Her musical contribution to "Honor to Us All" marked the singer's return to film roles following a lengthy hiatus. In the score of Mulan, Nixon performs only one verse in the song. Nixon's approach impressed the studio, and her recording, which took the singer only thirty-two minutes to complete, was ultimately kept. Nixon made no effort to sound like the actress who had been cast as Grandmother Fa's speaking voice, at the time, and almost reconsidered auditioning for the role upon realizing how different she sounded from Grandmother Fa's speaking voice actress. or, in this case, an unvoice." Nixon decided to make the character sound as though she was merely attempting to sing, rather than actually singing, keeping in mind that the elderly character is toothless. The filmmakers then showed Nixon a drawing of the character, by whose comedic appearance the singer was immediately "enchanted", telling herself "you've just got to give her a voice . Nixon received the sheet music for "Honor to Us All" to review prior to auditioning for the role. Disney cast American singer and actress Marni Nixon, one of Hollywood's best known ghost singers, as the singing voice of Grandmother Fa, Mulan's paternal grandmother. Schwartz was eventually replaced by composer Matthew Wilder and lyricist David Zippel, who wrote "Honor to Us All" to replace "China Doll". Schwartz had completed only two songs for Mulan before his resignation, one of which was entitled "China Doll" which, according to Schwartz, "more or less corresponds to the scene in the film in which Mulan goes to the Matchmaker". He ultimately left the project to write songs for rival studio DreamWorks' animated film The Prince of Egypt (1998) after Disney executives forced him to choose between the two. Songwriter Stephen Schwartz had originally been slated to write both the music and lyrics for Mulan. "Honor to Us All" has received mixed reviews from film and music critics, who were divided over both the song's quality and intended message.īackground and recording Marni Nixon recorded Grandmother Fa's vocals in "Honor to Us All". The song's use of pentatonic scales and Chinese flutes also help establish the film's setting, as does referencing the Chinese tradition of praying to one's ancestors. Parodying traditional gender roles and cultural expectations of women, "Honor to Us All" has been identified as an East Asian-influenced song that heavily incorporates Asian instrumentation, more-so than any other musical number in the film. Intended to be ironic, "Honor to Us All" features lyrics that instruct Mulan on how to become an ideal bride by emphasizing her physical appearance, remaining obedient to her prospective husband and eventually bearing children. Nixon's casting as Grandmother Fa's singing voice ultimately influenced Disney to recast the voice actress who had originally been hired to supply Grandmother Fa's speaking voice with actress June Foray due to closer similarities between Nixon's and Foray's voices. After the songwriter resigned from Mulan in favor of writing songs for rival studio DreamWorks' The Prince of Egypt (1998), Schwartz was ultimately replaced with Wilder and Zippel, who wrote "Honor to Us All" with which to replace "China Doll". Songwriter Stephen Schwartz was originally enlisted to write the songs for Mulan, and had written a song called "China Doll" intended for the scene in which Mulan prepares to meet the Matchmaker. Recorded by singers Beth Fowler, Marni Nixon and Lea Salonga, the latter two of whom provide the singing voices of Grandmother Fa and Fa Mulan, respectively, the song is a character number performed by several older Chinese women and female members of Mulan's family as they prepare the main character to be evaluated by the Matchmaker in the scene towards the beginning of the film. " Honor to Us All" is a song written by composer Matthew Wilder and lyricist David Zippel for Walt Disney Pictures' animated film Mulan (1998). Song by Beth Fowler, Marni Nixon and Lea Salongaįrom the album Mulan: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack 1998 song by Beth Fowler, Marni Nixon and Lea Salonga "Honor to Us All"
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