Disney Video Shows Heroes Singing In Their Native Languages

A recent video shows Disney heroes singing songs from the original soundtracks in their native languages. While Disney offers few clues as to the specific ethnography of its characters, settings and costumes range seem to range from countries all over the world. That being said, the language spoken for the majority of Disney films is English.

Disney’s princesses and heroes heavily borrow from existing regional fables and fairytales. For instance, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty are both inspired by folktales of the same name passed down until France’s Charles Perrault later published them. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Tangled, the story of Rapunzel, comes from the Brothers Grimm of Germany, who first published the tales in their collection of Grimms’ Fairy Tales. Similarly, Mulan draws upon an ancient Chinese myth of Hua Mulan, and Pocahontas was inspired by the historic events of Jamestown, Virginia.

A YouTube video recently posted by Themes & Intros addresses the culture of each fairytale Disney has drawn from. In an attempt to color the heroes, princes, and princesses with the geographic and ethnic roots they were drawn from, the video shows 30-second snippets of well-known soundtracks sung by the animated characters in their native languages, from Zulu to Mandarin to Sámi.

From classics dating back to 1940’s Pinocchio to recent releases like Frozen II, the video gives Disney fans a glimpse into the world from which these stories came. Disney movies are known for having incredibly catchy songs with moving lyrics, but they have mostly been sung in English to appeal to American audiences. However, that’s not to say Disney movies aren’t popular outside of the United States. This video just suggests that people living in other countries could enjoy Disney movies even more if they were to be created in their native language.

While it is no secret that Disney’s heroic tales draw from existing myths, it is interesting to see the direct connections between each character and their native setting. For instance, Aladdin’s “Arabian Nights” describes the scene of the story, but to hear the song in its native Arabic might strike an even deeper chord of where the story takes place. As Disney continues to expand its cast of characters from various cultural backgrounds, it is worthwhile to see where these ideas are rooted.

Source: Themes & Intros

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