Thank you so much for taking the time to make this. Stephen Sondheim is my god, FTH and LIMAH my holy texts, so to be publicly told that my work on this show meets the standards laid out therein is the highest compliment I could possibly receive--I'm in lyricist heaven! A few things: I generally agree with Sondheim's the-chorus-speaking-as-one-doesn't-really-make-sense rule, but as you pointed out, this is a parody of Disney movies, and content dictates form, so the times that we did use the chorus in this way were very deliberate: the songlet at the end is every mini-reprise over a close-up kiss at the end of all the Disney Renaissance movies; the ego-boosting army chorus in No One Remembers Achmed = Gaston's fans/hangers-on; The Golden Rule, since it's part of a flashback, is sort of a throwback to the Disney songs of the '60s and '70s, so it's meant to be a simpler style of song (plus their repeating Jafar's words shows that they're internalizing his message). However, I really liked your point about its use in the "Whistle while you swallow..." line--that was not something we did consciously, but you're right, it DOES make sense that they would all repeat verbatim and in unison the platitudes and life lessons they had all absorbed in their youth. Good catch there. How accidentally smart of us! Also, I am militantly against the use of false rhymes in musical theatre (outside of Hamilton)--you said that Twisted has its share of false rhymes, but as far as I remember, there is only one, and no one's ever (directly) called me out on it but it's been haunting me for six years! It's in the final section of "The Golden Rule." I felt justified in fudging "reciprocity/philosophy" because 1) like I said, it's modeled after an earlier style of Disney song, and three-syllable slant rhymes appear in every verse of "The Bare Necessities" and 2) three-syllable rhymes are really hard! I'm thrilled by your appreciation of the internal rhymes--but you missed one in the example you cited! "SAY/ It'll all be OKAY/ But HEY,/ That's just the WAY life is for me." It's echoed in the next verse: "Right and WRONG/ Or to sing me a SONG/ I LONG/ To be as STRONG as I used to be." I'm not sure whether to feel smug or disappointed that this went unnoticed... One tiny quibble: next time you make a video like this, you should credit the authors of the work you're discussing by name. You obviously put so much time and energy and analytic thought into making this video about a work of art that you clearly love... and that work did not appear out of thin air. No hard feelings--my primary takeaway here is that I'm extremely flattered--but perhaps you could add our names to the description, at least? Don't leave me feeling like Achmed over here! (Forgotten, that is. Not enraged to the point of invading a country. I would never do that. Nor fuck a tiger.) Again, thank you for this. Watching it absolutely made my day!
Oh my gosh! Thank you so much for watching!! I'm freaking out right now. First: I can't believe I forgot to mention your names in the video! I guess i got so wrapped up in everything that I left them out. I will DEFINITELY credit you in the description that was a total oversight on my part. I apologize profusely!! (Edit: and wanting your name credited is not a tiny quibble. You deserve to be recognized for your superb work!) I think all the chorus numebrs are great and I totally see the Achmed/Gaston connection. That's so cool about Golden Rule being a throwback style song! It makes so much sense. It really does feel like a disney song from that time period. For false rhymes, reciprocity/philosophy was the only one I found, and I almost pointed it out in the video but I didn't feel like I needed to because it was such a small example and every other rhyme is perfect. I can't believe I missed that internal rhyme in Orphaned at 33! That song is brilliant! Feel smug! You deserve it!! I also didn't talk about some of the great alliteration in the show but it's also amazing!! Again thank you so so so much for watching this and for creating such an amazing piece of art!!
@@SilvanaLTD Thank you for adding our names and for pinning my comment! (And thank you for not drawing attention to reciprocity/philosophy--even though I have just done that to myself in my above comment--I seriously agonized over that one and I only left it in because I felt that if pressed I could cite precedent in the Disney canon, but it still feels like a cheat to me.) Working on Twisted seems like forever ago, and it feels great to know that there are still people out there devoting serious brain space and time to picking up every little detail we were putting down. It really was a meticulous labor of love, as was your analysis of it. Bravo.
