Recently, I was very fortunate to have been able to experience the Disney Music Festival in Disneyland Paris. It is the first event of its kind, and it did an incredible job of capturing the power and magic that Disney music holds for us. In this special episode, I give a rundown of what the Disney Music Festival was about, what it involved, and my thoughts and impressions. I provide a recap of everything I saw and heard and give a ranking of my favorite performances. Please give it a listen and let me know what you think or what questions you have!

Disney music takes so many different forms—movie music, TV compositions, concerts, video games, live entertainment…and the list goes on. Today we are fortunate to be joined by Mark Watters, a six-time Emmy winning composer and conductor who has experience creating music for all of those genres. And in addition to his musical contributions, he has served as music director for 2 Olympics and has even co-conducted the Academy Awards with none other than the maestro himself, John Williams. Mark will tell us all about those experiences and stories, as well as his work bringing Disney music to life.

You can find Mark at www.markwatters.com and check out the Soundtrax Film Music Festival from October 16-18 at soundtrax.org

We are joined today by Dave Bossert, who had an amazing 32 year career with The Walt Disney Company and worked on many of its most beloved classics, like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, and Fantasia 2000. He is also responsible for directing and producing Tunes Behind the Toons, an award-winning short film that perfectly captures the impact and importance of music in Disney animated films while speaking with musical luminaries like Alan Menken, Randy Newman, Bruce Broughton, and Mark Watters. We discuss his career and his insight into the history and importance of music in animated films.

You can find Dave at www.davidbossert.com to learn more about his career and books he has written. You can also listen to the Skull Rock Podcast on all streaming services. Also, you can find the Tunes Behind the Toons film here and listen to Dave's Tunes Behind the Toons show on XM Radio, Channel 133.

I have also recently become a Brand Ambassador for Find the Good, a clothing and apparel company that helps reinforce good habits for mental health and well-being. Mental health is something that affects so many families, including my own, and I appreciate the company’s mission and that fact that it donates 10% of its profits to Mental Health America. If you check it out and want to order something you can use the code “Music Behind the Magic” to get 10% off your order.

If I were to ask you what you think the most iconic attraction is at Walt Disney World or Disneyland, I’m betting that "it’s a small world" will be at, or near, the top of the list. The “Happiest Cruise that ever sailed” has its origins at the 1964 World’s Fair and has been a staple at Disney parks not just in the U.S., but overseas as well at Disneyland Paris, Tokyo Disneyland, and Hong Kong Disneylan. It symbolizes a lot of what we love about Disney—joy, nostalgia, optimism, and wonder. And tying it all together is THE song…THAT song…the one that will stick in your head for hours (or days) on end—"It’s a Small World (After All)" by the legendary Sherman Brothers.

There is so much history and tradition steeped in the attraction that it could fill a book. Fortunately, we are joined today by our good friend Tim Foster from Celebrations Press who just happens to be releasing a collector’s edition book called ”it’s a small world: The Definitive History,” which is now available for pre-order. Tim talks to us about all the incredible details and facts around this history of the attraction, and of course, we tackle the iconic song as well. If you love the ride, or even if you are a bit more skeptical of it, I think you will learn a lot that will give you a new appreciation for what it represents.

You can pre-order the book at celebrationspress.com

We all know that the Walt Disney Company is a huge and diverse conglomerate, from movies to theme parks to cruise lines to streaming networks and beyond.  In between all these offerings, there has also been a fascinating history of Disney video games—from the earliest handheld games of the 80’s to the incredibly immersive 3-D rendered graphics of today.  We are joined by author and friend Shaun Jex to discuss his latest book, Dreaming in Digital: The World of Disney Video Games, and explore this history and talk about some of his favorites.  And, since Shaun is also a fellow Disney music connoisseur, we also dive in to one of the most interesting pieces of Disney musical history—the short-lived, but fascinating rise (and fall), of Halyx, the Kiss- meets-Star Wars rock band that played at Disneyland’s Space Stage during the summer of 1981 (and only the summer of 1981)

You can find Shaun's book here on Amazon, and check out his music blog at makeminemusic.com.

