Disney has done a great job through out its history of composing great music, not just for the movies, but for the live shows as well. One of the shows that always sticks out in my mind would be Fantasmic. While Fantasmic is certainly a visual master piece, it is visuals that are driven by the music it is part of. Without good music, Fantasmic wouldn't be able to flow well and as a result not be appealing. Fortunately, this an area that Disney executed very well.
The credit for the composition and arrangement of Fantasmic's music goes to Bruce Healey. Bruce joined Disney back in 1973, and has since written music, not just for Fantasmic, but for many areas of Disneyland and Disneyland Tokyo. Bruce was born in St. Louis Missouri on March 11, 1950, shortly after that his family moved to Southern California where he grew up. Growing up, he learned everything about music he could, from learning to play instruments such as keyboards and percussion, to learning composition and arrangement. Then finally in 1973, he landed a career of being a composer for Disney. Ever since then, he has composed music for Disney theme parks, and some sing along songs.
Fantasmic has many stand outs, musically, that are very impressive. One of the most noticeable ones is the Fantasmic theme song itself. The intro is very catchy and energetic and as a result gets you hooked into the show right away. Another great music stand out is the rock twist on the heffalumps and woozles song from Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day. The guitar in that song is great and does a great job of creating a new take on it, while at the same time staying true to the original. One of my personal favorites is the entire villain section. Bruce does a great job on putting his own twists on certain songs that really makes them stand out. The way he arranges that section is also worth noting. Everything sounds smooth and every transition sounds spot on and not out of sync.
Out of all the shows in Disneyland, Fantasmic is a must. Not only is it visually impressive, but the music is some of the best that Disneyland has to offer. If you take a trip to Disneyland you have to check Fantasmic out. Sadly, you cannot get the entire show in recorded format. However, the theme song is available on ITunes. You can also get the theme song by buying one of the Disney Classic Music Collections.
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