@@kaleymcmahon1439 Ahh, sorry to butt in, but I just have to comment how much I love your work on Twisted, Kaley - absolutely one of my favourite musical theatre scores, and your lyrics are funny, smart. moving and so dang well crafted! I really hope you're still writing! EDIT TO ADD: The ending of "If I Believed" makes me cry every time!
@@beardedartisanThank you for your kind words. And never apologize for paying a writer a compliment; we have the ravenous egos of actors but only get a fraction of the recognition. ;)
Kaley McMahon Oh my goodness Kaley thank you for bringing this musical into the world! This show has gotten me through so much and being a songwriter myself your lyrics are so inspirational to me. This show has such a powerful message and I truly believe that music spreads the most love in the world. Thank you for telling that story with such brilliance and wit💜
That's underappreciated? I spotted that and loved immediately it the first time I heard it. More evidence that being literally raised on Sondheim warped my concept of what is Wordplay for Dummies and what is actual genius, ie: Sondheim is literally god and I've been holding everyone else to impossible standards.
@@EveryDayALittleDeath I mean, something being underappreciated /= something being easily noticable. It's literally in the lyrics, anyone's gonna spot it. People just don't talk about how great it is enough
Ok, hearing "You can't be a real Disney princess without an I Want song" and then an immediate shift to "Sands of Time" had me thinking you were going to say Jafar was a Disney Princess for a second
I literally can't listen to "A Whole New World" anymore. I think they nailed it, because the two songs are different in many ways, but they're just similar enough that they sound the same in my head. Also, I sang "The Power in Me" with my dad (who is also my music teacher) for my school's talent show and everyone cried. I still cry every time I hear it.
Take off your clothes also just, sets up really well that they have very different expectations for that relationship. Aladdin just wants to *bleep*, the subliminal messages, and clearly trying to manipulate her into it (like mind control) adds up to everything we already knew about him. He's an asshole, he's clever to other characters but really transparent to the audience. Meanwhile the princess grew up very sheltered, Aladdin knows that, but it's reaffirmed when he asks her what the tower looks like and she says it's a giraffe when his way of asking clearly implied something more lewd. She's still a child, she's 16, and Aladdin is being way more than a little rapey, especially up from his 33 years, and when he talks about his age he always implies that he's not old ("age is just a number" *ahem*) using language like "orphaned" which is used mostly for children, or saying that he's "only" 33, even though he's literally more than twice her age.
Yeah, he's a real creep! They integrate it really well so that you kind of laugh at it but then when he says "I'm a thief, I take what I want" you're like "woah!"
@@SilvanaLTD Tbh he reminds me a lot in some ways of Dennis Reynolds from It's Always Sunny in that they're both really good really unnervingly accurate depictions of that kind of person while still being entertaining to watch
adding onto the fact that he’s at least twice her age, can we please appreciate when Aladdin says that’s kind of creepy you’re like twice her age in response to Jafar saying he loves Jasmine bc the IRONY IN THAT SCENE IS TOO POWERFUL
Also by some of Jasmine's lines through the song, I find it interesting how she takes the line "take off your clothes" as completely metaphorical, like "don't have to pretend with me." She interprets it as being real and authentic, essentially leaving themselves vulnerable with each other purely out of a sense of trust. It not only drives home her purity, but indicates a form of intelligence entirely separate from her ideas. While she is sheltered and rather dense, you can't deny that Jasmine did receive some good education. Until the end when she realises Aladdin actually wants her to literally take off her clothes and gives a firm no, because our girl won't be quite so easily swayed.
Honestly it makes me remember the times I got to study a text I really enjoyed in high school, and got to analyse it.... text analysis is the best thing ever
One of the most underrated lines is when Jafar says he loves the princess and Aladdin says something along the lines of, “That’s gross, you’re like twice her age dude” when she’s 16 and Aladdin is 33, one year older than twice her age.
