As for the special, I have to say how impressed I was at what a logistical nightmare it must have been and that they pulled it all off so well. Seriously, there is a LOT of a LOT going on all through that, and to get timing, camera moves, choreography, the wire work, not to mention performances as good as they are in what I’ve sampled so far...this is an ambitious and impressive production. I didn’t mind Flounder, but he needed a little more weight on him (and Disney knew it: notice the title page at the end of each clip only has the animated Flounder along with the live cast!).
If anything, I kind of felt what people have found negative about it comes down to the song speed...all of them feel rushed. The tempo is a click up from the original film versions, lot really letting the emotion of the performances shine through, and only giving the performers time to just kind of run through them rather than feel them. Both Part Of Your World and Poor Unfortunate Souls were really good, but could have been great if they’d been given more time to breathe. I thought Latifah was amazing (how does she never age!?) but she was rushed through, and that's the big thing that’s missing here, is that heart.
