If you're reading this review on the date it actually ran, you might hear the sounds of a birthday party going on in the background. My daughter turned three years old yesterday, and we're holding her party the day after so all the relatives could come and celebrate with our little princess. (It also gives Daddy - who is seriously out of shape - time to recover from our trip to Discovery Zone on Friday. I swear, they design those things so the parents get more of a workout than the kids.)

What better time, then, to head to the "in" basket of the Pierce Memorial Archives and fish out Disney's Princess Collection, Vol. 2? Basically a compilation of love songs and tracks centered around some of the female lead characters in numerous Disney movies, this collection tries to fill in gaps left by the collection's previous volume while working in some of the newer songs from their ever-growing library.

Some of the selections are wise choices, such as the inclusion of "Reflection" from Mulan (I still have a hard time believing this track is less than two minutes long), "I Won't Say (I'm In Love)" from Hercules and "Kiss The Girl" from The Little Mermaid (another song that surprised me at its brevity).

Others I found a little more questionable. When I think of timeless Disney songs, the name of Gilbert Gottfried doesn't exactly come to mind. Yet here he is, as the voice of Iago, on the song "Forget About Love" (from The Return Of Jafar). While it makes some sense once Liz Callaway (the singing voice of Jasmine) comes into the picture, it's still not a track I would have immediately thought of for this collection.

Likewise, the version of "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" from The Lion King is... well, I would have much preferred to have heard Elton John's version, but I admit to having some bias in this case. Finally, including one song not featured in a movie or Broadway play - "There's Only One Ariel" from Songs From The Sea) - seems a tad suspect to me. The track itself isn't anything to write home about.

I guess what surprised me about Disney's Princess Collection Vol. 2 was what they didn't include. "Baby Mine" from Dumbo would have been a nice track (though at its stage in the movie, it hardly qualifies as "music of hopes, dreams and happy endings" as the cover art defines these songs). Possibly including "My Own Home" (from The Jungle Book) or "Bella Notte" (from Lady And The Tramp) could have been nice touches. (I'll let you fill in your own wish list.)

Disney's Princess Collection Vol. 2 is still an album that your own little princesses will undoubtedly enjoy, especially if they're familiar with the movies that most of these songs come from. But I still can't help but wonder what this album could have been with the addition of just a few more songs.

Rating: B-

User Rating: Not Yet Rated

Comments