Music Review: Enchanted Soundtrack
What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that although the movie may give a
modern twist to the standard fairy-tale film, the soundtrack is
quite traditional. It delivers just what you'd expect from a
Disney soundtrack -- sweeping instrumentals and a few
kid-friendly, catchy songs.
Families can talk about why fairy-tale ideals still pervade
popular culture. What exactly does "Happily Ever After" mean?
Why do we like stories that have good and bad characters? How
is real life different from a fairy tale? Families can also
discuss how the instrumental tracks inspire emotion. Even if a
song doesn't have lyrics, does it still make you feel a certain
way? How does a composer achieve this? How was this effect used
in this movie or other movies?
Disney has a long tradition of creating fairy-tale movies with popular soundtracks. (Think Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Little Mermaid.) In the movie Enchanted, the cartoon fairy world is brought into the real world and given a modern twist. The ENCHANTED soundtrack includes sweeping instrumentals and a few kid-friendly, catchy songs.
The soundtrack is rather conventional and the songs with kid appeal are few and far between. Only six songs on the CD include lyrics. Carrie Underwood's power ballad, "Ever Ever After" will have widespread appeal for all ages, while the "Hi-Ho"-inspired "Happy Working Song" will have kids giggling and dancing. The rest of the 15 songs are instrumentals, composed by Disney super-composers Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. Although sweeping and easy on the ears, these tracks are better suited to accompany a movie scene than to stand alone.
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