Disney Princess The Ultimate Song Collection is one of the better ideas for a Disney compilation: it's a collection of most of the memorable songs sung by the princesses in films spanning Snow White and the Seven Dwarves to Pocahontas and Mulan. The album opens with "If You Can Dream," a new song featuring all of the vocal talents behind the princesses in the later Disney movies. Like most diva collaborations, it's less than the sum of its parts, with bland songwriting detracting from the performances of
Jodi Benson (The Little Mermaid's Ariel),
Lea Salonga (Aladdin's Jasmine and Mulan),
Judy Kuhn (Pocahontas), and Paige O'Hara (Beauty and the Beast's Belle). However, the rest of the collection is strong, serving up memorable songs from latter-day Disney films like The Little Mermaid's "Part of Your World" and "Kiss the Girl" and The Lion King's "Can You Feel the Love Tonight."
Kuhn's performances of Pocahontas' "Just Around the Riverbend" and "Colors of the Wind" are also standouts due to her striking voice, which is stronger and more womanly than most of the other singers who have given their voices to Disney princesses. Happily, the love songs from the studio's classic films get their due as well: the purity and sweetness of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves' "Someday My Prince Will Come," Cinderella's "So This Is Love," and Sleeping Beauty's "Once Upon a Dream" are welcome reminders of these films' enduring quality. While it's not as necessary as some other Disney best-ofs, Disney Princess: The Ultimate Song Collection is still a charming celebration of fairy-tale romance. ~ Heather Phares