![]() ![]() “Friend Like Me,” with its lyrics by Menken’s “Little Mermaid” and “Beauty and the Beast” partner Howard Ashman, is one of five songs from the animated version that were reinterpreted by the cast in director Guy Ritchie’s new version. We went in and supported it with the arrangement afterwards, and I’ve grown to love what he’s done.” ![]() “We all just stood back and let him do his thing. “Will came in knowing the musical influences he wanted to add, and the attitude he wanted to have,” Menken told Variety. Surprisingly, Alan Menken, the original composer and music director of the new film, never even met Smith until the film’s press junket a week ago. That showed me how I could pay homage to Robin and not change the song so much, so people would have the nostalgic value, but also be able to come up with my own flavor.” So when I started playing with it, it was like, oh man, this lends itself to a tempo and a flavor that I really understand. Referring to the London recording sessions, he recalled, “I noticed that it was in the BPM range of old-school hip-hop. “The music is how I saw my way in to be able to play the Genie,” Smith told Variety earlier this week. Figuring out a way to put his spin on it without too radical a departure unlocked the entire role for Smith. ![]() While another song from the animated film, “A Whole New World,” wound up winning the best song Oscar, “Friend Like Me” remains the most hilarious sequence in the “Arabian Nights” fantasy. One of the biggest moments in Disney’s new live-action version of its animated classic “ Aladdin” comes when Will Smith is revealed as the Genie, who emerges from a magic lamp to sing “Friend Like Me” - a make-or-break moment in audiences accepting him taking over Robin Williams’ role from the 1992 original. ![]()
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