I wrote this yesterday on social media, but it bugs me enough to repeat it here, and expand on it a bit. Though many may consider this all very minor, and in some ways it is, I'll explain below why I want to address it. On Saturday, I went to the Writers Guild Theatre to see the new version of Pinocchio. And the movie aside, I can't believe that although, at the top of the end credits, they give credit to the writers of the few, new songs, as of course they should -- they bury the team who wrote the classic songs also used in the new movie (including the Oscar-winning Best Song "When You Wish Upon a Star," which is virtually the theme of the Disney empire -- which, in fact, is sung at three different points in the new movie), only mentioning the songwriters at the very end of the 6-minute final credits (at which point most everyone watching the movie has stopped and gone away), as if they were just background source music bunched together, quickly scrolling by. Even you can even read any of the names in that long list you're lucky. And this presumes that people watching the movie even get that far. Most of those in a movie theater leave after the names of the main artists in the closing credits have scrolled by, and most people streaming films at home stop watching when "The End" shows up. That's why the major artists generally are listed early. I should note that at the Writers Guild Theatre, people actually, really do sit through most credits. But even they left long before very end of the credits. Six minutes of reading the credits for the legal team, bond company, caterer, back-up painter, colorists, production assistants, several hundred members of the special effects crew and more, before getting to the people who wrote the Oscar-winning Best Song and other classics has its limits. Only about 10% of the audience was still there at that point. This is somewhat like if they did a remake of The Sound of Music and added a new song, crediting the writers of the new song up front and dumping Rodgers & Hammerstein at the "oh-by-the-way" very end. Actually, here's a real-world example. A few years back, there was a Broadway stage version of the movie musical High Society. To flesh out the story a bit for the stage, the producers had another writer compose a few new songs. It will not shock you to learn that not only did they not bury the name of Cole Porter, who had written the songs for the movie, it was one of the things they heavily promoted. In fact, "heavily promoted" is an understatement. On the cast album, "Cole Porter" is the only named mentioned. No one in the cast, not the director, not the new songwriters, nobody. ONLY Cole Porter. (Fun Fact: a 12-year-old Anna Kendrick made her Broadway debut in the show and got a Tony nomination. But like the rest of the cast, she didn't get mentioned on the album cover. Just Cole Porter.) For the record (no pun intended...), those songwriters would be Leigh Harline, Ned Washington and Paul J. Smith. In fairness, no, they are not in the same level of fame as Cole Porter, but then few are. But we're not talking about promoting Pinocchio with the songwriters' names, just merely mentioning them when they will be seen. And no, this is not critical in the great scheme of life. But I do think in works of art and entertainment it's important that people know who created them. Especially, admittedly, to me. I'm a writer. And also, as readers of these pages know, I have a great affection for musicals. So, to bury the names of the songwriters who helped make Pinocchio a classic seems to me silly, unnecessary and petty, when all you had to do was list "Classic songs written by" right under the credit of "New songs written by." And also inexplicable. Particularly since those are the songs you go into the theater humming -- and leave humming. The new songs fit fine. But I can't tell you exactly what they are or even remotely how any of them go. I can, however, tell you how "When You Wish Upon a Star," "I Got No Strings" and "Hi-diddle-dee-dee, an Actor's Life for Me" go -- as well as "Give a Little Whistle" (which was not used in the new film, along with a few others). So, in honor of Leigh Harline, Ned Washington and Paul J. Smith -- let's go out singing them. How on earth do you bury the credits for the writers of these songs...??! Along with the joyously lively, if devious song from 'Honest John' as he tries to convince Pinocchio not to go to school but take to the stage and be famous instead -- And though "Give a Little Whistle" wasn't used in the new adaptation, it remains one of the more memorable songs from the original, when Jiminy Cricket teaches Pinocchio about dealing with his conscience when in trouble. And finally, of course, the song that won the Academy Award as Best Song and became the theme for All Things Disney. And to give added credit, it's sung memorably by the voice of Jiminy Cricket, Cliff Edwards who had been a big radio star in the 1920-30s as "Ukulele Ike" (and his career went on beyond that) --
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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