It’s time for a Thursday Threesome again, and today it is I who has the honour of writing passionately about three random, trivial things from my pop culture past! I have spun our mighty custom-made wheel and settled on the subject of my favourite Musical Moments in Movies! However, please don’t be so foolhardy to think that I am implying that these are necessarily the very best songs. Oh no, foolish reader, I’m talking about those perfect moments where both the sound and visuals suddenly blend together in a memorable and meaningful way. It’s synergy, folks!
If you’ve seen Who Framed Roger Rabbit then you remember this scene, if you were a pubescent boy with raging hormones and no Internet then you REALLY remember this scene. Boozy detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) is in the Ink and Paint Club, staffed by zany, erratic ‘toons’ when busty animated seductress Jessica Rabbit slinks in and steals the show with her husky rendition of Why Don’t You Do Right?, molesting the audience as she goes.
Now, the thing is that the Jessica Rabbit design has become iconic and I think that we kind of take her for granted in our modern times. But watch that sequence again and imagine how it plays out the first time, to an audience that is not already well-versed in the world of Roger Rabbit. Valiant’s has shown nothing but contempt for the wacky cartoon characters up until this point, and her performance is preceded by a slapstick, high-energy musical number by Donald and Daffy Duck. Our assumption is that Jessica will be an obnoxious rabbit, similar to her husband Roger, so it’s a total shock when the tone of the film completely changes and we’re treated to a sultry, overtly sexualised, “human” firecrotch.
One of the best parts of this scene is the sadness that surrounds former animated icon Betty Boop, huge-headed and depressingly black and white, who watches on wistfully. This leads to one of my favourite exchanges in the film when Hoskins incredulously says, “She’s married to Roger Rabbit?” and Betty sighs and responds, “Yeah. What a lucky goil.” It’s out with the old and animation leaps forward in a new and oddly adult way.
This sequence also speak volumes about director Zemeckis’ success with seamlessly blending live action and animation. It’s the moment where you truly forget that these are cartoon characters and accept them as living, breathing entities that are present in the scene. As Jessica interacts with both Valiant and Acme we never once doubt their desire for her. Rewatch the scene as an adult. You’ll discover new things every time.
2. Uncle Fucka, South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut (1999)
During their silver screen debut, the South Park boys eagerly attend a screening of Canadian superstars Terrance and Phillip’s first feature length film and wind up getting a lot more than they bargained for.
During their silver screen debut, the South Park boys eagerly attend a screening of Canadian superstars Terrance and Phillip’s first feature length film and wind up getting a lot more than they bargained for.
This is more than just an incredibly catchy song (with surprisingly high production values, especially towards the end). Sure, it’s hilarious for being as audaciously offensive and stupid as possible but I most love what it represents. The ludicrous Uncle Fucka is the true turning point in the film that breaks South Park out of the small screen and onto a larger canvas where anything is possible, but it also set ups the film’s thesis: Why do we blame inane entertainment for society’s wrongs?
I think that Trey Parker and Matt Stone cunningly created a critic-proof film. If you criticise the profanity and constant low-brow content then you are quickly dismissed as one of the idiots that the film is satirising in the first place. It’s a clever trick, even if it only works once. But even beyond all that, there’s still a cleverness to its craft, from the lyrics: “You don't eat or sleep or mow the lawn/You just fuck your uncle all day long", to the ridiculous farting duel, and the reductive view of Canada. This probably should have been the song from the film that was nominated for the Oscar, but I can see how that would have been problematic.
3. Magic Store/Rainbow Connection, The Muppet Movie (1979)
Actually this one might be my very favourite. I love the original Muppet Movie and this is a finale that does it justice. Having just earned the Hollywood contract, Kermit and company stage an extravagant musical number which ties together all the threads from the film, starting with Kermit’s summation of young aspirations leading into an eventual reprise of the beloved Rainbow Connection. But it’s that last 40 seconds or so that lead me to including this on my list.
An accident causes everything to go pear-shaped and, in a shower of sparks, the set comes crashing down around them. A hole is torn in the ceiling and a rainbow slowly shines down on the assembled Muppets. Kermit then delivers my absolute favourite lines in the film. “Life’s like a movie/write your own ending/keep believing/keep pretending/we’ve done just what we’ve set out to do.”
It’s that one word, “pretending”, that I enjoy here. This is not the Disney promise that everything will be wonderful if you simply believe in things. Kermit’s proviso suggests to me that sometimes life will put you in challenging situations where you need to pretend that you’re still doing what you set out to do. You have to persevere. You have to keep going. Now it’s quite possible that this isn’t how this line is intended to be read at all, and that the lines are completely separate. That “pretending” refers to keeping a sense of play/having an imagination, and that “we’ve done just what we’ve set out to do” is an absolute and affirmative statement of accomplishment. But it works a lot better for me the other way. Kermit, I would high-five you if you had five.
And a BONUS!
When I started thinking about all of this I had way more than three. I’ve culled down in the spirit of this article, but I wanted to mention two more that you can investigate for yourself.
Huge love for Pink Elephants on Parade from Dumbo (1941). This song got me into drinking...
And the Threshold scene from Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (2010) has so much unbridled energy that you will want to immediately start a band...
Almost all Disney - Going to say Fantasia's Night on Bald Mountain (undead boobs!), Hunchbacks Heaven's Light/Hellfire, and Anne Hathaway choking her way though I Dreamed a Dream in Les Miserables. So good.
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