How Disney uses Language

[@marinruelas9713]

One of the reasons that Disney hired Lin-Manuel Miranda for Moana was explicitly because of his skills with writing bilingual songs. His work on his award winning Broadway show "In the Heights" seamlessly combined English and Spanish lyrics without isolating the audience while simultaneously maintaining the integrity of the cultures being represented.

[@Skye_Writer]

Except the Tokeluan songs were not written by Lin, at least not by himself. They brought in Tokelauan singer-songwriter Opetaia Foa'i--who is quite famous in Polynesian musical circles with his band, Te Vaka--to work together with Lin in order to get real Tokeluan music into the movie. Foa'i began working on "We Know the Way" after his first meeting with Disney in December 2013, and it was the first song he, Miranda, and composer Mark Mancina finished together.

[@allisonlang75]

I love In the Heights, I’m glad you mentioned it. It definitely needs more recognition

[@masonkoeppen4813]

@@allisonlang75 are you sure you love it if you don't even know the name of it?

[@PrincessSpooky]

Sophia Koeppen why do you have to be so rude? Maybe it was autocorrect or they typed too fast? Does it make you feel better to hurt people on the internet?

[@marimidoriya6059]

Lin just puts so much thought into his work, that's why he's a role model to me. In The Heights perfectly builds a bridge between the two languages present in the musical.

[@zmanrockz6358]

That made it even more satisfying when it got to “Aue aue/Away Away.”

[@aster5600]

have this song memorized and tripped out my brain trying to sing both languages at once

[@vic_cresss]

Truuuue

[@archieyiu7111]

Aue aue is a call to address the Gods, if I were to translate the whole song it says: We are voyagers called by the God of the vast ocean to come, we were blessed with a promise, so we have prepared... Aue aue, kings of old, send the birds to guide us And then it goes into tokelauan which I can't translate properly without making a mistake 😂

[@TimelessHope]

This made me excessively happy

[@misseli1]

As a bilingual person who grew up watching Disney movies in two languages, I feel that whole... changing-the-meaning-of-the-lyrics-so-that-the-syllables-fit-the-melody thing in my soul

[@matheussanthiago9685]

can confirm

[@pauladriaanse]

I've found the translations to often represent the meaning very well too, excempting some rare occasions.

[@aleksandrakrolak]

@@pauladriaanse "Let it (troubles and worries) GO!!" vs. "I have this POWEEEEER (Of freezing sheet at will)"? That hurts me the most xD Frozen EN vs PL.

[@pauladriaanse]

@@aleksandrakrolak I dont remember the second example. May be missing something here. . .

[@aleksandrakrolak]

@@pauladriaanse here you have it ;) kzbin.info/www/bejne/a3O2ipKYqMt8rM0

[@junglekiity]

When I first saw Lilo and Stitch, I had no idea of the cultural significance of "Aloha 'Oe", and just thought it was a beautiful, touching scene. Years later, I learned exactly what that song meant to native Hawaiians, and now that scene makes my bawl every time. Truly a perfect example of how understanding the cultural history of music can deepen the impact of art.

[@lawtonaaj]

So that movie has always made me bawl since i was a little child and its funny how it marks my phases. when i was a child the part where stich says im family and thats good made me bawl. when i was an early adult that and the part where nani cries because she thinks they are taking leelo away. now its those two and the song.

[@sxq108]

sameeeee!!!!

[@jamiecrucefix4078]

I don´t remember this scene either.

[@ToZafeiriThsAgaphs]

I bawled just now watching the video, I didn't even know before

[@IntegralKing]

oh Aloha Oe is so beautiful -- this is my favorite copy of it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lV7Pp2p_n6mmh7c

[@antp2004]

I love how the music in Coco is either bilingual or completely in Spanish. It feels so authentic and I love it.

[@journeybeyondthesea]

Average Fanboy 1128 fr!

[@RamdomRando]

Coco is just perfect music that actually SOUNDS mexican, something i have had a hard time finding done right in an animated movies, they always use either spanish sounds or south american sounds its always pissed me off but in coco it sounds so familiar like the music my mom and my grandma and i have listened to.

[@ella-strator2107]

I guess that’s easy when it’s in Spanish because it’s so iconic.

[@carli3221]

When we first watched Coco my dad sang along with one of the songs in Spanish. I thought it was funny because he knows every older Spanish song.

[@familiapitts8822]

yasss

[@s.g.i8764]

"And each of their sidekicks gets a song..." Me: wait... Heihei has a song???

[@s.s.1167]

Haha that's what I was thinking 😂 I was like since when did Hei hei sing???

[@edendettling9650]

@@s.s.1167 when he screamed in CHicken over and over

[@huskypetersen5124]

@@edendettling9650 😂

[@Mixu.]

Fun fact, in Finnish "hei hei" means "bye bye". Thought you'd like to now.

[@IAteYourLastCake]

Mixu in my language (and in almost all of the other Scandinavian countries too) hei hei means hello hello

[@crestfallensunbro6001]

the. "what ARE you doin'?" vs "what are YOU doing?" conveys that idea (if you know what they each are saying and the difference) so well. it shows how two seemingly identical questions can have different feel and implications.

[@realtrash8030]

I dont understand the joke in this scene :D what is the difference in the two sentences?

[@CC-yt8hr]

Real Trash (I haven’t watched pirates of the Caribbean in a while, I forgot the first ones name) pirate one is asking what Jack is doing, Jack is retorting with asking what pirate one is doing. Pirate one tries to correct him as he thinks he has made a grammatical error, Jack does the same. This continues back and forth for a while. Hope this helped!

[@DanaBonn]

Real Trash The joke is that by emphasising different words in the sentence, you’re focusing on different targets with your question. Barbosa emphasising “are” focuses more on what Jack is doing, while Jack emphasising “you” in response focuses more on Barbosa himself. So since Barbosa is the Captain in this case, he’s asking Jack what the hell he’s doing when giving orders to Barbosa’s crew, while in response Jack questions why Barbosa thinks he’s in the position to be giving orders in the first place. Keep in mind that although Barbosa is the current captain of the ship, Jack was the original captain. So basically Jack is putting into question Barbosa’s status on the ship. Of course another part of the joke is that Barbosa and Jack can’t agree on anything, so they disagree even on asking the same question. The point is that it emphasises what’s being discussed in the video. If you didn’t know English very well, you wouldn’t get what the emphasis on the different words would imply.

[@realtrash8030]

@@DanaBonn thanks for this detailed explanation! I think I could have thought of that because the emphasis in German has a pretty similar meaning, but I couldn't figure it out without the background of the movie.

[@somerando8201]

In the same vein, you can read ''She didn't say she gave him the money'' in seven different ways depending on the word you choose to emphasise.

[@agonybabie]

The beginning of “we know the way” actually is sung in Samoan, then in Tokelau. There are multiple Polynesian languages before it is sung in English

[@anduril2132]

When does it change?

[@acupcake90]

I heard they changed Lord Voldermort middle name to "Elvis" in french version.

[@quantum_nekomancer]

@@acupcake90 It is necessary due to the second book with that wordplay. In finnish his name is Tom Lomen Valedro.

[@ArcaneAvian19]

Forgive me if I'm being a bit reductionist or missing something, as I'm a white kid from the Northern US, whose main historical knowledge is European based, but that seems like a cool way to reflect the fact that Moana appears to just be a blanket, generalized version of disparate Polynesian cultures, rather than one specific culture.

[@rop.6630]

@@anduril2132 first verse is Samoan, chorus is tokelauan. It changes when they sing "aue aue" for the first time.

[@elizabethmcfly935]

They didn’t even care for Hercules did they.

[@tomasr.2945]

Conversely, the average Joe doesn't know how Ancient Greek music sounded like. So, maybe gospel music is a safer choice.

[@KoolThing14]

WHO PUT THE GLAD IN GLADIATOR

[@littlethumbtack15yearsago77]

If you guys are talking about Ancient Greece or something, shouldn’t you be talking about Heracles?

[@mipha8795]

Heracles had a long and troubled history in its making, and even longer story short, you're right, the directors just really weren't passionate about the project they were practically forced to do. I forgot which videos I learned this from, but one was an hour long video on treasure planet and the other a criticism on Hercules (both pretty viral, but I really can't remember their titles) I'm sure you can also learn more on its wikipedia page anyway.

