicals make sure to put the captions on. It helps a lot

I can recommend Spies are Forever by the TinCanBros it has alot of starkid actors, great story and Spies

Since you like Starkid, and next week is Halloween, you could watch Black Friday? It's a sequel to The guy who didn't like musicals. I loved how much you loved Twisted by the way! Glad you're becoming a part of the Starkid fanbase!

If I had a pound every time Dylan Saunders sang a song about his characters' dead wife that started with 'If I', I'd only have two pounds...but it's weird that it happend twice, right?

This was the episode that the youtube algorithm finally decided to bring to my attention despite my years of obsessively rewatching StarKid Production shows and you having already done The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals. Not only was your reaction to Twisted a delight, but it was like rewatching it for the first time myself. I was split between smiling as you guessed future twists and mischievously grinning as you mentioned something that was going to come back later in a different way than you expected (like the sultans intro speech). I can’t believe that your first musical on this channel was Beetlejuice. It was such a delight to see possibly my favorite modern show be your origin story. I came back to this video after binge watching the other 10 episodes of you experiencing musicals just to leave a comment and (and this might be my second comment in my 15 yrs on youtube) was compelled to say thank you. Watching you experience these shows that I love, some of which I have also only found in the last two-three years, has just been such a fantastic experience. I hope you keep diving into musicals (especially StarKid ones) and I am so happy to be along for the ride now. Thank you for sharing your joy! Much love and keep going please!!

If you like Jafar, you should watch their "Starship Troopers" parody-ish musical 'Starship'. It's pretty funny, but Dylan has a great love duet with a robot... lol

There’s a version of A thousand and one nights with Carlos Valdes (The Flash) and Britney Coleman (Tootsie and Company) and it’s so good! 🥰

The choreographer for twisted is James Tolbert! He is so talented and has loads of tutorials on his channel on the dances he’s choreographed for starkid!

Is you want more merideth and Dylan being a couple on stage as well as off, try starship, it's like the little mermaid in space, and the villan song equivalent to poor unfortunate souls. CHEF KISS!

you: *mentions batman * me: holy musical b@man!!

Hi I really love this reaction :) Twisted is definitely my favourite StarKid musical. I agree with you that villains are often more interesting (or anti-heroes) and complex. Thats why I often like musicals with a dubious moral standpoint; things like disney and such tend to get a little to clear cut (although Frozen II owns my soul) and thats the beauty of musical theatre. If you like following the “villain “ you should also definitely check out “Count of Monte Cristo,” based on the book, and the music is beautiful. Much love, stay safe!

Also, I Steal Everything is a direct parody of One Jump Ahead (from Aladdin). A lot of the lines and instrumentals are the same (such as "getting in trouble a little early today, Aladdin"), and watching them back to back really shows off this similarity.

If you want more Dylan Saunders (Ja'far) I've got two recommendations: 1. Starship. Dylan, Lauren, and puppets. 2. Black Friday. Dylan, lauren, and Hatchetfield (the same setting as The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals). And yes, Twisted made me cry and have conflicted Ja'far related feelings.

So Lauren huh? . . . . I recommend Firebringer . . . coz' gurl . . . YOU GOT WORK TO DO. EMBRACE THE DUCK. *ONLY THE DUCK CAN SAVE YOU*

Ja'far: I dont believe in magic Barbara: Literally you cant say that your a disney character Varian has entered the room

I found you on a whim looking for reviews of Starkid, got less than a minute in and said "already funny and worth a subscribe" Thanks for being awesome

I was five when "Aladdin" came out and Jafar genuinely terrified me, nightmares and everything. "Twisted" makes me not only root for him but it's now canon in my head, to the point where I've never been able to see "Aladdin" the same way again. His relationship with his wife was so beautifully written I truly believed it, I can't unsee it, and I ship it so hard. Bravo, Starkid!

"Ali baba had 10, 000 thieves. SHERREZADE HAD 1,000 TALES"

The sultan’s monologue coming back is just incredible

I’ve been a Starkid fan for about 10 years now and Twisted is by far my favorite show they’ve done. The story, the music, Dylan’s Jafar? Perfection! You’ve already seen my 2nd favorite, but I’d like to recommend my 3rd fav show: Holy Musical Batman. It’s a ton of fun, the music is killer (and done by the guy who played the genie in this), the message is great, and you get to see one of the main writers of Starkid shows Nick Lang as a main character. I also fully agree with your point about how great the background characters are in these shows, sometimes they’re my favorite part.

Oh, hi! Glad to see you're back with more Starkid! Twisted is brilliant, definitely a favorite. Black Friday would be a good one to do because it takes place in the same universe as The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals. Or you could do Firebringer which is about cave people, but with feminism.

I don't usually like reaction videos because the person usually just laughs and acts surprised and doesn't make any worthwhile comments about what's happening and why it's affecting them, but I love watching your reactions, predictions, and talking about your feelings. Seeing how you teared up when Ja'far and Sheherazade are reunited actually made me emotional. Subscribed!

you have to watch spies are forever the music is gorgeous and the story is funny but also emotional

One thing I noticed in this, the main characters are from The Magic Kingdom. I.e Disney and Prince Achmed is from the kingdom of Pixar.

Your reactions whenever Aladdin was screwing everything up was such a hilarious mood. Your videos are so good, and I really enjoy them! Also, if you haven't had it recommended to you yet, I also think Trail to Oregon is an incredibly funny and heartfelt musical by Starkid, with some brilliant hits that are staples of the fandom. Although, there is quite a bit of toilet humor near the end, so that might be kinda rough if that doesn't amuse you. Anyway, good luck with your journey down the musical rabbit hole!

