'Aladdin' add-ons give Aiken chance to shine

'Aladdin' add-ons give Aiken chance to shine
By BRUCE WESTBROOK
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

Since his razor-thin loss to Ruben Studdard on American Idol, Clay Aiken has had a recount of sorts, and the votes are in. The self-proclaimed dork with the big voice has trounced Studdard in every arena, from album and concert sales to TV appearances and even eBay, where Aiken items outnumbered Studdard's last week 1,031 to 66.

But Aiken was achin' to do another thing: lend his voice to an animated Disney project. Now he's done so for Aladdin's DVD debut, a two-disc special edition whose bonuses include tuneful tracks.

DVD has blossomed as a forum for filmmakers to expand their vision beyond theatrical campaigns. That became especially meaningful for Aladdin, whose Oscar-winning lyricist, Howard Ashman, died during its creation.

Ashman and composer Alan Menken wrote two songs for Aladdin that didn't make the final cut, and you get to hear them now. One is Humiliate the Boy, a bombastic, forgettable number for wicked Jafar. Menken sings it in demo form while storyboard sketches show the scene playing out.

But the other is special. It's Proud of Your Boy, a sweet, plaintive song about Aladdin pledging to his mom that he'll try harder to make the most of his life — and thus make her proud.

Proud of Your Boy was a favorite of the songwriters during Aladdin's formative stages. But when Aladdin's mother was ditched from the plot, it was no longer usable.

Animators explain this in an intro on the DVD, where several get teary-eyed about losing what Ashman loved so much. Menken calls Proud of Your Boy "one of the most satisfying songs we ever wrote" and considers its revival a "wonderful and bittersweet" tribute to his Oscar-winning partner.

Aiken, shown rehearsing with Menken at a piano, says he found the song touching for his own reasons. Raised by a single mom, he felt the lyrics also spoke for him.

Proud of Your Boy can be experienced in three ways. Two involve storyboard sketches of the scene as originally conceived, over which you can hear Menken's demo vocals or Aiken's recording.

But the best way is a polished music video. It opens with Aiken alone in a studio, tenderly singing as Aladdin scenes play on a screen behind him. Musicians appear, and the orchestra swells as he belts out the ballad. By the song's quiet end, the orchestra has disappeared, and Aiken again stands alone, singing soulfully to his mother — and hoping to make her proud. Another new music video has Jessica Simpson and husband Nick Lachey singing A Whole New World. Menken also composed that signature ballad, but Tim Rice wrote the lyrics after Ashman died.

In an intro, Simpson says their voices "sound really good together," and she's right — their harmonies are strong. But on leads she labors, outshined by her poised and polished husband.

Also on DVD is the song's 1992 music video, where it's performed even better by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle. The discs also include much making-of material, but no new input from Robin Williams, who stole the show as the crazed Genie.

Disney's next animated classic for DVD will be Bambi, due in March, followed by Cinderella a year from now.

Meanwhile, Aladdin's DVD is the only place to catch Aiken's performance. It's strangely missing from an expanded new soundtrack CD, which has only Menken's demo. Perhaps another recount is in order.