Even the most casual of Disney fans know “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes,” from the animated film “Cinderella.” The song found new life in “Sneakerella,” a Disney+ adaptation of the story…
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Even the most casual of Disney fans know “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes,” from the animated film “Cinderella.” The song found new life in “Sneakerella,” a Disney+ adaptation of the story set in Queens, N.Y. that centers on sneaker culture and brings a mostly new soundtrack to the classic narrative.
In the Variety Streaming Room presented by Disney Branded Television and Disney+, Variety senior music writer and chief music critic Chris Willman moderated a conversation between the film’s star, Chosen Jacobs, songwriter and music producer Antonina Armato, composer Elvin Ross and songwriter and music producer Theron “Neff-U” Feemster, who reimagined “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes.” Steven Vincent, the senior VP of music and soundtracks at Disney Branded Television, explained how Feemster got involved in the first place.
“It sounded pretty cool and stuff, but we brought on Rachel Watanabe-Batton as an EP, and I remember when she heard the initial remake of Disney’s original “Dream” song, “she had a different take and she said, ‘I get what you’re going for, but it doesn’t sound like Black love to me,'” Vincent said. “And I said, ‘OK, well, let’s talk about what you mean.’ And it became this great cultural discussion about what should these characters really be feeling and experiencing and dancing. And I said, ‘OK, I think we need to pivot.'”
That’s when Vincent called Feemster, who took the song in a new direction.
“It does show that going however far you need to go and developing something until it is just right for the characters, just right for the film and it makes a difference,” Vincent said. “I remember when we finally played it for Rachel, she teared up and she said, ‘You heard me, you really heard me.’ And that felt great and it was the right song for the film. It was the right song for Chosen. And it’s this hopefully new classic version of a song that’s 70 years old.”
That song was the only non-original one included in the soundtrack. Otherwise, the film has a sonic world all its own, the tone of which is set early on, with the opening number “Kicks.” “It was just about getting the beat of the city street, what does that feel when your kicks land on the street? What does it feel like when you’re wearing something you’re proud of?,” Armato said. “That was part of the impetus and part of the inspiration, the sound of a city street, the way your feet feel on it, the way that you might dance in it. All of that stuff really helped inspire and sort of frame the bigger number.”
Feemster thanked Vincent, adding, “I just really appreciate you, how you didn’t compromise on the culture. You really wanted collared greens. You didn’t want no canned version. You wanted the real thing and you didn’t compromise that. And you gave us the freedom to explore that and find that magic. So it was awesome. And Chosen, you was amazing.”
Watch the full conversation in the video above.