If You Can Dream
Encyclopedia
If You Can Dream is the first song that was originally written and recorded specifically for the Disney Princess franchise. It was written, produced, and arranged by Robbie Buchanan
and Jay Landers. It was first released on the album Disney Princess: The Ultimate Song Collection
.
The song is sung from the point of view of the first eight official Disney Princesses (though only seven of them actually sing). It has been featured on several Disney music CDs, and its music video is present on nearly every Disney Princess DVD
, as either an extra or a Sing-Along
, and has been shown numerous times on the Disney Channel
. To this day the song still plays on the official Disney Princess website.
The song has gone on to be covered by teen country
singer Ashley Gearing
, and a shorter altered version performed by a different set of singers is featured in the ongoing Disney on Ice
show Princess Wishes as the show finale.
, Ilene Woods
and Mary Costa
do not reprise their roles as Snow White
, Cinderella
and Princess Aurora
. Notably, Lea Salonga
, who provided the singing voice of both Princess Jasmine
in Aladdin
and Mulan
in Mulan
reprises both roles in this song. The rest of the princesses also retain their original singing voice actresses from the films.
Each princess sings lyrics that reference their own story. For example, one of Snow White's lines is "Someday my prince will come, it's certain as the sunrise", one of Cinderella's lines is "One day the slipper fits, then you see the love in his eyes", one of Belle's lines is "So the story goes, never die the rose...", Pocahontas' primary line being "The colors of the wind will lead my heart right back to you...". Jasmine's line being "There's a whole new world waiting there for us.", and Mulan's primary line being "Reflections in a diamond sky come shining on through."
In the Princess Wishes Disney on Ice show, the line "The colors of the wind will lead my heart right back to you" is changed to "The music of the wind will lead my heart right back to you", since Pocahontas is not featured in the show. The show also changes the line "So the story goes/Never die the rose" which is sung by Belle in order to give Aurora a solo line. In the show, it is changed to "Once upon a dream/Wish and it will seem."
, Cinderella
, Sleeping Beauty
, The Little Mermaid
, Beauty and the Beast
, Aladdin
, Pocahontas
, and Mulan
, as well as original CGI
animation used to enhance transitions between the different films.
The footage is edited by Industrial Light & Magic in an attempt to make the princesses mouth movements lipsync with their respective song vocals.
Robbie Buchanan
Robbie Buchanan is a Canadian keyboardist, songwriter, arranger, and producer.Buchanan began playing the piano at the age of 6. He acquired his first paying gig as a pianist at the age of 12 playing 6 nights a week in Dawson City, Yukon Territory. While still a teenager, Buchanan joined a band...
and Jay Landers. It was first released on the album Disney Princess: The Ultimate Song Collection
Disney Princess: The Ultimate Song Collection
Disney Princess: The Ultimate Song Collection is a 2004 album that is a compilation of various Disney Princess songs, including the original song "If You Can Dream", that has since been featured on several other Disney compilation albums...
.
The song is sung from the point of view of the first eight official Disney Princesses (though only seven of them actually sing). It has been featured on several Disney music CDs, and its music video is present on nearly every Disney Princess DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, as either an extra or a Sing-Along
Sing-Along
Sing Along is a term describing many videos released by children's media companies in the late 1980s through early 2000s. Most notably, Walt Disney Home Entertainment released a series of VHS tapes themed after certain films from their archives, such as The Little Mermaid and The Fox and the Hound...
, and has been shown numerous times on the Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
. To this day the song still plays on the official Disney Princess website.
The song has gone on to be covered by teen country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer Ashley Gearing
Ashley Gearing
Ashley Gearing is an American country music artist.Ashley Gearing made her chart debut in 2003 with the song "Can You Hear Me When I Talk to You?", which peaked at #36 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts...
, and a shorter altered version performed by a different set of singers is featured in the ongoing Disney on Ice
Disney on Ice
Disney On Ice is a touring ice show produced by Feld Entertainment under agreement with The Walt Disney Company. Aimed primarily at children, the shows feature figure skaters dressed as Disney cartoon characters in performances that each derive their music and plot from elements collected from...
show Princess Wishes as the show finale.
Singers
- Susan Stevens Logan as CinderellaCinderella (Disney character)Cinderella is a fictional character and is the main protagonist from Disney's twelfth animated film Cinderella and its two sequels. In the original film she is voiced by the late Ilene Woods...
- Christie Houser as Princess AuroraAurora (Disney)Princess Aurora is a fictional character and the title character from Disney's 1959 animated film Sleeping Beauty , as well as an official Disney Princess.The Disney version of the character was based on the French version of the tale by Charles Perrault, written in 1634 in Histoires ou Contes du...
- Jodi BensonJodi BensonJodi Marie Benson is an American actress, voice actress, soprano singer, and Disney Legend. She is best known for providing both the speaking and the singing voices of Disney's Princess Ariel in The Little Mermaid and its sequels. In 2002 and 2006, she reprised the role of Ariel in the English...
as Princess Ariel - Paige O'HaraPaige O'HaraDonna Paige O'Hara is an American Broadway singer, actress, and Disney Legend best known for her voicework as Belle in Disney's Beauty and the Beast.-Personal life:...
as Belle - Judy KuhnJudy Kuhn-Life and career:Kuhn was born in New York City and grew up in Bethesda, Maryland. She attended Georgetown Day School in Washington, D.C.She entered Oberlin College in 1976. Although she was very interested in singing and theater, she began Oberlin in the College, not the Conservatory. After taking...
as PocahontasPocahontas (Disney)Pocahontas is one of the main characters of Disney's 1995, thirty-third animated feature, Pocahontas, and its direct-to-video sequel, Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World... - Lea SalongaLea SalongaLea Salonga-Chien is a mezzo-soprano singer and actress from the Philippines well known for originating the lead role of Kim in the musical Miss Saigon, for which she won the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Theatre World awards.She was the first Asian to play the roles of Éponine and...