[@seamusmcenroe]

Hercules is my fav disney film

[@arteinighters]

i feel so educated rn

[@arteinighters]

YES SOUTH KOREAN

[@squig5080]

Saame

[@operiwinkleo1932]

This is why I watch video essays

[@SUPERIDOLdesho]

k

[@mattpbarry]

So the Lion King definitely fulfils the “Africa is a country” trope because it’s clearly meant to be set somewhere in the Serengeti and the characters have mostly Swahili names, but used Zulu for the opening scene because it was easier to hire and record artists in South Africa than in Kenya

[@noracampbell6392]

I feel like maybe it was less work than to make it accurate, and it does still sound authentic. Possibly the words that the names are didn't translate into words that sounded like names in other languages

[@profpuffofficial2]

Except places like pilansberg and Kruger could be viable

[@mattpbarry]

E. zl still doesn’t help that the Zulus lives thousands of kilometres away from the nearest Swahili speaker

[@mattpbarry]

@@bmsg1 no hard feelings :)

[@mattpbarry]

@@noracampbell6392 interestingly a lot of Zulu names are abstract descriptions eg. Jabulani = Happiness, Sibusiso = Blessing, Thembiso = Promise. So for Rafiki = Friend = Umngane and Simba = Lion = Ibhubesi or Mbube or Ingonyama. There are translations that I think are as plausible (although I have never met a Zulu person with those names). Another cool thing is that in the opening song they use Ingonyama rather than the more common Ibubesi, because Ingonyama is the reverent form, literally the "Lion King"

[@OrtegaSauce]

me before the Dipper clip: nah he dont really sound like Dipper me after the Dipper clip: oh god now i cant unhear it

[@jamiecrucefix4078]

Dipper clip which ones that?

[@OrtegaSauce]

@@jamiecrucefix4078 the first clip at like 0:15

[@officialmaxrebo]

That’s why you shouldn’t translate Besame Mucho into English. In Spanish, it’s beautiful but then you just have English which is just- *”kiss me. kiss me a lot”*

[@galiagarcia4216]

Jaja ya se k loco

[@weliveinasociety4629]

I feel like that's with a lot of songs in Spanish in general. I remember showing a friend of mine a Juan Gabriel song a while back and they looked up the translation in English and it totally ruined the vibe

[@castroglez1613]

Yeah thats why I always watch Coco in Spainsh since it totally ruins the movie in English and in Spanish its just better in general being a Méxican that lives in México

[@lilygreen221]

I dont like when people translate songs in general

[@lilygreen221]

@@castroglez1613 I feel you. They sing la llorona in spanish but then Miguel sings un poco loco in spanish and english, I like the song only in spanish

[@alexfraze12087]

i didn't say he stole five dollars. I didn't say he stole five dollars. i DIDN'T say he stole five dollars. i didn't SAY he stole five dollars. i didn't say HE stole five dollars. i didn't say he STOLE five dollars. i didn't say he stole FIVE dollars. i didn't say he stole five DOLLARS.

[@aliceisntleaving]

The last one is somebody choking on their coffee.

[@SADIE_Maybe_SADISTIC]

Wow

[@lizard5341]

damn....

[@distortiondaisiras]

oh wow

[@Ctab-fp9nt]

_sir_ _this_ _is_ _a_ _wendy’s_

[@tqnohe]

I learned something. I was once at a Native American PowWow and I was listening to the young men playing drums and chanting. To my ear it sound like “Hey ya ha ha hey ya ha ha.” Curious, I asked on of the singers what the lyrics meant. He said, “Hey ya ha ha hey ya ha ha.” I thought he was simply blowing me off as an ignorant white man. I was a little hurt, because I genuinely wanted to know. Then in this video, I am told that the words to Native American songs have no linguistic values. So the young man’s answer was the real answer and not an insulting blow off.

[@Skye_Writer]

It's very true that the chants you hear at Native American powwows and drum circles are, in fact, not songs with lyrics. These are not words so much as they are vocalizations, sort of like scat runs in jazz. That's why when you listen closer to the drummers when they are singing, you will usually hear one person sing out a line, and then the other drummers will repeat it with him. Basically, the first person is telling them what to sing. There are actual Native American songs, of course, but these are usually sung to tell stories or they are songs which have been translated into the Native Nation's language (there is a version of Amazing Grace in Cherokee which is both haunting and at the same time confusing since, like this video points out, word for word translation changes the number of syllables). For dances, it's more about evoking a feeling. It's kind of like when a great song comes on the radio and you are ready to sing along from the start, but they haven't gotten past the intro yet, so you start vocalizing along with the instruments in that intro. Haven't all of us at some time or another mimicked the guitar riff at the beginning of "Livin' On A Prayer" while waiting for Jon Bon Jovi to start singing about Tommy and Gina? ♪♫ooWAH, ooWAH, ooWAH, ooWAH, ooWAH, ooWAH, ooWAH♫♪ (good luck getting that out of your head)

[@angeIeyes]

I’m Native American, and the drum is supposed to be like a heart beat. And idk about the singing. All Ik is powwows are like celebrating and getting together for things.

[@TahtahmesDiary]

@@tamagothchic 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾

[@lillianaoneal9231]

Dont wirry. Whwn I first started fancy shawl (i think I was 7) my mom told me to not, i repear not, listen to the words. Listen to the beat. This could be just dancers or my mom's teaching, but it worked.

[@theshanamaster]

Oklahoma born raised Native here, the song represents what was going on with our lives, we simply go with the beat of them drum, one says, the others repeat, but through them repeating it, we all understand and have this unified sense of what each other is going through and what we feel. It what brings us together during POWWOW time and any other times that may fall on us.

[@SwordTune]

Who was like "so they're neolithic native Alaskans?" "Yes." "Mhm. I'm thinking Bulgarian music. How about you?"

[@dorizelion]

To be fair, it's not Bulgarian music either. They only used the voices

[@historynerd205]

As a native Bulgarian who sings in a folk choir, I legit could not tell it was sung by Bulgarian vocalists, nor could I recognise any folk music patterns, it's too different. I guess, good job Disney..?

[@historynerd205]

I could definitely tell in Ghost in the Shell, though, the voices and ornamentation are very typical with our music

[@Therisibledeer]

feels like a phineas and ferb type conversation

[@Skye_Writer]

I take NOTHING away from Lin-Manuel Miranda, but the man responsible for the Tokeluan music in this film is singer-songwriter Opetaia Foa'i. The songs feature Foa'i's New Zealand-based vocal group Te Vaka, as well as a choir from Fiji, and if you look at the track listings, you can see that Foa'i is responsible for **the music and the lyrics** for "We Know the Way," and it is performed by him and Miranda. Foa'i also the wrote the music and the lyrics for "Tulou Tagaloa", "An Innocent Warrior", and "Logo Te Pate"...that is 4 out of the 6 songs that use Tokeluan (not counting the finale version of "We Know The Way," which included Miranda, but is basically a reprise of the earlier version). I am passionate about pointing this out, because Mr. Foa'i does not get the recognition he deserves for his work in the film next to the more widely known Miranda, but he was working on these songs in 2013 while Miranda was not hired until March 2014. I'm not saying they didn't collaborate together beautifully, because they did and Foa'i says so, and the film's showstopping number "How Far I'll Go" is Miranda's doing for sure and a song I love. It's right up there with "Let It Go" as a thematic girl-power song, and SO well written! But when it comes to the more ethnic sounding pieces, that is Foa'i's doing, and he wrote them specifically with the idea of being able to transition to English with the same kind of melodic system presented in this video...something he has been doing for more than 20 years. The film is GREAT, all the music is truly moving (How Far I'll Go still gives me goosebumps), and the score Mancina wrote ties it all together beautifully. But all the comments saying it is because of Miranda without acknowledging the others who contributed bothers me. I am just as much Native American (one-quarter) as anything else and I, too, get annoyed when a native culture either gets misrepresented or their contributions get ignored. Miranda is fortunate to be famous among white people (instead of just among his own ethnic group) as he completely deserves to be because he wrote a hit Broadway show. Opetaia Foa'i is nearly as famous among Polynesian people (maybe a little more so) and has been touring consistently and selling out places for 20 years. But, because he is not someone known outside of Polynesian circles, he gets overlooked when it comes to getting credit in the making of this film's music. This film SHOULD have helped to make him a star with a broader audience, but he is not being given the credit because it is all being attributed to Miranda, whose name is better known, even though that is only a recent accomplishment.

[@lilymiller6281]

You did just point out he was only popular amongst Polynesians. That is the crowd he is playing to. White people, hilariously enough, aren't trying to put down Mr. Opetaia Foa'i, it so happens that I was never aware he worked on the score. Now obviously his lack of recognition is not his fault, but I do not go out of my way to go see Polynesian music when there is none around me. If you truly wished for "white people" (who aren't the sole cause of your lack of recognition, this makes you just as racist) to see your culture and music, travel and seek listeners. I will tell my cousin, (A Lin Manuel worshipper) about Mr. Foa'i because it is important that he gets the recognition for his work, however much of this divide between many cultures is not just white people's fault. Obviously, it is important to see all sides of everything and get perspectives on everything, (which is why history books should be revised to include the native cultures) but how much work are you doing to see to it that Foa'i gets the credit? And every other native who does groundbreaking work for that matter. Thank you for commenting, because I learned something new, but be more aware that you are being just as racist as the white people you think are oppressing you.

[@amonia1766]

​@@lilymiller6281 yeah, they pointing it out that a native person isnt getting recognition from the work they do beucase of white people is them being racist with white people, congratulations.

