Happy Working Song

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"Happy Working Song"
Song by Amy Adams
from the album Enchanted
ReleasedNovember 20, 2007
Recorded2007
Genre
Length2:09
Stephen Schwartz
Producer(s)
  • Alan Menken
  • Stephen Schwartz
  • Robbie Buchanan

"Happy Working Song" is a song written by composer

Stephen Schwartz for Walt Disney Pictures' musical film Enchanted (2007). Recorded by American actress Amy Adams in her starring role as Giselle, the uptempo pop song both parodies and pays homage to a variety of songs from several Disney animated feature films, particularly "Whistle While You Work" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). Produced by Menken, Schwartz and Danny Troob, the song appears on the film's soundtrack Enchanted: Original Soundtrack
.

"Happy Working Song" takes place in Robert's untidy apartment in

Andalasia. The next morning, Giselle awakens to find the apartment in a state of neglect and decides to clean it, summoning several animals to her aid. Additionally, the musical number references similar scenes from Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Cinderella (1950). Based on 1950s music, "Happy Working Song"'s bridge deliberately references the song "Belle" from Disney's Beauty and the Beast
(1991).

Musically, "Happy Working Song" shares similarities with the songs "

So Close", making the film one of only four to achieve this feat. Ultimately, the song lost to "Falling Slowly" from Once (2007), while the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
subsequently decided to limit the total number of Best Original Song nominations to only two per film.

Background, writing and references

Veteran Disney composer,

Enchanted alongside him.[1] Menken said of the general songwriting process, "the first challenge for us was finding that musical palette and lyrical palette and performance palette that really spoke to everybody and said that we are in the world of early Walt and to have that place to start."[1]

Enchanted
. Adams utilized a Broadway musical-style voice when recording "Happy Working Song".

When it came to writing "Happy Working Song", Menken and Schwartz were directly influenced by the song "

The Work Song" and "the busy little mice" from Disney's Cinderella (1950),[2] but to a significantly lesser extent.[3] Lyrically, Schwartz decided to approach the song comically as demonstrated by its phrase "Even though you are vermin."[3]

Conceptually, Menken explained that "As the characters become sort of

three dimensional, songs become more contemporary."[4] Ultimately, Menken believes that, melodically, "Happy Working Song" is very much similar to the songs "Belle" and "Something There" from Beauty and the Beast. Additionally, orchestrator and arranger Danny Troob revealed the bridge of "Happy Working Song" is directly based on the bridge of "Belle", particularly serving as "a deliberate reference on [the songwriters'] part."[4] Addressing the musical similarities between "Happy Working Song" and "Something There", Troob explained that the former occupies a different "drive"[4] and "attitude",[4] additionally sounding "a little bit more brisk ... because [Giselle is] working."[4] Troob elaborated, "Beauty and the Beast was, for its time, very forward-looking, and 'Happy Working Song' is deliberately retro."[4] Troob decided to alter and deliberately steer the song away from Menken and Schwartz's original 1970s-inspired musical arrangement in an attempt to "make it feel like the 1950s"[4] by "manipulating instruments [sic] textures."[4]

American actress,

Broadway musical-style voice for "Happy Working Song".[7]

Context, scene and analysis

Having just recently arrived in

Andalasia, a lost and hopelessly confused Giselle is discovered wandering around by Robert, a single father and divorce attorney, and his daughter Morgan. Robert decides to offer his assistance to Giselle by inviting her to spend a night's shelter in the safety of their apartment.[8] The following morning, Giselle awakens to find Robert's apartment in a complete state of disarray. During the "Happy Working Song" musical sequence, described as one of the film's "large scale production numbers",[9] Giselle, who is very much appalled by the untidy state of Robert's Manhattan apartment,[10] decides to "repay ... the favour"[11] by taking the liberty of confronting and cleaning up the apartment's mess herself. By performing a brief aria[12] and "utilizing her animal-charming abilities",[13] Giselle musically "summons the city's animals"[14] in order "to help her tidy it up".[14] This gesture and scene serves as a reference to similar scenes and musical sequences from preceding Disney animated fairy tale films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)[15] and Cinderella (1950).[16]

Demonstrating and suggesting "that Giselle really does have some magical power, even in [the real world]",

pigeons, roaches,[21] and flies[22] – visually meant to represent "makeshift 'forest friends'"[23] – "as opposed to the woodland critters of the movie's opening animated segment."[12] According to film critic Brent Simon of Shared Darkness, the comedic gag serves as one of the film's "amusing ways to contrast the two worlds" of Giselle's fictional Andalasia and the real-life New York City.[12]

Several professional film critics have allotted a variety of different terms and nicknames to the animals who appear during the "Happy Working Song" sequence. Neil Smith of BBC Online described the animals who appear during the scene as "a grotesque menagerie of CG vermin",[11] while the Orlando Sentinel's Roger Moore jokingly referred to them as New York's own "woodland creatures", writing, "the rats and pigeons are merely the cuddlier ones".[24] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times coined the creatures "urban critters."[25]

Composition and inspiration

"Happy Working Song" is a "vibrant",

Filmtracks.com, both describe and add narration to Giselle's "attempts to conjure an ultra happy tune while scrubbing floors and toilets in the real world"[33] upon deciding "to clean her new home with the help of ... cockroaches and flies".[34] Its musical instrumentation is heavily reliant on the use of the harpsichord, with Filmtracks.com additionally describing "Happy Working Song" as a "harpsichord-laced" song.[33] Troob purposefully included the harpsichord in the song's instrumentation and orchestration in order to provide it with a more accurate "period setting".[4]

According to

beats per minute.[36] In portrayal of Giselle, Adams performs the song using an "earnest",[26] "tart ... soprano voice".[37] Her high soprano[38] vocal range spans approximately two octaves, from the low note of G♯3 to the high note of D5. The song's lyrics begin, "Come, my little friends, as we all sing a happy little working song, merry little voices clear and strong."[36]

Reception

Critical reviews

"Happy Working Song" has garnered widespread critical acclaim.

surrealistic".[25]

The hilarious "Happy Working Song" production number ... encapsulates the joys of Enchanted — an unironic affection for classic Disney fairy tales of old, salted with modern smarts about how the non-Disney world really works for single parents, kids, working women, divorce lawyers, and cockroaches.