Spies are forever spies are forever.Pls its so good.

Ugh I love starkid so much! And I love people falling in love with them ♥

I am totally here for Starkid reactions! Twisted is probably the best show they've ever created, it's just absolutely brilliant in references, plot and music while keeping their humour. Holy Musical B@tman is the funniest show with the funniest music imo, which took me by surprise because I know little about Batman and I didn't think I would like it much. The Trail to Oregon is impressive because it was such a small cast, but it's definitely the show that's the most 'out there' and the humour is the silliest of all (Jeff Blim wrote both the show and the music and that should tell you all you need to know). I ended up absolutely loving it though, which also surprised me. A Very Potter Musical was my start and it will always hold a special place in my heart, it was so incredibly funny and looking at the series in a completely different way (also, Draco. And Snape. And... okay I loved every character in this, it is such a quotable show). Firebringer is the most different show of them all, both in story and music. It feels a bit more serious at a base level than their other shows, but it also still has those typical Starkid "what the hell is going on?" moments. Starship feels like the show that should be my favourite yet somehow isn't, but it does have some of my favourite songs (and Lauren Lopez is brilliant, and if you're here for Dylan's voice? Definitely Starship). I hope you enjoy your deep dive into Starkid shows, the songs have been stuck in my head for years and I still regularly rewatch them (and attempt to get my musical hating friends to watch them too). Nothing cheers me up like a Starkid musical! (Except maybe Legally Blonde: The Musical).

That tiny little delighted smile you make as Ursula comes out kills me. I keep rewatching it and laughing with you.

When you watch Twisted so much that you just need the audio and you can just watch it in your mind.

I love how in Twisted (the song) even the "villains" think Cruella was the worst

If you want more of Dylan Saunders I recommend Starship!!! Writing-wise it’s not quite as good as the others you saw but the music is REALLY good and there’s a lot of cool puppetry

Screw the need for other musicals. WATCH ALL THE STARKID MUSICALS!!!

5:14 if you really what a little mermaid reference then go watch another musical they did, starship. It’s literally the little mermaid in ~space~

Twisted is one of my favorite musicals of all time. Watching Dylan Saunders and Merideth Stepien and Andrea Ross pour their heart and soul into their characters, so much that they're crying on stage during their performance when they could've easily just made this a 100% comedy is so beautiful. The same goes for writing and directing, it would have been so much easier to just make a vulgar comedy poking fun at Disney, but they wanted to tell a story and I'm so happy they did. It's truly a beautiful show and I tear up every time I hear some of the sad songs like If I Believed in Wishes and The Power in Me. @Barbara 2.0 You should react to Starship next! It's another Starkid show and another of my all-time favorites, it has such a golden heart while still retaining that Starkid goofiness. Love the videos and keep them coming!

I just rewatched Twisted and this video popped up. I laughed and cried to your reactions and review and it's making me want to rewatch the show again and again.

just got recommended your NPMD reaction so i had to binge watch all of your other starkid reactions first! Aladdin was always my favorite disney movie & wicked was my favorite musical at the time Starkid released this show, so my heart couldn't take the mix of pure joy of my two favorites combined + the anxiety of watching Jafar be turned into a protagonist lol, but in 2023 this is still my favorite production to date. Dylan Saunders is such a talent, and the way they intermixed ridiculous comedy with genuine heartbreak was phenomenal!

I haven’t watched Aladdin the Disney movie since I first watched Twisted. I can never look at Aladdin the guy the same way again

One Thousand and One Nights is my favorite Starkid song! My god I cant help swooning every time I hear it!

The opening number is essentially just "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast.

I so glad you enjoyed this one so much :D welcome to starkid There are so many Disney references in this (and all the other earlier musicals as well) that I still find new ones every time I rewatch it. My favourite of the bunch is "You came back? I came Home" in one of their first musicals. Excited for you to find that one ^^

haha once again I couldn’t stop smiling watching this! im glad you’ve fallen so far in love with Dylan (Jafar) and Lauren! If you watch a very potter musical, know that Lauren is Draco! please do Black Friday next, dylan and lauren both play such cool parts :D

Hey Barbara! Love your Starkid reactions so far 😁 if you wanna get spooky, I recommend Black Friday and the part 1 of Nightmare Time, both here on RU-vid. These are all Hatchetfield stories!

"They're destroying my childhood and I'm loving it." Gurl, same! This musical has my favourite romantic line "I never cared for stories until you entered mine, but now my only wish is that our plots my intertwine." Also, not sure if anyone in the comments has mentioned it, but Take Off Your Clothes is based off of all of the accusations of "subliminal messaging" in Disney films and Disney's claims to deny it. WAIT! HOLD UP! You've never seen the Lion King?! It's.... it's Disney's BEST film (Moana might be the exception, but I digress) GO WATCH IT WHEN YOU'RE ABLE!! (Just avoid the version that has the Morning Report, because that add-on song was dumb)

The male who sings in the credits is Carlos Valdes (cisco from the flash)

And if you want to see more of Lauren Lopez she plays a villain in Black Friday and it’s the best

Glad that you are chill with all the cursing. It's really something about Starkid that I've noticed turns off some musical fans. It's very crass.

Welcome to the Starkid Cult.

Oooooh this made me so so happy! Someone reacting to Starkid, my favorites! They are actually a huge reason for me still being here. They helped me through the darkest time of my life, and they’re definitely one of the main reasons I’m happy now. They’re the best! Much love and light, and welcome to the Starkid family x

More STARKID! Look at the potter musicals from them so you can see the difference in style and how they’ve improved as a group

Twisted is one of my top starkid musicals so I’m so glad you liked it!!