[@jonakoltaj9347]

@@lilymiller6281 I don't think they meant to say that white people were oppressing them? As far as i can see, they were just trying to promote the artist they think deserves credit and i can't really find it anywhere in their comment that they said that white people were purposefully overlooking Foa'i, just that when you see an already more known name next to one you don't know, you tend to remember the one you've already heard of. And i don't think they wanted you to start listening to Foa'i's music now either, just that when praising one of the artists for their work, they don't want to see the co-artist be left out. That's how i understood it at least and i just don't want any unnecessary hostility:(

[@kl-1447]

Agreed. Opetaia Foa'i definitely should receive more attention. I'm a massive Lin-Manuel Miranda fan, and I can see why they marketed with him bc of Hamilton's success. But they collaborated on a lot of the music, with Lin focusing on the English and mixing the languages.

[@rmdcade1717]

@@lilymiller6281 There's nothing racist or anti-white in the original comment, or anything indicating white people are "trying to put down Mr. Opetaia Foa'i" or that OP is under the impression that "white people [...] are oppressing [her]". Your reading is completely out of left field. I'm not sure why you took OP's frustration with a lack of credit where credit is due to be an attack against white people from someone with significant non-white heritage, and I'm not sure why you then felt it was necessary to scream that OP is "just as racist" - twice, no less.

[@therhythmictale5574]

“Throughout history Disney had a tendency to set their movies in a variety of different countries and cultures” Also Disney: *avoid the Slavs at all costs*

[@ultraslav9313]

The only Slavic Disney character is Mike Wazowski. Let that sink in.....

[@therhythmictale5574]

Ultra Slav bruh, Slavs represent, can we get a Russian Disney princess tho? Or like a Bulgarian prince or something

[@ultraslav9313]

@@therhythmictale5574 Anastasia is technically a Disney princess by the Fox merger. Just barely. There is no original Slavic character Disney has made themselves except for Mike, (Ha ha, Mickey Mouse. You think we're all short, one eyed green monsters. You want to achieve Lebensraum and get rid us, don't you?). A Bulgarian princess or Polish princess might be good. I know several stories that could be turned into Disney movies.

[@therhythmictale5574]

Ultra Slav ah yes I forgot about Anastasia, but technically she isn’t really considered a Disney Princess, and the film is also based off of true events, unlike the rest of the movies ://

[@cherrywillow3983]

TheRhythmicTale yeah! I hope the next ‘white’ princess they make is east European! I’d love to see Russia accurately represented (the stereotypes are actually kinda harmful), or even a Ukrainian or Serbian princess would be aaamaazing!

[@aylintatar98]

in other words : Lin-Manuel Miranda is a fricking genius

[@abbywhitt2736]

Atkin damn right

[@chronicles2613]

Speaking truth!

[@alexc9509]

good thing we didn’t need a video for that though!!!

[@chopsuzi1835]

You bet your sweet ass he is

[@Skye_Writer]

See my post above. Miranda did not write the song that Sideways is praising in this video. Not the music, not the lyrics. It isn't his genius that should be credited. Opetaia Foa'i is the well-established artist who wrote all the Polynesian stuff, and he was working on it long before Miranda was hired.

[@maxaustin3377]

I heard that ‘Mr. Hamilton’ was hired for Moana before Hamilton was even a thing that people knew about. Which means they hired him because of his first award winning musical, In The Heights. And now I’m wondering if they hired him for this because of his experience working on a bilingual score 🤔

[@ktw5574]

Most likely both, considering they paired Lin with Opetaia (who I believe may be Tongan?). So BOOM 💥 - We Know The Way

[@user-mz8ez4sj1n]

Why did I expect Moana’s side kick to be the pig or the chicken? 😂

[@chloebarnsley5202]

Haha I thought that as well

[@asadfarraj]

Moana feels like Maowi's sidekick 😂

[@theofficalsilentraven]

Same-

[@nisaryan9539]

A minor note, Ghost in the Shell was inspired by the Bulgarian choir song but the actual lyrics are in Japanese and are based on Min'yo chanting and Noh plays.

[@PeterRavnRasmussen]

I was going to say the same, but you saved me the trouble.

[@robertharris6092]

Thats what i was thinking when he said that.

[@TAMAMO-VIRUS]

Even more fun to know, is that the openings for Stand Alone Complex were composed by Japanese Yoko Kanno, sung by the Russian Origa, and were in English/Latin (Inner Universe) and English/Russian (Rise)

[@sirconstantine8329]

@@TAMAMO-VIRUS Inner Universe actually has Russian in it as well.

[@TAMAMO-VIRUS]

@@sirconstantine8329 Cool to know. Thanks.

[@Juliana-du3kk]

This is really interesting. As a someone who doesn’t have English as their native language, I always had this whole different syllabus debacle in my head when watching Disney films. But to someone who grew up in the US, the thought of translating songs isn’t as recurring. It’s similar to the refusal some English speakers have to read subtitles. For the rest of the world, we just accepted that, in order to view the actors’ complete performance, we have to read subtitles. I’m glad more and more Americans are watching pieces of media from other cultures

[@somespeciesofpenguin]

Watching foreign shows with original audio and english subtitles is very...antagonizing to older people I know, but most of my classmates do it a lot because some of the most highly recommended shows and series on Netflix are foreign (La Casa de Papel / Money Heist, and some korean horror movie iirc, come to mind)

[@Em-._.-]

@@somespeciesofpenguin I have never seen any of those shows recommended to me on Netflix😅 but I do always use subtitles and get yelled at by my family for it. Whenever I do watch shows in other languages, I often forget that it's in a different language

[@somespeciesofpenguin]

@@Em-._.- I use subtitles on everything due to my hearing impairment. The number of times people freaked out at school because I was watching english shows without audio was funny.

[@am-xr4ve]

I like hearing the original because when the dub doesn't synch with the mouth, I find it weird. In the native language, it feels more emotional and real despite not understanding it. It's beautiful to hear too and I'm glad you said how not reading subtitle but using dubbed versions are normalized because I often forget that. Different languages should not be a barrier in uniting people, rather, a reason to find ways to understand each other.

[@yeetelephant2586]

@@am-xr4ve I agree. Dubbing live action shows is a terrible idea. It takes so much away from the original performance. It’s ok with animated media because it is already somewhat unnatural mouth movements. But because people *see* each other talking and we know exactly what mouth shape makes what sound, dubbing live action movies/shows is so uncanny and uncomfortable.

[@michaelsandell4688]

So the instance of Nani singing Aloha 'Oe to Lilo is complicated because, while Tia Carrera (Nani's voice actor) is Native Hawaiian, Daveigh Chase (Lilo's voice actor) isn't. However, a *lot* of the voice actors for even the minor characters are also Native Hawaiian. They even got a real hula teacher to voice Lilo's hula teacher. This kind of representation is unheard of even today, let alone *twenty years ago* (holy shit that makes me feel old). I'm not Hawaiian myself, so I don't get a say in whether or not is actually is appropriative, but I do think it's important to note how many actual Native Hawaiians they cast.

[@robinviden9148]

Although from Hawaii, Tia Carrere is of Filipino and Chinese descent. She’s not Native Hawaiian.

[@abbsbrady7264]

i think it’s cool, but really unnecessary. It doesn’t change what they sound like so it’s really just farming brownie points.

[@bobjones2959]

It's noticeable as well since I immediately recognized the teacher's accent - not necessarily as Hawaiian but definitely some kind of Polynesian. I noticed similarities between that and the accents Maori people tend to have in New Zealand. I think David has the same thing.

[@DoctorNemmo]

My computer froze exactly at 5:50 so it got stuck in a Jim Carrey loop singing aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[@the-inatorinator]

2:51 "Is this guy playing music? Or just stamping envelopes?" Maybe I'm biased but did this remind ANYONE else of "I Ain't Got Rhythm" from Phineas and Ferb?

[@s29nv1sr1]

YESSIR

[@McBenjiii]

Lili'uokalani (Sept 1939 - Nov 1917). She was a young queen, I'll tell you that.

[@coltonbarrett8729]

Exactly what I was thinking 😂

[@arnavjoshi5913]

how did she live from 1939 to 1917?

[@hawaii5298]

Shes born in the 1800s

[@arnavjoshi5913]

@@keicherie oh thanks

[@myczxr]

i had to go back and pause the vid to make sense of it... #magic

[@piperstormy494]

Ok but as an American who came from Middle eastern immigrants and grew up watching Disney, Aladdin was my favorite movie because even if they didn’t use middle eastern language, the instrument and vocal elements sounded like the music my family listened to and the characters looked like people in my family. I LOVED having a princess that looked like me and music that was familiar

[@linaelhabashy4608]

Another person of middle Eastern descent here. I appreciate the fact that Aladdin exists, but I don’t think it’s adequate representation anymore. They do have to do a different middle eastern princess to reflect how things are actually done in the Middle East.

