Aladdin: Proud of Your Boy

When I was at Disneyland, my friend Scott and I saw Aladdin - A Musical Spectacular. It's a 40-minute live show recreating the highlights of Disney's animated feature, Aladdin. I've seen it quite a few times before, and it's very entertaining, especially the Genie, who adds a lot of jokes based on current pop culture.

I haven't seen the animated film for a long time, but after seeing the live show I thought it would be fun to watch it again, so I did. I enjoyed watching it again. I also thought I would check out the extras. The DVD includes a few songs that were written when the movie was in its early stages but were cut when the writers decided to go in a different direction. The best song cut from the film is "Proud of Your Boy," which was written when Aladdin's mother was going to be part of the story. It is one of my favorite Menken/Ashman songs. The music is beautiful, and the lyrics are spot-on for anyone who loves their mother (and father) and doesn't want to disappoint her.

The extras on the DVD include a demo of the song sung by Alan Menken and a video where Clay Aiken sings the song. I think they both do a good job, but my favorite version of the song is by John  Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who and Torchwood, and Mr. Merlyn in Arrow). I heard John's version many years before I bought the Aladdin DVD, and I loved it the first time I heard it.

So, here for your listening pleasure, is John Barrowman singing the wonderful "Proud of Your Boy."



(If the video doesn't play, click here to listen on youtube.)