There's this essay I really want to make someday about the clever ways that Twisted reflects on our current political landscape. Ja'far is the old-school liberal Democrat who wants to believe that everyone can get what they need as long as they just sit down and listen to each other and compromise, and is finding himself fundamentally unable to make any meaningful change to the systemic inequality in society because the people he's trying to work with just do not care about compromising. The Princess is a young person who is more willing to challenge the status quo and propose radical action, but a combination of her socioeconomic privilege and her lack of life experience means she doesn't yet have the perspective required to effectively execute her visions. Aladdin is your typical edgy pseudo-libertarian who believes that he personally should have the right to live his life however he wants without having to put in any effort. He takes advantage of The Princess's compassion and naivete to portray himself as an oppressed progressive thinker, but that only stands as long as he is occupying a marginalized class. Once he gains access to wealth and power, it becomes abundantly clear that he never actually valued anyone's interests but his own. And yet, Aladdin ultimately teaches Ja'far a very valuable lesson. While Ja'far has become a slave to his moral integrity, Aladdin gets what he wants because he believes that he can have it all and doesn't let anyone stop him. This leads to Ja'far realizing that he has to take The Princess and her generation seriously and nurture her drive and her ideas, even if they may sound impractical to him. And in the end, he was right to believe in her. She stops the war peacefully, she successfully enacts what sounds like wealth redistribution by making everyone a princess, and the kingdom's culture is now thriving.
@@rodentia1474 I especially like at how it establishes the town *and* lay out Ja’far’s character, similar to how Belle (the song) establishes the setting and Belle’s wants
While it isn't my favorite part of the show, I think the most well-written part is the turn around from Golden Rule to the reprise. The lyrical change from golden rule to gold and rule is incredible and perfectly establishes how the kingdom still fell apart with Ja'Far at the helm.
And it’s actually something from the movie, when Jafar broke Aladdin out of jail to go to the Tiger Head cave. Like with Achmed, they took something small or minor from the original and made it more important.
And the best part about this is this video only went into why the MUSIC was so good! We still need full analyses on plot, character, writing choreo, set, etc.
Gd, it really kills me how, despite him always writing amazing rich roles for women, he can't give them consistent vocal ranges for shit. It's especially egregious in Merrily and Company where they're constantly either having to sing in the same register as the men or their melody an octave up!
@@4dultw1thj0b I dunno what it says about me that I immediately thought of Amy's part of Not Getting Married Today for female vocals that aren't demanding, but then I remembered that I was an actual child when it inspired me to master the art of singing patter songs specifically to annoy people who told me I talked too fast to be understood, and thus I probably don't count. And while I stand by the statement that Amy's notes are not difficult to hit, some of Susan's notes are just not human. I mean, it's not Anne, but dang.
It’s short but Golden Rule (Evil Reprise) is honestly one of my favorite Starkid songs. I love how the instrumentals are the same but then those high notes are added in to make sure you know that it’s evil! I get chills just thinking about it!!! Unrelated: AJ Holmes (composer) and Kaley McMahon (lyricist) must be so happy that there’s finally a video breaking down their genius
I'd like to add: Another piece of forshadowing Aladdin's twist is when Jasmine sees his place he actually tells her "I'm just squatting here" much like Dark Aladdin tells Scared Aladdin. "But I live here!" "Noooo! You're just squatting here". Also I steal everything is a parody of One Jump Ahead.
Another little lyrical bit of genius from "Happy Ending": Aladdin and Jasmine sing "everything" pretty much at the same time. Also the overlapping songs are just /chef's kiss.
Oh my gosh. Only when “dream a little harder” and “twisted” were put up for comparison did I realize, that the issue was the same with the townspeople and the villains. They only dreamt. They only wished. Oh dear. I think I’m just a very slow thinker. Edit: also “take of your clothes” as the song to bring closure to Aladdin and the princess’s relationship is really telling. He’s the one stringing her along, trying to confuse and fool her. It’s basically showing how unhealthy it is, therefore making the audience unable to cheer for this relationship.