[@piperstormy494]

@@linaelhabashy4608 thanks for the reply! I definitely agree we should get another middle eastern princess/more representation but I don’t think we should just throw Aladdin in the bin ^-^

[@piperstormy494]

@@linaelhabashy4608 but I would LOVE more representation

[@Tokiokioki]

"have your next princess be south korean" Me, audibly at 1 am: oooOOOooooo

[@pippaschroeder9660]

That would be cool

[@ambergreymorning1637]

You guys think a South Korean princess would make Disney a lot of $ because of the current global K-pop phenomenon? or something else entirely?

[@blazethunder5525]

why not north korean too ?👀

[@blazethunder5525]

why not north korean too ?👀

[@constanzabarcelli3230]

As a Peruvian, i think they missed the opportunity to put some Quechua in “The Emperor’s new groove” since is taking place in Cuzco and the actual language is Quechua (our official Peruvian languages are Spanish, Quechua and Aimara).

[@giulianag2545]

As another Peruvian, I can agree

[@jezkell]

As an Ecuadorian, I also agree

[@FlashQuatsch]

That would've fit more if they wanted to make the movie more culturally accurate, but truth is they didn't. The movie is more focused on being funny than anything else. I would, however, expect some Quechua if they finished Kingdom of the Sun. Also Peruvian 🇵🇪

[@jezkell]

@@FlashQuatsch I would've liked Kingdom of the sun too, the drafts they had were pretty interesting and according to me a bit more mature than this movie, I still absolutely love it, but I would like to see kingdom of the sun somewhere in the future, at least in a book or something

[@FlashQuatsch]

@@jezkell or if they want to remake it in live action maybe. ¿Hablas español?

[@violetvoices7961]

Lin really did that I guess? Does he ever stop? Nah...he’s non-stop...

[@KM-ld9ln]

Violet Voices honestly that man can’t sleep and even if he does I bet his dreams are too inspiring to stay asleep (but I get and appreciate the joke)

[@violetvoices7961]

K M, haha yea you’re probably right, his mind ✨

[@gabriellek157]

Well, I guess he’ll never be satisfied

[@haleyflanno1019]

music .o sorry but he can’t say no to them

[@abbywhitt2736]

Violet Voices why do you assume you're the smartest in the room (hey!)

[@mikumikuareka]

6:33 So, it's the first time I hear this piece in the original language. Before I watched this movie only in a Russian dubbing. And now I understand WHY this piece was looking to me so stupid before. Russian sound actors didn't get the syllabic stresses right. It was just "What are YOU doing" 4 times in a row.

[@pinkajou656]

Wow that’s amazing! So interesting

[@jamiecrucefix4078]

As a english woman I never noticed the diiferent intonations between Geoffrey Rush and Johnny Depp.

[@Sasjuh1992]

When you’re casually watching a KZbin video and it quickly turns into a full on linguistics lecture... as a linguistics student... I love it!! ✌🏻

[@devonmeyers8213]

DrinkTeaReadBooksBeHappy linguistic anthro?

[@karenas4187]

Lol, I'm Tokelauan and yeah ur right. They had to transition the song to best fit the rhythm, they did a good job tho... But sometimes in movies, they play songs that literally don't relate to what's happening on the screen, for example 'Loimata E Malingi' is about a fire that killed teenage girls in Vanuatu, but on the movie the song is used for Moana as a baby when she has her first interaction with the sea. Disney tries very hard to add cultural recognition within their movies but to be honest, a little too hard. But hey, at least they got great musicians to do the music.

[@snowangel7980]

Perhaps, it was intentional. When Moana gets older, she will, as a teenager, come face to face with fire and either be consumed by it or defeat it. Her interaction with the sea will ultimately lead her down this path. So for those who understand the language you get some awesome foreshadowing.

[@Ahianuenue]

Wow, fascinating insights! Thank you both

[@emmamoo8862]

So how close is tokelauan to maori? I live in nz and this sounds very native to my country...

[@lilymiller6281]

That song actually sounds like it would fit with the movie and setting it was put in however, considering that the interaction with the sea is considered deadly and taboo. After that later we also see the flashback to her dad and his sea experience. It clearly wasn't the best fit but Disney doesn't fuck around.

[@chopinbr]

Opetaia Tavita Foa'i Composer, singer, guitarist and founder of the Contemporary Polynesian band, Te Vaka, Opetaia is recognised as one of the South Pacific's most influential cultural and musical ambassadors. From the onset of his career he has been on a mission to tell the stories of his seafaring Polynesian ancestors (who conquered the largest ocean on the planet) and to share his beautiful culture with the world. Due to this aim and despite his versatile musicality, he chose early on to dedicate his music to the South Pacific and to write predominantly in his native tongues (Tokelauan, Tuvaluan and Samoan).

[@invadervantas]

the two parts of the song form moana put together acutally gave me goosebumps

[@philotomybaar]

PossiblyPoss That could have been a nice quodlibet.

[@spacecat_scribbles]

Yeah I loved that

[@CJ-df7gf]

Me too! Shivers

[@claymountain1300]

This reminds me of when I was five years old I heard a French song and I asked my dad to translate it to Dutch because I didn't understand. He started saying the words, thinking really hard about it and I got all mad like "dad, I want you to SING it, DUH." I started crying when he said that wasn't possible.

[@seph4707]

I love the cultural appropriation scare quotes. I think one should always be considerate of other cultures when electing to represent them, but I think its ok when there's a blend of tones, themes, and music the audience is familliar with as well. Otherwise you lead to a stagnation where cultures can't mix, which is just, not how culture and art work. Just don't be rude or spiteful with it.

[@devonmeyers8213]

Joseph Ingram I completely agree! Cultural anthropology agrees as well- every culture existing today has been influenced by others in various ways throughout history - linguistic anthropology gives so much evidence in this regard. It’s such an ill-informed smug stance and does nothing to further understanding and appreciation of said cultures.

[@oniemployee3437]

As long as the culture's.. culture and history are treated with respect and honor, I don't care what happens.

[@riccardoorlando2262]

If we truly carried this cultural appropriation thing to the extreme, then as an Italian I'd have to forbid every other country from cooking pasta, pizza and a whole lot of other foods. I mean, it's not like they accurately represent Italian culture when serving carbonara with goddamn cream on it.

[@oniemployee3437]

@@riccardoorlando2262 cultural appropriation is a dumb as fuck term anyways. People need to stop using it.

[@jekblom123]

@@oniemployee3437 what if it's a cannibal tribe?

[@nixian_zwaylus]

an example for a movie that really nailed the cultural singing is dreamworks's "prince of Egypt". the songs that are personal and close are written in Hebrew, and they even got a jewish singer to sing them. she is also the voice actor of moshe's mother. the word are mostly pronounced correctly, probably thanks to ofra haza (the jewish singer). also, to be honest, and i think its a good thing, the film is way better in its native language (hebrew).

[@tbefilms]

YES TO THIS

[@guesswhoshere8024]

Stop stealing Arabic culture

[@nixian_zwaylus]

@@guesswhoshere8024 are you dumb? no, don't answer.

[@nixian_zwaylus]

@@guesswhoshere8024 if you meant religiously speaking, Judaism is considered to be older than the Islam. since the Islam is denying that, and is claiming that Judaism stemmed from it (and Judaism is claiming the opposite), which one was first is more a question of which side you are on, and definitely not an absolute truth. if you meant culturally speaking, well, many Jews lived along side "Arabic people" in "Arabic countries" their entire life. this has been true for over 1800 years. i myself am part Moroccan. well, i don't know, could it be that their culture is actually Arabic? wow! in other words, what your'e saying is bullsh*t.

[@wellwhoknows9567]

@@guesswhoshere8024 excuse you?

[@daffo595]

They hired Lin after watching In The Heights, the specific reason being they knew he was good at composing music for two languages

[@leifhelland6313]

Ok, as a Norwegian, I gotta say how weird the frozen franchise is. They just sorta mix and mash all Scandinavian culture together, and add in a little native American as well, which makes everything very wrong. The saami are actually originally Russian, but emigrated to Sweden, Finland and Norway in the 900's, and now most of them lives in Norway. The fact that they took a Danish melody, a christian one at that, and acted as if that is normal for a Saami group to sing is so bizarre. The saami religion is mostly extinct now, thanks to Christian missionaries, but when the movie takes place (1700's/1800's, max) it was still very much active. Oh, and the city Arendell is a play on the real Norwegian city Arendal, which is literally on the other side of the country from the saami that are depicted in the movie.

[@Matilda-u5n]

As someone from Sweden, its so weird hearing the rest of the worlds call it the "Norwegian movie" becuse is has so much from al of Scandinavia. Also parts of iceland im pretty sure.

[@hugnboba]

I didn't like Frozen 2. It was trash imo. The animations is the only thing good in it.

[@marioksoresalhillick299]

Well, the Saami aren't Russian really - they're a Finno-Ugric people that happened to come from a geographic location that is now a part of Russia. I'm not really being pedantic here because they're very different from standard modern Slavic Russians who live in Russia!

[@lightyagami1058]

Still think we need to distinguish films taking inspiration from cultures and one-to-one copies of cultures.

