"Happy Working Song" is a musical number

Number (music)

A number in music is a self-contained piece that is combined with other such pieces in a performance. In a concert of popular music, for example, the individual songs or pieces performed are often referred to as "numbers." The term is applied also to sections of large vocal works when the...

 from the 2007

2007 in film

This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...

 Disney

Walt Disney Pictures

Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...

 film Enchanted, with music composed by Alan Menken

Alan Menken

Alan Menken is an American musical theatre and film composer and pianist.Menken is best known for his numerous scores for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. His scores for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Pocahontas have each won him two Academy Awards...

 and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

Stephen Schwartz (composer)

Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell , Pippin and Wicked...

. Performed by the film's lead actress, Amy Adams

Amy Adams

Amy Lou Adams is an American actress and singer. Adams began her performing career on stage in dinner theaters before making her screen debut in the 1999 black comedy film Drop Dead Gorgeous...

, the song pays an homage to such Disney songs as "Whistle While You Work

Whistle While You Work

Whistle While You Work is a song with music written by Frank Churchill and lyrics written by Larry Morey for the 1937 animated Disney movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It was performed in the movie, at least unofficially, by voice actress Adriana Caselotti...

" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated film based on Snow White, a German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. It was the first full-length cel-animated feature in motion picture history, as well as the first animated feature film produced in America, the first produced in full...

and songs from Cinderella

Cinderella (1950 film)

Cinderella is a 1950 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the fairy tale "Cendrillon" by Charles Perrault. Twelfth in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film had a limited release on February 15, 1950 by RKO Radio Pictures. Directing credits go to Clyde Geronimi,...

, in particular, "The Work Song". The sound recording was released on the soundtrack of Enchanted on November 20, 2007 in the United States.

The song was nominated for an award at the 80th Academy Awards

80th Academy Awards

The 80th Academy Awards ceremony honored the best films in 2007 and was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST, February 24, 2008 . During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards in 24...

 in the Best Original Song

Academy Award for Best Original Song

The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...

category, in which two other songs from the film were also nominated.

Versions

In the film, "Happy Working Song" is performed by Amy Adams as Giselle. After seeing the untidiness and the dirtiness of Robert's apartment, Giselle decides to clean it with the help of animals from the neighborhood. Since she is now in New York City, instead of the traditional adorable woodland creatures answering her call, urban vermin such as pigeons, rats, cockroaches and flies respond to do the work. As she cleans the apartment, she sings "Happy Working Song" whilst interacting with the animals she has called upon for help.

Adams performed the song at the 80th Academy Awards ceremony. In contrast to the original movie number's heavy reliance on visual effects, Adams performed the song alone on a bare stage in a regular evening gown, while the other two nominated songs were performed with dancers, sets and props.