This is really good! Also one thing to note: the importance of rhymes and surprise are brought together in "no one remembers Achmed" when the rhyme is set up to be "'cause they can't laugh when they're all **dead**! I'll make them all regret the day they chose to forget- what's that name everyone?- **Achmed**!" but the subversion of replacing it with "tiger-fucker" makes it awesome
this video is so well-researched and comprehensive, and it doesn't even go into another aspect of why twisted is so great: along with being a beautifully crafted piece of theatre, it is also an excellent parody in terms of style and references, both musical (in the orchestrations) and written (in both the dialogue and lyrics). My favorite one of these is the line "who would seek emplyment/ when life offers such enjoyment" because it is sung to a slight variation of "One Jump Ahead". references like this are sprinkled throughout the show.
Yes! The parody in Twisted is so pointed. It makes fun of the source of material but also pays homage to it respectfully which I think is the best kind of parody.
The level of references to Aladdin and Disney/Pixar were so nuanced; they played them large and small, sometimes down to a small gesture that might only be noticed by Disney fanatics, or might be a "fridge moment" where you only get it later when you're standing in front of your fridge and thinking back on what you just saw. True parody obviously written and performed by people who truly loved Disney.
Aj Holmes clearly admires and is deeply influenced by Sondheim. Aj is so underrated imo. He has written so many incredible songs for Starkid and is an amazing performer
STAR. KID. VIDEO. ESSAYS. I have been WAITING for these! Ugh I hope someone has the score books so we can get some musical analysis of the less pop-standard songs Also Follow The Golden Rule is one of those songs that could have cut like 2 half-choruses. For momentum But maybe we're supposed to really get lost in the doomed optimism for the turn-around to hit harder
I would love some deeper musical analysis. If only I knew anything about music (there's a reason why I focused on lyrics lol). And yeah I see what you mean with Golden Rule. It's interesting if it was a more standard Broadway production they probably would have tried cutting it down in out of town try outs (something else Sondheim talks a lot about in the books) but since it's a small production they don't get to do as much of that experimentation. With how relatively quickly these shows are made it's astounding that they're good at all, let alone as amazing as Twisted.
@@SilvanaLTD Yeah it's considered (not always by fans but by people who know the industry) pretty remarkable if a band puts out 1 album a year. Starkid, maybe by the grace of having such a large, tight-knit group, is above that pace AND adding scripts, memorization, choreography, costume design, set tech, finances, and workshopping all of it. It's... kinda ridiculous and it makes me wonder if they're working themselves to death over all of it
Having studied MT myself at Uni too. It's definitely my favourite Starkid musical for the same reasons you stated. It's honestly just brilliant in it parody of Disney and Wicked.
oh i absolutely LOVE this! twisted is not only my favorite starkid musical but also just... one of my favorite musicals period i'm blown away by how well it nails every aspect every time i watch it
Twisted was really different from other Starkid musicals. Because even though I know it's just acting, even more, it's a parody, I was emotionally affected so much. I mean, there was a technical happy ending for Jafar but I was sad that no one knew of his sacrifice. He deserved better. I am still hurt. Let me cry for a bit.
Wow this video has only been up for a few hours and already the response is amazing! I'm glad you guys are enjoying it. For people asking about other video essays, I definitely have some planned for the future. I'm about to go on my first overseas vacation for a few weeks so I won't be posting anything this intense for a bit (but I'll still be posting other smaller videos). When I get back I'm definitely going to work on some more video essays/analyses. I have some ideas brewing and I'm also planning on re-editing a video essay I made for a class about Broadway and the internet to upload on this channel (the audio is horrific so I need to fix it lol). In the meantime, make sure to check out this video I made about The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals as a movie! czcams.com/video/0fdkCwY1De4/video.html
@@SilvanaLTD alright, that's fine oh yay (I like that kind of content that you produce more than the ranking, just because ranking videos are super common)
The instrumentation in Golden Rule (Evil Reprise) changes to be more bass an percussion focused and it's great. Also, my favorite Starkid song ever is "If I Believed".