[@tumekass6860]

They are not Russian but Finno-Ugric people, whose ancestors migrated from the area of current day Russia. Also the Sami people have lived in Scandinavia for longer than that, according to Wikipedia for even 3500 years.

[@saveusbloodymess]

2:28 Was half expecting "we are Siamese if you please..."

[@animeartist888]

Those, at least, were just a long gag about the term "Siamese twins"

[@mkawosz]

Both parts of "We Know The Way" mixed together sound gorgeous. Don't change my mind.

[@pinkajou656]

Agreed!

[@botigamer9011]

Update here: Frozen 2 was made in such a way that it will be relatable to the indigenous Sami tribe of Northern Norway, hence why it was dubbed into the Sami language

[@irisa198]

Also, there's the scene, in the og English version as well, where the indigenous characters actually sing Vuelie themselves - the lack of which seemed to be the only gripe he had with Frozen 1's Vuelie

[@eris0707]

its not only in Norway also swden, frozen took some traditions from sweden et.c the midsummer pole

[@Liggliluff]

I like how they dub the films in the settings they take place, this makes it possible to watch these films in the language of the setting. Although this is a more recent practice, so there's no native dub of Pocahontas for example. But of course, films taking place in Germany and France do have dubs as expected, those are major languages.

[@Liggliluff]

Adding to my comment, one could argue that English is the major language. But I would still love a dub from one of the native American languages, and edit together the film so the natives speak their language, alongside subtitles. The effect would be neat I think.

[@JayNewberyy]

the two parts of that song from Moana played over each other slaps.

[@pinkajou656]

Jay Newbery it was AMAZING on headphones

[@user-oz3rj3pv5i]

Yes! That's probably one of my favorite songs from moana

[@mckenziedood3508]

I gotta say you basically made me cry with that explanation of brave's lullaby. I never realized it's full significance until this moment. And then understanding the bridge that Moana's song "We Know the way" made just made me love the movie even more. Thank you

[@sophiaruizuvalle2523]

mckenzie Dood as a bilingual immigrant (born in the US, living in Mexico, with mexican family) I've got to say that saying something in a language that most people around you dont understand does feel way more personal than saying it in the language that surrounds you, 'till this day it's difficult for me to express feelings or deep thoughts in spanish, even tho i speak it perfectly, it just doesnt feel right

[@william5691]

Yeah I teared up when he was explaining the significance of the song Nani sings to Lilo before she's about to give her up in Lilo and Stitch. That film was very hit and miss with alot of things but I thought it nailed those two characters and their relationship which seemed so realistic. That song being about the ending of the native Hawaiian rule which was written by its last leader was heartbreaking enough, but when embedded in this film's scene it sort of backed up the emotion I felt in that scene.

[@saskiaviking9447]

Do you nuw de wey

[@artyzara1799]

Ok, I literally started crying in We Know The Way. That montage literally hits me like the Up montage, and I don't know why. Damnit Opetaia Foa'i and Lin-Manuel Miranda!

[@junjunagbayani4792]

Especially when they perform this live with Polynesian instruments and dancers

[@ezraneal9732]

@@junjunagbayani4792 im polynesian, and where i live, the local theatre put on a show of moana jr for all of the polynesian/pasifika/maori youth to star in, and it was so beautiful for us to be apart of a show that celebrates our culture. It really is special when we get together to sing our songs 😊

[@HappyPancakesOfJoy]

So what I got from this video is that I like Bulgarian choir music ;)

[@dayc0re_violet]

Amber Bradshaw IT DOES

[@petrichorbones]

same ... next thing to search LMAO djfjgjdhf

[@AlexIsModded]

One thing that's especially challenging about making music for Brother Bear, is that is seems the producers never did their research about Inupiat culture from the post ice-age time period the film is set in. One thing to note about indigenous tribes throughout North America, is that their cultures developed a historical record through verbal story telling. Unlike other cultures that have used written language to convey history and meaning, most indigenous American cultures pass down history and TRUTH through story telling. These stories are NOT like the telephone game, in which the story changes with each teller. The story is told the same way every single time. This means that the Inupiat peoples would have a very strong sense of what their people did hundreds or even thousands of years ago. Not only did Disney not ask the Inupiat directly what their music should sound like, they also didn't ask the Inupiat directly how they wanted the public to perceive them. The second question can be a loaded one, with varying answers, and when Disney finally did do this for Moana, people were still offended. Mainly not everyone in every culture wants the same thing and sees eye to eye.

[@jamiecrucefix4078]

I love Brother Bear but Tina Turner was interesting choice for intro song

[@thomastakesatollforthedark2231]

How can we know the history was told the exact same every single time it was retold?

[@lucyandecember2843]

o.o

[@NS-et5wh]

@@thomastakesatollforthedark2231 We can't they're just saying a bunch of nothing to sound like they support native people but they also seem to put us on a weird pedistal. As an inuk we have many different versions of our stories, and we and our stories are related to the inupiats too.

[@NS-et5wh]

This honestly seems bordering to the "magical indian" trope. Native peoples aren't different from other humans, and that also means we can tell stories that change over time just like anyone else. Even just looking at the different versions of our myths from Alaska, Canada and Greenland is evidence that our stories aren't told the same way every time. And that is beautiful and human! Stories was a tool for us to teach each other, and knowledge gets updated, and different people might get different things out of it. And if our stories only told truths they would frankly be boring too. If you look into inuit myths you would know that our stories often are bordering on horror. And in Greenland at least that is still a big part of our culture. We tell horror stories to entertain children. I for one am not familiar with a "historical record" in our stories, that might be a different culture you're thinking of. Cause not all native peoples on the american continent are the same... You can't really generalize us like that, even if you do it with good intentions.

[@Check_its]

Damn son. At this rate you'll be on the fast track to KZbin stardom in no time! literally no time. so little time in fact that it's already happened... keep up the good work!

[@MJ-he1hf]

Someone finally put into words why I burst into tears during the singing of "We Know the Way", especially the Tokelauan singing. Some of the happiest memories of my childhood and adolescence were listening to people singing in Samoan or Tongan or Maori at my church and I miss my Polynesian friends and their culture and humour so much 😭

[@marieroberts5664]

Oh hell, I'm not crying you're crying 😭...DAMN YOU ONION NINJAS!!!

[@miraculousaly-bug2411]

14:04 It sounds like they meant it to play side by side like this. I love it.

[@bennygrunblatt4842]

i got jumpscared so many times by the cultural appropriation.

[@jdcantcounttothree6778]

Why is this sentence so funny to me?

[@hellothere-bo7bn]

jd cant count to three when you take it out of context it’s hilarious for some reason

[@reptilesceptile1035]

69 likes

[@starlegends3092]

@@jdcantcounttothree6778 same

[@sindrevangenrobberstad2889]

That needs to be a yearbook quote somewhere

[@charlie9619]

because damn, Lin is just that good He's had experience with switching languages in music See: In The Heights

[@allisonlang75]

Agent Anne Archy Into the Heights needs more recognition!

[@njblackbird3148]

No Me Diga!

[@Skye_Writer]

Only Lin didn't have a damn thing to do with the switching of languages in this film, because Lin doesn't speak any Polynesian languages and he didn't write the bilingual songs in this film. The song that Sideways says made him sit up and take notice, "We Know the Way," was not written by Lin-Manuel. The music *and* the lyrics are credited to Opetaia Foa'i, a Polynesian artist who has been writing and singing in both Tokeluan and English for more than 20 years. I'll give Lin-Manuel his credit for "How Far I'll Go," but basing the idea that he can switch languages in this film's score because he has done it with his own culture's language is a fallacy. Just because he can do it with Spanish and English doesn't mean he can do it with English and a different language he isn't familiar with. Opetaia Foa'i, however, has been singing in both languages for a long time and understands how to transition from one to the other in a way that hits all the points Sideways was making in this video. The credit belongs to him, and it's his voice you hear in the beginning of "We Know The Way." In fact, the animators even drew the navigator character to look Foa'i. Miranda has nothing to do with that song aside from performing vocals on the finale reprise.

[@rileybishop8480]

Fun fact: the frozen song you mentioned actually has a rough translation. I did it in choir and the beginning of the sheet music. It is saying roughly the Queen has come and let us go to her coronation

[@rhiannonelizabethchapman5446]

it's a yoik. whatever you did in choir wasn't the original, bc yoiks don't have linguistic meaning. they're sung for the sake of singing

[@_Newton]

in the lion king Ingonyama nengw' enamabala which is sung at the begginning of the circle of life translates to the lion and the tiger.

[@karlholde6901]

As a danish person, I'm sorry to say that Dejlig er Jorden has nothing to do with any Queen. I can give a rough translation here: 1 . Lovely is the earth! Magnificent is the God's Heaven! Wonderful is the pilgrimage of the soul! Through the splendid kingdoms on earth we go to Paradise with song. 2 . Times must come, times must roll away, lineage must follow the course of lineage; never silences the tone from Heaven in the happy pilgrim song of the soul. 3 . The angels sang it first for the shepherds of the field; though from soul to soul it sounded: Peace on earth! Man, rejoice, us an eternal is savior born!