If you have been keeping up with the summer movie news, you know that the live action remake of Lilo & Stitch has been the runaway hit of the year. Building on the legacy of the much beloved 2002 animated original, the live action version takes everything people loved from that original film and adds new layers of emotional nuance and depth, humor, terrific acting, and a truly, ridiculously adorable CGI Stitch. And those emotional elements are captured and enhanced by the incredible score by composer Dan Romer.  I was so lucky to have had the chance to talk with Dan about his work on the film as well as his work on another classic animated Pixar film, Luca.

You can follow Dan at danromer.com and on Instagram @danromer. And see Lilo & Stitch in the theaters and listen to the soundtrack by buying a copy of it at all major retailers or stream it on all streaming services.

Starting with the Disney Renaissance, Disney decided to take hit songs from its films and add re-recorded versions to the end-credits from a wide array of pop and rock stars. This started with Beauty and the Beast and continues on today. Are any of those versions better than the originals in the film? Well, that is a great and highly subjective topic for discussion, and we attempt to tackle it today with our guest Brett Nachman from the terrific and long-running podcast “Notably Disney,” We talk about 5 end-credit versions that are better than the originals, and 5-ish that…are not so much. What do YOU think? Are there any we missed? Let me know your thoughts.

You can find Notably Disney here and on all streaming podcast services, and can follow Brett on IG at @drnachman.

Disney is such a complex, multifaceted company that there are all manner of topics and subtopics that fans can joyfully discuss and debate—music, the parks, movies, TV shows, the cruise line, books…you name it. And a lot of that discussion revolves around our own opinions, preferences, and passions. But, Disney is not just a provider of magical memories, it is a cornerstone of American culture and a highly profitable and innovative enterprise. As such, it shouldn’t be surprising that Disney has become a subject of numerous business and academic studies. And, in particular relevance to this show, there is a relatively new, but growing, focus on the study of Disney music as an academic discipline. Today we are joined by Dr. Carissa Baker, who is one of the organizers of the Theme Park Music and Sound Conference and a Professor at the University of Central Florida, to discuss her academic pursuits and her studies and work around theme parks and music. If there is any true theme park expert in the world, it is Carissa, and you’ll understand what I mean when you hear her story.

You can register for the Conference for free at https://themeparkmusicandsound.org/, and learn more about Carissa and her work here

With the news of Disney opening up a theme park in Abu Dhabi, we are very fortunate to be joined in this episode by Ron Fish, an award winning composer who has experience writing music for theme parks at both Walt Disney World in Florida as well as Warner Brothers World in Abu Dhabi.  Ron has also written amazing music for huge video game franchises, including God of War 1-3 and Batman: Arkham City and Batman: Arkham Asylum.  We have a great conversation about his career progression from theme parks to video games, and how music plays such an important part in the story of each medium.

You can follow Ron at www.ronfishmusic.com.

As we celebrate the 70th Anniversary of Disneyland, It’s no wonder that it is called “The Happiest Place on Earth.” And, a lot of that happiness comes from the music that surrounds us when we visit. What songs come to mind when you think of Disneyland? I’m guessing that “It’s a Small World (After All)” and "The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room" are high on the list. And those songs of course were written by Robert and Richard Sherman, the legendary Sherman Brothers, who have left such an incredible musical legacy across the Walt Disney Company, both in its movies and inside the parks. And to celebrate that legacy, we are incredibly fortunate today to have the opportunity to speak with Jeffrey Sherman, the son of Robert Sherman, to discuss his life and career, the blessings and challenges of growing up in the Sherman family, and the impact that his family has had on Disney history and on much broader musical and cultural history as well.

You can find Jeff on Instagram @jsher88888, on Facebook, and listen to his music on Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon. You can also watch The Boys: The Sherman Brothers Story, The Untold Story of Mary Poppins, and Jeff's various other credits (Au Pair, Boy Meets World) all on Disney+.