Disney Sing Along Songs Vol. 2: Zip a dee doo dah ReviewÂ
Theme Song by Brian Setzer and owned by Walt Disney Records
Theme Song by Patrick DeRemer and owned by Walt Disney Records
The next volume of the Disney Sing Along series is very similar to the original, but in a lot of ways different. This particular volume like the first doesn’t have a specific theme and is far more random than volume 1. Volume1 was united under the concept of the melody while this volume doesn’t have any of that. The segues are very short to nonexistent. There’s no unifying the songs and Mr. Owl isn’t giving a lesson he’s just introducing the songs. I find this interesting because it shows Disney’s dedication to the series because they’re gauging their audience which most likely consists of toddlers and they’re trying to see what works and what doesn’t. Disney’s NOT treating their audience like morons and genuinely asking themselves “Are the kids watching this for the presentation of these songs or the songs themselves?†In the end Disney chose that structuring the songs into a theme and to make this a more legitimate show was the better course. The fact that Disney even stopped to think about doing this with a show completely comprised of stock footage and something that they could have easily churned out with no effort is absolutely incredible and awesome!!!!!! Without any further ado this is Disney’s Sing Along Song Volume 2: Zip a Dee Doo Dah!!!!
Mickey Mouse Club March
Mr. Owl introduces the opening number to be interestingly NOT the title song. This is the first and only time that the Title Song isn’t used as the opening number. It is the classic march to everybody’s favorite mouse. It’s a very solid opening and I find it cool that during the song it cuts to Mr.Owl conducting the class and the class is singing along showing that this is like saying their “Pledge of Allegiance†or national anthem.
Zip a dee doo dah
Mr. Owl then directs us to the state of Georgia where the audience is treated to one of the very few scenes from Song of the South that Disney feels comfortable releasing. This is the best part of the volume!! This is my favorite Disney song ever! I love the optimistic mood and how to confront and deal with the daily strife of life. And I’d bet you thought Part of Your World was my favorite Disney song. The acting and performance from James Baskett as Uncle Remus is absolutely flawless!! An excellent song from an excellent movie (IT’S NOT RACIST!!!!!! IT’S A BEAUTIFUL MOVIE!!!!!!!)
Following the Leader
The next song is very random and comes out of nowhere. The song from Peter Pan is a decent addition and is very average. I was never really fond of this song in the movie so I’m indifferent about it here. Next!
It’s A Small World
Much like Yo Ho in volume 1 the show delves into songs from the park. It shows great footage of the ride and handles the song very well, but it still doesn’t come anywhere close to the ballad version.
The Unbirthday Song
The show goes to Wonderland and delves into the song where every single day is a type of birthday whether it’s the unbirthday or the real thing. The song is just as wacky and nonsensical as when we first saw it. A good song. Now if you’ll excuse me I need to go celebrate my unbirthday!
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo
The next song is that catchy little incantation that can seemingly do everything. A true classic that’s always a crowd pleaser and a big part of the Disney musical heritage. There’s really nothing else to say.
Casey Junior
This like “A Cowboy Needs A Horse†is an example of the highlighting of underrated songs.Now you know where I found a good percentage of my picks for underrated songs. I stand by what I said in that list it’s a very good song about a overworked locomotive named Casey Jr.
The Ballad of Davy Crockett
This song in some ways is the replacement for the Zorro theme song in the last volume. Despite the fact that the lyrics are sensationalized it is still a great song and more than worthy of the lineup on this list. A great song about one of America’s iconic historical figures.
Give a Little Whistle
My least favorite song from Pinocchio makes it onto this lineup of songs. Oh well I think it’s best to get this out of the way so other volumes can have much better songs on it. The interesting thing about it is the fact that they extend the song by repeating it while showing various clips of cartoons and films that involve whistling. Again it just shows the random nature of this volume.
Whistle While You Work
The technically last song in the lineup is another whistling song. I like this song a lot better than Give A Little Whistle so I have no problems with this it just feels like a step backwards considering that the previous volume’s last song was Let’s Go Fly a Kite so yeah this just doesn’t feel like a song that should be the last song.
Zip a dee doo dah Reprise
This volume however does continue the tradition of the reprise of the title song and this is probably the best one in the entire series simply because not only does it use the ending to Song of the South, but also since the song is Disney’s second anthem there is a gathering of all the Disney characters (the ones that were created at that time) to bid us farewell and even Mr. Owl and the class sing along to my favorite Disney song of all time!
Final Thoughts
Due to the sheer randomness of the song selection this was very hard to talk about. I admire the experimentation of just throwing songs in the line up and presenting them with very rough to no transitions, but it didn’t pay off in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong I like the songs and I absolutely love Zip a dee doo dah, but it lacked the semi finesse of volume 1. This was an experimentation to see what was more important: just throwing the songs out there or the overall presentation of the show as a whole. Luckily the series would always stick with the overall show and would do their best to have the presentation of the songs be top notch. Even though this volume is a little off I still love it! Stay tuned where Professor Ludwig Von Drake joins the series as a guest lecturer for Mr. Owl’s class in Disney Sing Along Songs Volume 3: You Can Fly!
Everything is owned by Walt Disney Home Video