[@paikio]

@@rhiannonelizabethchapman5446 Who told you that yoiks don't have linguistic meaning? Lots of yoiks have actual lyrics and meanings. Often they're about nature

[@juliamavroidi8601]

The opening of Xena is also inspired by Bulgarian choir music to the points where it's IN BULGARIAN and sung by a Bulgaroian choir, despite the series being set in Ancient Greece

[@magfe888]

Ok, that We Know the Way split language clip was like INSANELY addictive & satisfying

[@Liss3245]

The Sami is a important part of nordic history, so I was really happy when I found out one of the songs in frozen had yoik in it

[@rubenlarochelle1881]

13:54 Hey, I kinda liked that. It's like the two songs can merge without ruining each other. Two very different languages singing lyrics with the same general meaning with different syllabic structure at two pretty distant pitches. Each one of them sounded like the background of the other. And it sounded good.

[@novicechef101]

I'm so. glad. you talked about the different musical emphasis on syllables in different languages. it bugs the heck out of me when some fan-translated different-language covers don't realize this, and we are left with cringe-worthy direct-trans lyrics on a shifted rhythmic emphasis. worse when you understand both the languages and it's just frustratingly awkward to listen to. Thank you for explaining everything by putting in terminology, I'm now learning the name of everything that I've always thought was just me noticing, appreciating or getting peeved by. Learning about music is fun!

[@benjamingrist6539]

The syllable emphasis thing gets even more complex when you look at regional variants on a given language. Just look at Northerners and Southerners, for example. Northerners and Southerners from what country? Pick whichever you like and I bet the difference is there.

[@novicechef101]

Benjamin Grist for sure. It's fascinating how this North and South thing is found in every culture, eh? in cultures with dialects so densely used in certain areas, sometimes artists write two sets of lyrics for the same song for release. Many singers from Hong Kong release a Cantonese version for the Cantonese community, and a Mandarin version for the larger Mandarin community. the lyrics are completely different, sometimes even in theme, because though the text is the same, the two languages are way too different spoken. Cantonese sounds really nice with melismatic text setting whereas Mandarin really needs to have a blend of both. Intonation and emphatic stress is really different across North and South too. in "Paldo Kyungsan" by BTS, they play around with so many dialects of Korea, and each one puts stress on different locations of the sentence. The beat and stress pattern is different in each verse to accommodate the dialects of each rapper.

[@graup1309]

novicechef101 I think this is generally one of Disney's biggest achievements. Translating the movies songs in such a variety of languages and language families without them ending up sounding entirely horrible. I mean, just look at all those 'Disney songs in 'number' many languages', they somehow blend into each other while you can still hear when languages are changing. I don't really know about languages from non-germanic/ non-romance language families, but from my experience (as someone who is more or less fluid in German, French and English and can ... let's call it communicate ... in Spanish) they do all turn out pretty well.

[@responsiblelobster5223]

novicechef101 yes exactly and in translated lyric ( especially in korean as it is popular now) people sre confused with how the lyrics never fit the song and when it does it sounds like crap conpared to the korean version

[@josephmontanaro1962]

Which is why Les Miserables is the most amazing lyrical translation of all time.

[@KenadianKenough]

My friends help with text-setting for Disney movies (specifically the songs) translated into Swedish, and they walked me through how competently doing something like that is more than just using direct translations, but also about capturing that culture's expressions in ways that make sense to the audience you're writing to. It's absolutely fascinating stuff.

[@twofortiel]

14:00 This part’s really cool with headphones. Nicely done.

[@cgduude]

If you like that, you may like this kzbin.info/www/bejne/mmWsmHaCdqaCb7s

[@jacobthompson6051]

What about the Hebrew in "When you believe" from Prince of Egypt??????????

[@Osakatransbendrr]

Jacob Thompson He was discussing Disney films and Prince of Egypt is a Dreamworks movie; however, it is a good example of language usage.

[@ajsii13x]

That’s one of my favorite examples of language usage because the text used is a selection from the Song of Moses in the book of Exodus singing praise after crossing the Red Sea. They used it a bit earlier in the film but that’s ok.

[@jonahs92]

@@ririsyt No shit, Sherlock. The Jews, however, DID speak Hebrew. And, of course, we still do.

[@taraestelleadelizzi9975]

Dreamworx.

[@arisirote8404]

@@ajsii13x Interested detail in that song is that they don't sing the entirety of the song, however the parts that they do sing are the same parts that are sung in a special tune/melody as part of the weekly reading of the Torah.

[@ultmotive]

I live in Hawaii and I can tell you that many Polynesian musicians are masters of switching between their native language and English in the same song, so I'm not surprised to see it so well done in Moana.

[@panpani5079]

In Polish "Happy Birthday" song is literally "Hundred years! Hundred years!" (org. Sto lat! Sto lat!)

[@meanpersona4686]

But the melody is entirely different.

[@Posiman]

In Czech it never mentions birthday.

[@stevethepocket]

Sto Lat? Isn't there a place in Discworld named that?

[@CometsGirl01]

Gaelic pronounced like “gay-lic” is used in Ireland. Gaelic pronounced like “ga-lic” is used in Scotland. Thanks 😂

[@nocreativity7769]

Whoa. I never knew they were supposed to be pronounced differently

[@MegaEmss]

I read somewhere that Gaelic describes the culture of Ireland but Irish is not Gaelic. Gaelic is primarily associated with the language of Scotland. The Irish language can be called Gaeilge or simply Irish. If you live within Ireland it is not common to use the word Gaelic when referring to the Irish language. In fact the only time I hear it being reffered to as Gaelic is from people outside of Ireland..

[@annie1989]

i was thinking about this when he mentioned it 🥴

[@elenafeeney9778]

MegaEmss you are 100% correct

[@shandeepes1290]

HA garlic

[@devilluv_]

No one's gonna talk 'bout Mulan and how pretty My Reflection sounds in mandarin right?

[@devilluv_]

I don't know if it's culturally accurate. It sounds chinese to me because I was taught chinese music sounded like that so it's a circle of things

[@hawktalon7890]

It sounds pretty good in Cantonese too. :D

[@heavenkelley5608]

So beautiful yes I love it

[@薇vern]

Yes!! I love the song in general anyway. It’s so soothing~~

[@squawkington9369]

Missed opportunity for some actual Mandarin in some of the songs

[@princesscadance197]

See, I’m Korean, South Korean. I honestly don’t care if a company tries to portray my home culture, so long as it’s accurate to what my culture is. Then again, I understand not everyone, nor every culture views this situation as I do.

[@shinkumi4ever]

I feel like many would be so nitpicky when they did make one in SK tho. lol

[@disneydisney1490]

I’m South African and I feel the same way. It doesn’t even need to be accurate. They could take inspiration etc.

[@emilymonahan5232]

"both have that show sto-" *_IT'S_* *_A_* *_SHOW STOPPING NUMBER_* *_A REAL SHOW STOPPER-_*

[@cruel284]

Could you make a video of how Bo Burnham use music for comedy? Your videos are great.

[@balaclava__music]

Karl , King of Ducks OMG YESSSS

[@gaetondavis3741]

this

[@yPGzRicardo]

Propper Gentleman Yeah he's a great lyricist and a fairly good songwriter, but that's about as far as it goes I guess

[@yPGzRicardo]

I think an analysis of Bo Burnham's songs would end up being almost exclusively focused on the lyrics.

[@cruel284]

Propper Gentleman I don't mean only musically, the whole structure of his shows (what, make happy, words) revolve about music and it's effect in comedy. A deep analysis from someone who probably studied room music or has experience in the field would be great

[@mr.cactus9496]

Me: Pocahontas is my favorite disney movie People: BUT IT WASNT EVEN THAT GOOD LIKE IT WAS PRETTY BAD AND HISTORICALLY INACCURATE AS WELL AS THE MUSIC WAS REALLY INACCURATE HOW DARE YOU

[@jozylinbahbishsanchy9465]

I loved Pocahontas too mainly because when I was a little girl she was the first Disney princess I away that looked like me and the women around me, I found her so beautiful. I'm not native American, I'm a Pacific islanders but back then Pocahontas was the closest I got until Stitch and we got Nani and Lelo♡

[@cormorantcolors]

I love the movie, too. I hate the fact that a movie with such a nice plot is so inaccurate.

[@sheevpalpatine1105]

im just gonna say that Disney pocahontas is a piece of fiction and should be treated as such

[@omnidiscord]

Please keep in mind that it is both possible and even necessary to simultaneously enjoy a piece of media while also being critical of its more pernicious aspects!

[@SageGarlandSingerSongwriter]

So what is the problem with people saying that? I don't see what you're trying to say.