I wish I knew more about music so I could've put that into words like you did. And If I Believed makes me cry. It's steadily moved up as one of my favorite Starkid songs over the years.
I like how all the villains in the song twisted are singing about how history has told the wrong story, and then there’s just cruella, an irredeemable evil, who tries to make a coat out of puppies
In happy ending I think Aladdin’s line “I’ll be the oNNNe who *plunders* her cAAAve of *wonders*” is hilarious and mixed w Jeff motioning towards the top of his pants in his choreography is gold
i'm writing a very starkid inspired musical currently and both me and another writer watched this at the exact same time and found it so useful as a reference!! you've been such a big help with this one video!!
That's so cool! I definitely recommend Finishing the Hat and Look I Made a Hat if you've never read them. So much interesting information about lyrics and the writing process and also a lot of fun showbiz stories.
IDK if you and your partner are still writing that musical but if you are, i would recommend Sideways's videos as well , as he does a lot of analysis in musicals, especially for Disney (Ashman in particular) and Sondheim.
I am an avid lover of Twisted, and have always been in awe of the genius that went into the writing and the lyrics. This video made the lyricist in my heart go giddy with joy. My favourite song is Twisted, and I have spent hours contemplating everything about it. From the minor notes whenever he says "twisted" to show his discontent, to the sheer emotional weight for Ja'far's character, everything is done perfectly. It made me so happy to see there are people who appreciate the beauty of this show as much as I do. Consider me subscribed! 😊
Thanks for watching and subscribing! Twisted is probably my favorite song, but they're all so good it's hard to choose! I wish I knew more about music composition so I could analyze it better.
Thanks! I'm hoping to make more when I get home from vacation next month. And yeah, I'm definitely still trying to figure out audio. I just got this mic and I know nothing about sound so hopefully the next video will be better.
Subscribe! lol. I'm gonna be out of the country for a bit so I probably won't post any more video essays until the end of July, but I will definitely have some other content out before then to tide you over.
Can we also talk about how "Twisted" is Jafar's "No Good Deed", Jafar's lyrics in "Happy Ending" mirror "The Wizard & I" ("And one day the genie will say to me....") and how Jeff Blim actually moves like the animated Aladdin?
everytime i hear the switch to “a thousand and one LIFETIMES” i physically tear up. without fail. also thank you for analyzing the show like you did, twisted is in my top three musicals of all time and i love hearing a genuine look at it like this!!
The subtle change of tone in each beat and sound in happy ending really shows the emotions of each character within the song , each of them having what I call The Shades of Hope , red hope (jafar) is a hope that drives those who have nothing to lose , this kind if hope is the most beautiful yet dangerous hope because it can cause conflict in a story or cause the character to hit a plateau in their story which for jafar it is conflict. Orange hope (Aladdin) is the hope that drives people who want something for themselves or others , this kind of hope can be used both for selfish and selfless people depending on the story and character , for Aladdin (god that's weird way to spell that ) he is focused on his goal of getting the princess and getting the gold both figuratively and literally , he is over excited to get to the tiger head cave because of his selfish goal of money , and cooch , he having this ideal is great to me because it is the exact thing Ursula says "fortune favors the Beautiful" so everything is going in Aladdin's favor is what is supposed to be the contrasting joke . Last but not least , Yellow hope (jasmine) is the hope that drives the naive and children , this hope is very prevalent in jasmine as her vision of a man is still that of a little girls view on society , she thinks that Aladdin is the one for her because he speaks good and has a tragic backstory but never really looks at anything else about him , which you see when Aladdin comes as a completely different person and she still wants him , her hope drives her more and more to love what she doesn't have instead of what she does or likes , she has a good life , but looks for a guy who doesn't , she has money , but looks for a guy who doesn't , this really shows how naive she is and shows that having this kind of hope is the most dangerous because it clouds your utter judgement and actions to the will of those who have red hope or yellow hope . Thank you for coming to my Ted talk