— Film critic Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly's very positive review of "Happy Working Song".[41]

Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly described "Happy Working Song" as a "hilarious ... production number" that successfully "encapsulates the joys of Enchanted".[41] The Wall Street Journal's Joe Morgenstern enthusiastically praised both the song and the sequence, hailing the latter as "magical" while describing "Happy Working Song" as a "gleeful variation on theme of 'Whistle While You Work'".[42] Similarly, Todd McCarthy of Variety called "Happy Working Song" "a hilarious variation on 'Whistle While You Work'".[14] Sun Media's Kevin Williamson hailed the musical number as one of the film's "stand-outs", elaborating, "[']Happy Working Song[' is] a crowd-pleaser."[21] The Mountain Xpress' Ken Hanke allotted particular praise to Adams', writing that when the actress is "singing her 'Happy Working Song' with her makeshift 'forest friends' ... she is the perfect cartoon heroine made flesh".[23] Kerry Lengel of The Arizona Republic jokingly lauded "Happy Working Song" as "the funniest - and grossest - set piece in the film."[43] Calling the sequence the "film's highlight", Carrie Rickey of The Philadelphia Inquirer commented, "The song, like the movie, is cheerfully gross enough to get boys - and their fathers - into theater seats for a story every tween and her mother will love."

Film critics who generally disliked Enchanted tended to have mostly positive things to report about "Happy Working Song". Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian, who assigned the film a negative score of two out of five stars, in contrast gave "Happy Working Song" a positive review, describing it as "a funny opening song". Additionally, Bradshaw drew similarities between the musical number and scenes from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Disney's Mary Poppins (1964).[44]

One of the song's few negative reviews was written by Mary F. Pols of the

Contra Costa Times, who opined, "a cleaning crew of vermin and cockroaches is just real enough to be crass rather than funny".[45]

Empire ranked "Happy Working Song" third on its list of the "10 Great Musical Numbers" of the decade, writing that although "Shrek set the benchmark for Disney song parodies at Everest levels ... it's Amy Adams calling on New York's creatures of the forest to tidy up Patrick Dempsey's apartment that pulls it off to perfection."[46]

Academy Award nomination and aftermath

"Happy Working Song" was nominated for the

So Close", ultimately dominating the category.[47][48] However, the song was generally not favored to win by the media in spite of the fact that it was vastly a critical success.[49][50][51] According to a poll conducted by Billboard in anticipation of the ceremony, when the magazine asked 155 of its readers "Who gets your vote for best original song in a motion picture at the Academy Awards?";[49] only 5% of them voted in favor of "Happy Working Song" winning the award while 10% voted for "So Close" and 24% voted for "That's How You Know". In addition to this, 6% of readers voted for August Rush's "Raise It Up" and 22% voted for Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova's "Falling Slowly" from Once (2007).[49] Ultimately, "Happy Working Song" lost to "Falling Slowly".[52] Menken believes that his compositions did not win the Best Original Song award because three of them had been nominated at once.[53]

Famously,

Dreamgirls (2006) at the 79th Academy Awards in 2007.[54][55][56] In anticipation of the 81st Academy Awards occurring the following year in 2009, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ultimately decided to prohibit and prevent this rare feat from reoccurring at upcoming ceremonies by limiting the maximum number of Best Original Song nominations from any one film to a total of only two per film.[57]

Live performance and Kristin Chenoweth controversy

The decision to have Kristin Chenoweth perform "That's How You Know" was met with some mild criticism and controversy.

Adams' first live performance of "Happy Working Song" was at the 80th Academy Awards ceremony in 2008. Performing at approximately 6:01 pm

Vulture.com that she would likely perform at the Academy Awards again "As long as [she] wasn't doing it by [her]self".[61]

Adams' live rendition of "Happy Working Song" was generally well-received by critics. George Lang of The Oklahoman described it as a "perky" performance, additionally commenting, "[Adams is] great ... and she should have already racked up her first Oscar for acting by now."[62] The Boston Globe's Wesley Morris wrote, "Watching Amy Adams sing ... makes you appreciated [sic] the magic of the movies."[63] However, the performance generated some mild controversy revolving around the fact that while Adams was selected to perform "Happy Working Song", Broadway actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth was hired to sing "That's How You Know" live at the ceremony.[64] When questioned about this, Disney executives told the Los Angeles Times that "it's best [Adams] sing 'Happy Working Song' because it has so many parallels to Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins".[65]

However, some critics and journalists have argued that the decision stemmed from Disney and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' belief that Adams, predominantly a film actress, would ultimately not be able to perform "That's How You Know" as adequately as the more experienced Chenoweth.[65] Additionally, critics noted that while Chenoweth's Academy Award performance was staged and choreographed as a large, extravagant number featuring "dozens of colorfully costumed dancers",[66] Adams performed by herself on a mostly barren stage highlighted by a "single spotlight".[66] Vulture.com commented about the performance, "Adams didn't do terribly, but she's no Broadway star, and we felt kind of awful for her."[66] During an interview, Adams told the New York Post that she was not upset by the Academy's decision, instead feeling that "That's How You Know" was "perfect" for Chenoweth to perform.[67]

References

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External links

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