[@nagitokomaeda6312]

1:40 *realizes Dumbo was set in Miami or something* oh great my hometown has elephant abuse edit: also ayyyeeee Up's in Venezuela my country :,3

[@bp837]

Not necessarily Miami, but it does happen in Florida

[@-spring-ddaeng9714]

Oooo I smell an ARMYYYYY

[@harrietpotter649]

Yeah, probably don't put too much stock in this infographic. The people who made it apparently think 'The Little Mermaid' was set in Puerto Rico...

[@harrietpotter649]

@Silver Sea pretty sure it was set in Denmark...

[@mol1866]

@@harrietpotter649 Arquitecture and time says it should be northern Europe(the castle is a recreation of a castle in switzerland so not that north but still) fish and the way of the sea tell more caribean thats disney for ya

[@archieyiu7111]

"We know the way" starts in Samoan and then moves to Tokelauen and then to English. The English part isn’t a translation of the Samoan/tokelauan part. I can only translate the Samoan and a bit of the tokelauan "We are voyagers, called by the Gods of the Ocean to come, We hope for good tidings in our journey, Aue, Aue. We pray to the kings of old, Send the birds to guide us...." The group Te Vaka is a tokelauan group, but they have a home in Samoa and speak it fluently. Their home island of Tokelau is a victim of global warming and is slowly being covered by water. That’s why they decided to live in Samoa

[@Mazder_Verhal]

I think the moment at around 11-13 minutes kinda expresses how stupid things can get if you go too far down the "cultural appropriation" rabbit hole. Soon it gets to the point of including anything from a culture the piece or artist isn't from, no matter the context, becomes a demonized grab at their culture when really it's just not. Most of what's explained in the video is pretty much on point, but if we take things a single step further and have a little white kid singing the Tokelauan sections from Moana randomly in the street (because it's a kick-ass song and who wouldn't want to sing along) apparently that can be taken as cultural appropriation which just sounds silly. I also would like to express I think that as much as the song pulls people into the world of Moana that the song also brings that music and culture over to them, the divide isn't a one way street and invites the culture to express itself, or try to, in English to not only see the differences but similarities we may share. Yeah things don't line up perfectly, but that's the point It's a blend of the two cultures, not a "here's Polynesia" and "here's English/Americanised English" but "here we are together".

[@slyninja4444]

I agree that yes, you should not lie about your ethnicity or claim to know a language you dont know, but none the less, you should not have to be black to learn Kiswahili, or Amerindian to wear an Amerindian headdress, or white to eat French cuisine, or asian to learn the history of ancient china.

[@slyninja4444]

Also I find it very hypocritical that everyone is claiming "white people are saying they invented Amerindian headdresses" (a common knowledge fact that nobody disputes). Yet, they are not the slightest bit angry about Mexican food, or panchos not being called Amerindian when they all origenated in the Americas. Not to mention white people with a small amount of Amerindian ancestry being called Native Americans, while "Hispanic" people (many of whom are majority Ameridian) are not.

[@AM-px4ul]

Dakota Conn they’re MesoAmerican, not AmerIndian

[@OddOzzy]

@@slyninja4444 Mexico and, in fact, many South American countries are still overwhelmingly ethnically native or of mixed heritage. The reason folks don't tend to get as upset about it is because Mexican culture IS an Amerindian culture.

[@kl-1447]

The big issue with "cultural appropriation" is how usually the originating culture is oppressed while the appropriating culture is praised. And sometimes the originating culture is also shamed and picked through and disrespected. But agreed, some people are a bit too much with it, but I would argue that's very small group that's also emphasized as a strawman argument by critics. Learning a language and enjoying/trying cultural food, etc, is not cultural appropriation.

[@SK22520]

12:07 I think it is very special that the queen was born in 1939 and died in 1917. Prove of time travelling confirmed!!

[@rosin_eater]

I’m just confused now

[@sampucket2270]

No its just backwards that's the way they notate. Like how on legal documents your last name is before your first.

[@michaelweiske702]

I don't know how this vid got that so wrong. At first I thought "oh it says 1939 but meant 1839, one digit isn't that bad" but she wasn't born in 1839. She was born in 1838.

[@OReily08080]

Michael Weiske it through me completely off

[@chris639]

@@sampucket2270 She looks older than 22 in that photo, I'm pretty sure the 1939 was supposed to be 1839. And quick google search confirms, though they say it was 1838, but differing sources, etc.

[@sparklepool101]

Seven minutes in and I've learned more then I learned in school today.

[@francoisegregyi233]

Tells us what schools teach: NOTHING!!!

[@captainshadow3756]

than* not then. You're welcome🎶

[@nicole-ls4jb]

I really appreciate your putting the two portions of We Know the Way side by side. It was so enlightening!

[@ech_severs]

14:04 Me wearing one earphone: **Confused** 14:11 Me wearing both earphones: **A little less confused**

[@the-clown-connoisseur]

Haha,same

[@animeartist888]

I could tell that the notes in the backing weren't quite lined up, but I didn't realize just how different it was until I grabbed headphones. Thank you for piquing my curiosity enough to make me hunt down my 'phones.

[@adwitatherealadwita]

> Mentions musicals early in the video > “Show stopping number” A REAL SHOW STOPPER

[@laurademagall7474]

Something to SHOCK EM

[@Lily-pi1oe]

TO BRING THEM A-CRAWLING

[@neatoburrito7249]

A BIG TIME BOX OFFICE DRAW

[@m.e.g.634]

“Hamilton move over” really works with this video

[@pindebraende]

Kinda mad that somebody apparently translated "Dejlig er Jorden" to "Fairest Lord Jesus" - like yeah it is a christian hymn but the title means "Lovely is the Earth"

[@Scorpionita13]

I was going to say that (I'm from Sweden). I got confused by the translation and wonders who translated it.

[@poppethehe4127]

I had to sing that translation in choir. It was terrible, everyone was uncomfortable

[@TheSneezingAnouki]

I'm learning swedish and i was so confused about that translation, i was doubting everything i had learned in the past year.

[@bumblebee8571]

Wait so I'm confused, I get that the title is wrong but is it or is it not a Christian hymn?

[@Surdeigt]

Bumblebee yes. It's a Christian hymn, but it was written in Danish and the translation is off.

[@MamaBearBrock]

Also, I had an Irish friend who tried to help me learn to say a few small things in Gaelic and it is incredibly difficult. Gaelic is beautiful but hard af unless you've been brought up in it.

[@taliyeth]

"hapPY birthDAY TO you" sounds a lot like Christopher Walken.

[@Vissanalla]

Im a Saami from Norway, while i liked frozen i dont think the yoik in the beginning was the right choice for the movies setting as the only connection to saami culture is the stories origin, the movie is so far removed from its original story. Since it sets us up for seeing Saami culture, but it never really elaborates on it and i dont even think we would have known kristoff is Saami if it wasn't for the writers telling us. Rather then adding to the movie, it just adds not much to the setting since they never really explore more of it, and while we have a Saami version of "deilig er jorden" it still seems out of place. I'd rather have them just sing in Norwegian as more traditional Norwegian song would have added so much more too it. Maybe they will do something in the next movie with Saami people (I know Disney has been visiting some reindeer herding families and other places in the north)

[@AetherTales]

The original story was a Danish eventyr by the fairy tale master Hans Christian Andersen, published in 1844. There isn't much awareness of Saami culture in that either, though he does have the heroine Gerda encounter a "Lapp Woman" and a "Finn Woman" each with various mystical/tribal powers to help her on her quest to save her friend from the Snow Queen. Frozen (2013) doesn't much resemble the plot of it either, though it draws from its major themes. However, you mentioned that "Disney has been visiting some reindeer herding families and other places in the north". Has this been recently, like after 2013? I know they were doing research in Norway for the original, but have they done more visits since? Like for Frozen 2?

[@Vissanalla]

Yeah, last fall around september a group of people from Disney where in Northern Norway researching for a new movie. If that was for Frozen 2 or another original concept the news article didn't say, but they had been in contact with the Norwegian Saami parlament. So something is happening, i know Frozen 2 has been officially announced to be released in 2018 so it could be related to that? Or it could be its own original thing. Yeah the plot of frozen is very far removed from the original tale, it's doing its own thing and that's fine. I still think the yoik at the beginning feels out of place, and the movie would have benefited from a traditionally Norwegian piece from the same time period.

[@AetherTales]

It could be a new project, though it would be interesting if they were responding to cultural concerns made during the release of the original film. After all, they did a lot of research for the original, so there would have to be good reasons for them to delve deeper. Of course Frozen 2 is not a project they want to get wrong, a good enough reason. But since Kristoff's orphan status remained unexplained in Frozen, we may learn more about that in the new film. I can't imagine being left without parents (before being adopted by trolls) would be a happy backstory. Disney's brand is family films, so I'd guess they'd want to get it right. It might even give a legit reason to use a yoik! In any case, thanks very much for the heads up. This may be the first real clue to the plot of Frozen 2.