as Princess JasminePrincess JasminePrincess Jasmine is a fictional character and one of the main characters of the 1992 film Aladdin and its sequels, The Return of Jafar and Aladdin and the King of Thieves . She is voiced by Linda Larkin, with her singing voice performed by Lea Salonga in the first film and Disney Princess...
and MulanFa MulanFa Mulan, later Li Mulan, better known simply as Mulan, is the main protagonist of Disney's thirty-sixth animated feature film Mulan and its direct-to-video sequel Mulan II. The character is inspired by the legendary Hua Mulan from the Chinese poem The Ballad of Mulan... - Caroline Gardner as Snow White Snow White (Disney)Snow White is a fictional character and the main protagonist from Walt Disney's first animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,...
Song details
One of the most notable aspects of the song is that all but three of the princesses' original voice actresses reprise their singing roles. Unsurprisingly, due to the age of the films, Adriana CaselottiAdriana Caselotti
Adriana Mitchell Caselotti was an American actress and singer. She was the voice of the title character in Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Caselotti was named as a Disney Legend in 1994.-Early life:...
, Ilene Woods
Ilene Woods
Jacqueline Ruth "Ilene" Woods was an American singer and actress who voiced Cinderella in the 1950 Disney classic film, which is what she is best known for.-Early life:...
and Mary Costa
Mary Costa
Mary Costa is an American singer, actress, and Disney Legend. She is best known for playing the voice of Princess Aurora in the 1959 Disney film Sleeping Beauty. She is also a professional opera singer....
do not reprise their roles as Snow White
Snow White (Disney)
Snow White is a fictional character and the main protagonist from Walt Disney's first animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,...
, Cinderella
Cinderella (Disney character)
Cinderella is a fictional character and is the main protagonist from Disney's twelfth animated film Cinderella and its two sequels. In the original film she is voiced by the late Ilene Woods...
and Princess Aurora
Aurora (Disney)
Princess Aurora is a fictional character and the title character from Disney's 1959 animated film Sleeping Beauty , as well as an official Disney Princess.The Disney version of the character was based on the French version of the tale by Charles Perrault, written in 1634 in Histoires ou Contes du...
. Notably, Lea Salonga
Lea Salonga
Lea Salonga-Chien is a mezzo-soprano singer and actress from the Philippines well known for originating the lead role of Kim in the musical Miss Saigon, for which she won the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Theatre World awards.She was the first Asian to play the roles of Éponine and...
, who provided the singing voice of both Princess Jasmine
Princess Jasmine
Princess Jasmine is a fictional character and one of the main characters of the 1992 film Aladdin and its sequels, The Return of Jafar and Aladdin and the King of Thieves . She is voiced by Linda Larkin, with her singing voice performed by Lea Salonga in the first film and Disney Princess...
in Aladdin
Aladdin (1992 film)
Aladdin is a 1992 American animated family film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Aladdin was the 31st animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, and was part of the Disney film era known as the Disney Renaissance...
and Mulan
Fa Mulan
Fa Mulan, later Li Mulan, better known simply as Mulan, is the main protagonist of Disney's thirty-sixth animated feature film Mulan and its direct-to-video sequel Mulan II. The character is inspired by the legendary Hua Mulan from the Chinese poem The Ballad of Mulan...
in Mulan
Mulan
Mulan is a 1998 American animated film directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, with story by Robert D. San Souci and screenplay by Rita Hsiao, Philip LaZebnik, Chris Sanders, Eugenia Bostwick-Singer, and Raymond Singer. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney...
reprises both roles in this song. The rest of the princesses also retain their original singing voice actresses from the films.
Each princess sings lyrics that reference their own story. For example, one of Snow White's lines is "Someday my prince will come, it's certain as the sunrise", one of Cinderella's lines is "One day the slipper fits, then you see the love in his eyes", one of Belle's lines is "So the story goes, never die the rose...", Pocahontas' primary line being "The colors of the wind will lead my heart right back to you...". Jasmine's line being "There's a whole new world waiting there for us.", and Mulan's primary line being "Reflections in a diamond sky come shining on through."
In the Princess Wishes Disney on Ice show, the line "The colors of the wind will lead my heart right back to you" is changed to "The music of the wind will lead my heart right back to you", since Pocahontas is not featured in the show. The show also changes the line "So the story goes/Never die the rose" which is sung by Belle in order to give Aurora a solo line. In the show, it is changed to "Once upon a dream/Wish and it will seem."
Music video
The music video for the song consist of footage arranged in a montage from the films the featured Princesses are originally from (until 2004); including Snow White and the Seven DwarfsSnow 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...
, 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,...
, Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty (1959 film)
Sleeping Beauty is a 1959 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the fairy tale "La Belle au bois dormant" by Charles Perrault...
, The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid (1989 film)
The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...
, Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
, Aladdin
Aladdin (1992 film)
Aladdin is a 1992 American animated family film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Aladdin was the 31st animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, and was part of the Disney film era known as the Disney Renaissance...
, Pocahontas
Pocahontas (1995 film)
Pocahontas is the 33rd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and was originally released to selected theaters on June 16, 1995 by Walt Disney Pictures...
, and Mulan
Mulan
Mulan is a 1998 American animated film directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, with story by Robert D. San Souci and screenplay by Rita Hsiao, Philip LaZebnik, Chris Sanders, Eugenia Bostwick-Singer, and Raymond Singer. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney...
, as well as original CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
animation used to enhance transitions between the different films.
The footage is edited by Industrial Light & Magic in an attempt to make the princesses mouth movements lipsync with their respective song vocals.