@@SilvanaLTD Thank you , I want to make a documentary on the mindset of hope and hopelessness , and showing that every great story uses the shades of hope in each character
Thank you so much for justifying all of my feelings about this show and showing me that there are actual reasons why it feels like a show I could see on Broadway
yes! i absolutely love that part of twisted (the song) where everyone sings something different and then comes together. tbh....i really don’t like that the cruella bit comes right after it. like i like that joke, it’s great in the context of the song, but i love that musical moment so much that i don’t think a joke was appropriate there? but i friggin love this musical and you nailed it with this vid
Silvana Ltd. it is very funny but i just wish it could’ve gone somewhere else in the song ig? but to be fair i can’t suggest another way to end the buildup they have going on and i’m no songwriter so who am i to try to rewrite their song yknow. i think part of it is me wanting that part of the song to go on longer bc i love it so much lmao
@@breadddie When something like that happens I just cut the bit out of the soundtrack I'm putting on my phone, maybe add a slight crossfade to disguise it My Great Comet playlist goes right from "raise a glass! WOOOOOOOAH!" to "Now, DRINK!" so I don't have to hear the word g*psy sang merrily for 2-3 minutes. The joke itself can't really go anywhere else, but if you don't like it, it might be possible (depending on how you deal with the overlap) to try and get an effect without it. The "I only wished" slowly getting slightly quieter (not fading out all the way though) and then just taking a beat before Ursula's next line would take out the funny aspect and leave a lingering feeling of still being crowded but somehow also being alone, appropriate for the tension in that point in the plot
As someone who is not a theater / musical nerd, nothing has made me realize just how much of Starkid went unappreciated by me. It was a very fun and informative video that put things into a new perspective, and will make future rewatchings even more enjoyable now that I actually have the knowledge to appreciate things that went unnoticed by me. Thank you very much so even the uninitiated can appreciate this masterpiece at a higher level!
Aw this actually means so much! It's easy for someone who is also obsessed with musicals to like a video about musicals, but the fact that you aren't and you still like that video is awesome! Thanks so much!
One of my favorite moments is the shift in meaning when the villains sing "I only wished for x." The emphasis changes from "I only wished for THIS THING, isn't that an innocent thing to wish for?" to "I only WISHED, but did not act" which is a huge theme of the show, and what sets Jafar's character apart (in fact I read that as the line that prompts his to make his decision in the end). There are so many brilliant little moments like this, and I'm still thinking about them years later! Twisted is my favorite StarKid musical, it definitely has my favorite lyrics hands down, and I love this video for outlining the show's brilliance in such a smart way!
This is so good, well done!! I would like to point out an aspect I thought would be mentioned. The show starts "in media res", which means it starts in the middle of the action. It's not easy to understand this until you reach "Sands of Time", specifically the bit where he sings "take me back", and then the scene moves to one where the people love Ja'far. Through the events of the show, we can see that the people hate him because of what he did/didn't do when he was the Royal Vizier. The costumes also help. He transitions from Vizier to Assistant Vizier to Royal Vizier again, suggesting the show started "in media res", as mentioned above. Sorry if you don't understand any of this, English is not my first language, but I'm studying this whole "in media res" for my exam on Friday and I just happened to notice it. Keep you the amazing work!!!! EDIT: To add to your comment about the Finale, I think that the fact that everyone has different clothes on but sings the same thing adds emotion a somewhat of a happy resolution to Ja'far and Sherrezade's relationship.
Your English is great! I know a little bit about "in media res" but more in terms of film because that's what I study, so I didn't think about it for this, but yeah that's really interesting. Good luck with your exam.