[@Vissanalla]

As far as i recall it was confirmed by Jennifer Lee on twitter a few years back. Sámi people come in all variations, from blond with blue eyes to brown hair and brown eyes. And most of us are fairly pale aswell. But that all depends what you do, someone who spends most of their spring and summer on the mountain would obviously be more tanned then someone who doesn't. But the winters in most of sápmi is long and the polar night last for atleast 2 months were i live which means no sun, then there is the midnight sun in the summer. You are of course right that most of frozen doesn't have anything to do with sámi culture, but Kristoff is still a sámi man. I hope my answer helps you.

[@davidgullberg2145]

Nia Fawn I like that the only thing in Frozen that tells you that's in Norway is Mountains near coast. But if they speak samii (sorry for spelling) they could only be in north of norway or maybe even the very top of sweden but that would mean that the sunny wheater would be almsot non-exsisting. Or is there exceptions?

[@edwxrdfox]

That brief point about English covers of anime openings is something I've definitely picked up on. Back when I was in a pretty cringey weeb phase I'd listen to them but they'd always sound off, like the lyrics are clunky and overcomplicated. Preserving the meaning of the song while making it fit with the music itself is too difficult, and it makes sense that a lot of old English dubs would just create new theme songs rather than try and translate the originals. I hadn't thought about it in a while, but I got this vibe from the new Smash Bros Theme - the music itself is good, but the lyrics sound awful.

[@reibean9542]

AmaLee sings English covers to Japanese songs and they are really good! It takes a lot of talent so if you are still looking for stuff like that her music is great! ;)

[@bluesbest1]

Dragon Ball and Yu-Gi-Oh are pretty much the only shows I've watched dubed and actually been okay with. It helps that I haven't watched the Japanese version of YGO, but still. Things _will_ get lost in translation, from meaning to timing to significance and puns. It's why I'll always be fine having to read as I watch (which I tend to do anyway whenever possible), even if some voices tend to merge in my Gaijin ears.

[@cannonfodder4000]

There's a few very good English covers though, like Yu Yu Hakusho, Funimation's One Piece, or the original Dragon Ball

[@zzdaweirdo1120]

Just like how in Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, the song Ballad of the Goddess can't be sung in English.

[@GamingFoodie]

Binging your videos these are just too good. Not only do you put in a boatload of research into them, it's edited so well AND you speak clearly to your viewers.

[@kitlindberg127]

8:17 OMG is that what English people trying to speak Danish sounds like omg I love it

[@DTux5249]

I mean, that also wasn't really trying

[@emmakjr3276]

Yeah, I Think so...

[@spicybiscuit5530]

15:00 I don't know why, but I like how it goes from the native language, to English, but then finishes in the native language. The song starting and finishing in the same language, even though it switches to English mid way, is just great.

[@6maria94]

I was absolutely hyped when you mentioned the Brother Bear scene (that I think it's very underrated), but then you used it as a negative example :'( But it's a good point though. Didn't know it was a bulgarian choir :'(

[@rlewis36]

The goddamn Psycho music playing whenever "cultural appropriation" comes up is fucking slaying me, lmao

[@Roberta_Trevino]

Bulgarian choir music sounds like every fight scene in Xena

[@user-bn1lb8ey9v]

well duh... xena also used bulgarian choir music

[@Julia-sh7yt]

@@user-bn1lb8ey9v r/wooosh

[@user-bn1lb8ey9v]

@@Julia-sh7yt many people legitimately don't know bulgarian choir music is a real thing and only know it as "xena music" or "ghost in the shell opening music". there's nothing to whooosh me about, you're the one who didn't get my point.

[@marykraus4841]

Alright, here’s my take on what cultural appropriation is: Appropriation is taking another culture and making it your own and doing it wrong, like in a lot of weeaboo cringe compilations. The opposite of that, which I’ll call cultural sharing, is when you take another culture and experiencing it yourself, but, and I can not stress this enough, after doing your research to make sure you’re doing it right. Cultural appropriation is not a group of non-Polynesian people making a movie set in Polynesia with songs in those languages. (It could be more accurate if that were the case.) Cultural appropriation is when non-Polynesian people act like they’re the experts on it.

[@ash-hj5ht]

I completely agree. people completely overuse and misuse the term “cultural appropriation” these days. It scares people away from experiencing other cultures and learning about them. makes me really sad ://

[@oniemployee3437]

This is nothing but a fact. I have a dream of traveling to Scotland and training myself to receive the title of Highlander. I can buy a kilt and a sword, but that won't make me what I want to be. There is more to a rank/title/job than just the material and that's why I believe that such titles as Highlander, Samurai or what-have-you are *given* by those who know what they're talking about. Not taken because "I'm wearing what he's wearing! That's means I'm the same!"

[@ursulajoni15]

Additionally it's when somebody takes something of cultural significance strips it of its meeting and turns it into a fashion statement or fun trend like a white girl wearing a Lakota headdress to a music festival

[@lCarlsenl]

Sadly, many people exaggerate when it happens. So, for instance, when non POCs with Afro hair gets braids or dreadlocks, however they don’t get mad, if a POC with straight hair gets it. Hypocrisy. Or if you wish to celebrate beautiful patterns after having lived in a certain area where these patterns are part of the culture. It doesn’t matter, as long as you’re not POC, POCs will hate you. I’m afraid if the new generation of feminists. I consider myself an equalist after this movement went too far.

[@davidharning5758]

As I see it, cultural appropriation is taking aspects of cultures and picking out certain things without an honest respect for the original culture.

[@pineapplefrostyfruits9225]

Lin Manual Miranda is a musical genius. Everything is so strongly together and just put so culturally vibrant. He is amazing.

[@salmonela8604]

will you ever talk about Prince of Egypt? : O

[@Dennis-and-Danielle-Dance]

I was thinking about that as well! :) I was waiting to hear him talk about the incorporation of Hebrew with English in Prince of Egypt! But since he was targeting Disney rather than just animated movies, so it makes sense why he would skip PoE.

[@ziaaliyar4196]

i hope he does!! I love that movie it’s a masterpiece

[@GreatFlamingEyebrows_]

So damn right! I loved this song when I saw Moana for the first time I loved that they obviously wrote it around the original language

[@poppysmith2181]

It was written by a Tokelauan group, Te Vaka, as well as LMM. If you listen to any te vaka you’ll hear the similarities between the Moana soundtrack and their music :))

[@maedhrosfeanorian9555]

5:30 HERE COMES THE GENERAL LADIES AND GENTLEMEN

[@TheMonyarm]

4:00 WAIT WHAT? GHOST IN THE SHELL'S OPENING WAS BASED ON MY COUNTRY'S MUSIC?

[@TiredKiddoest2000]

Well, bulgarian folk music and japanese folk music are very similar. He actually got wrong that a bulgarian woman's choir recorded it. It was in fact a japanese women's choir. It's japanese notes with bulgarian harmonies.

[@weirdfairy]

But why is it so scary..

[@Emily-lb7rf]

we love you BECAUSE you look deep into things! Thank you :) You're inspiring us to keep so many elements in mind when we create!

[@alexy6686]

OOO OOO FACTOID Lin was actually hired to work on Moana before Hamilton even premiered or became popular. Hamilton's popularity just worked in their favor, and also the Moana soundtrack is just really freaking good so

[@Skye_Writer]

Another factoid, Opetaia Foa'i--the man who wrote the music and the lyrics for 4 out of the 6 bilingual songs in this film--was hired months before Lin-Manuel and had actually already mostly finished "We Know the Way" (the song that Sideways particularly points out for this vid). Foa'i is the guy who actually deserves the credit for how seamlessly the songs work in both Tokeluan and English (he's been singing songs this way for more than 20 years), but since Miranda's fame skyrocketed after "Hamilton," he's the one who got most of the credit because, as you said, his popularity worked in their favor.

[@haruhi_dayo]

6:25 but the thing is, in Japanese, they don't actually stress any sound just because like in English. If it does sound stressed, then thats because of how it's written. For example, you used the Japanese phrase for happy birthday, 'tan-jou-bi o-me-de-tou'. The jou may sound stressed but it's just when you put a u after an o, it makes the o sound longer. But in an English word like opportunity, the tu is stressed but for no reason. I don't really know what I'm countering you about any more so all I have to say is thanks for coming to my Ted talk.

[@tinymustache6156]

1:38 Looking at all the variety in "countries" and then i see Atlantis and it leads to the middle of the mediterranean sea lmao

[@Kahtisemo]

A lot of people believe the ancient legend of Atlantis was talking about somewhere near the island of Crete, which is why the map maker likely put it there. HOWEVER it doesn't make sense in the Disney version cause they make a plot point of it that the reason no one found it before was because of a mistranslation in The Sheppard's Journal. Where Milo points out that the entrance to Atlantis the Sheppard told of was actually in Iceland. Once they started heading downward though with the subs, I assume the Disney Atlantis must be somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, though it's hard to tell in the move how far they went once they went to reach it.

[@aisyahmazlan]

That one bit where the Tokelauan and English parts of 'We Know The Way' overlaps is a goddamn work of art. I have rewatched just those few seconds over and over again. Love your videos!