I REALLY appreciate that you took the time to really analyze Twisted by looking at it through the sense of one of the greatest writers of musical theatre, and one of my favorites, Stephen Sondheim. Many people in the current fandom of theatre in general like the works of Sondheim but they don’t take the time to really listen to the wisdom and knowledge in store in his shows or either of his books! So ‘hats’ off to you ma’am! ( pun intended). This analysis was by far the best Starkid one I’ve seen and you’re right, it fits perfectly within Sondheims 3 rules. VERY well done analysis! I would like it more times if I could!
Haha that's a good pun. Thanks so much for watching! I always loved musicals growing up, but when I saw my first Sondheim show I realized just how many layers there could be in theater and I really got into analyzing lyrics and things. I got into Starkid like a year after that so it makes sense to me to use his work as a lens.
have come back to this video after sondheim’s passing because hearing his philosophies on musicals and songwriting through the lens of one of my favourite shows ever is even more special now :(
I just wanted to point out other rhymes/near rhymes/alliteration within the lyrics you analyzed because I I feel it adds yet another layer to Twisted's lyrical brilliancy. 5:12 Notice also the repetition from press/breast/against. They're not perfect rhymes, but there's assonance with the repeated 'eh' sound, as well as the repetition of the 's' sound. 5:32 There's some satisfying alliteration with floors/foes. 5:49 These lyrics include the repetition of 're' in restore/repute as well as the words "fierce fearsome" which is one of those satisfying rhymes that repeats the "feers" sound and adds onto it the second time. One of the most satisfying lyrics, in my opinion, of Twisted, is one you didn't include. "You ooze sex when you flex those impeccable pecs." Aside from the main rhyme of sex/flex/pecs, there's also the repetition of the 'oo' sound in "you ooze" as well as some alliteration in "impeccable pecs" with the repetition of the 'pec' sound. Great video, by the way! I really want to read those books now lol
Those are all amazing lyrics! I didn't really talk about alliteration in this video, but Twisted does use it very effectively. I definitely recommend the books if you're interested in Sondheim or just in lyrics in general.
I wanted to add that "Happy Ending" on top of being similar to west sides tonight its really just the classic act 1 ender. All the main characters reiterate what they want (often with their motifs) until they blend into the common thought between them. This occurs in tons of musicals and I actually use this method when I'm in a theater to geuss when the end of act 1 is. When I a see song that reflects that formula I begin to get ready to go to the lobby because I know when this song ends I need to race to concessions/bathroom
Um this is such a great analysis. You did an amazing job, and it was really refreshing and fun to watch. Also the title song for twisted is sooo underrated I don't understand
Happy Ending always reminds me so much of “Who I’d Be” from Shrek the Musical. Both songs are the Act 1 closer; the main character sings about leaving behind his negative image, being the hero and getting the girl; the “sidekick” character sings about longing for another person(albeit in VERY different contexts); the princess character sings about her dreams of love and a perfect life; have killer harmonies; and have a very similar endings in terms of the characters singing over/in between each other(sorry I don’t know what the musical terminology for this would be, my musical education is very basic) and ending on the same word/ phrase in a lovely harmony.
I’m so glad to see an analysis video on one of my absolute favorite musicals! Whenever I try to describe this show, I always say, “it’s exactly what it needs to be,” because I genuinely can’t think of a way to describe it besides perfect. And I’m not being facetious, I have plenty of shows that I adore that don’t reach the level of “perfection” that Twisted does, not because Twisted is necessarily better, but because every single line and decision in the book, lyrics, and music was exactly the right one. It manages to be hilarious, touching, and an amazing parody without any of those traits clashing into each other. I love it so much, and it was really cool to see you break down why it works so well!! Great video :D
Schaffrillas brought me here, and I'm glad he did! Loved the song by song breakdown, and this is helping me fall down the Starkid rabbit hole even deeper.
this is AMAZING! it's so cool to see the actual reasons why twisted feels so /good/ and well done, and you explained everything super well so it all made perfect sense. i would love to see you do a similar style of video on other starkid shows!
Sondheim was one of the reasons I joined my (our) fraternity. When you showed his books and that he chose pink and blue (the fraternity colors) for the covers I screamed
Brilliant video! I'm so glad you brought up the rhymes because they're so clever and sometimes so subtle that it takes a few listens to even catch them. My fav is Power In Me: "The source of all my hidden *value* Is the *moral you* supply" "Through thick and thin, success or *ruin* I'll carry *you in* my heart" "You are *kind and* that's _enough_ You're a *diamond* in _the rough_ "
Twisted is my favorite starkid musical (I haven't seen every single one yet but I DOUBT any other could ever top it) and I'm so glad to see someone else appreciates it just as much!
Another set of nice internal rhymes I really like is in the Golden Rule song: "always treat others like sisters and brothers", and its Evil Reprise: "gold that my neighbor earns for his labor".
I wrote my dissertation on the importance of musical theatre and how new musicals are adapting to the times and I honest to god referenced this video XD
This is so fantastic 😍😍😍 Twisted and The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals are my two favorite Starkid productions! Because I watch so many musical analysis videos I understood many of the reasons why I enjoyed Twisted so much, but I really don’t understand my pull to rewatch TGWDLM. If you do another analysis please consider TGWDLM! But anyway I LOVE this video 😍😍
this was such a good analysis of the show!! this honestly sums up why twisted is one of my favourite musicals of all time. if you did this type of analysis video essay for all of starkid’s shows (and spies are forever 👀), that would be amazing!
I haven’t seen any of your videos before this, but I am thoroughly impressed! I love this in-depth look at the musicals. You don’t get to see that on other StarKid Channels. Please keep doing these video essays!!!
"If I believed" Is such a powerful song. A man of facts and logic finally breaking and giving into emotion after over a decade of a hardened heart. I think this song goes above and beyond even "Twisted" where, as an honor bound man, he's struggling between his oath to his king vs the oath to his nation while his own life takes a back seat.
Though I love “If I believed”, I have to defend “Twisted”, it’s simply the best song in the show. “Twisted” song IS the show, without this song Twisted the musical is nearly worthless. Why? Because “Twisted” is the culmination to basically all conflicts and inner struggles Jafar has faced. The song is structured very interestingly in a way that it manages to fit multiple character revelations. The first part of the song, before Disney villains start appearing, shows Jafar coming on terms with the fact that sometimes doing everything at once is just impossible and that he has to give up some of his dreams to achieve others. However, it also sets up a dilemma: be a lawful and, perhaps, more liked but ineffectual or be hated and despised for doing the right thing. The second part of “Twisted” escalates this dilemma. Different Disney villains start appearing, sharing their stories. All the stories revolve around the “villains” taking their only chance to do the right thing, even if they were untruthfully deemed villains for it. This part of the song escalates the dilemma and fills it with more examples, introduces Jafar to the unfortunate side of this choice and the consequences of failure. All this hypes up the choice Jafar will take and makes it more grand (and this part is just very strong). Part 3 of “Twisted” song begins after the villains go away. Jafar briefly sums up the situation and his thoughts on it. It makes the song more grounded and, after strong and even nerve-wracking ending of the second part, returns the listener to the context, setting up the stakes and making Jafar’s choice more impactful. And then the song finishes with Jafar finally deciding he will not turn away and will help the city, even if it means sacrificing his life and good name. In the process, Jafar expresses how he came to terms with the fact that he will never be a hero and admitting that he is not an angel or a good person, as he is going rogue and overthrowing the sultan, even if his actions are kind of justified. This humility makes him even more heroic and likable, considering he is at the lowest point in his life ( on my first watch, I thought he was going to lose it and become a true villain, and this would be a story about society breaking a noble man, but I appreciate how they didn’t go the expected route and make a more mature and pleasant finale)
Thank you so much for taking the time to make this. Stephen Sondheim is my god, FTH and LIMAH my holy texts, so to be publicly told that my work on this show meets the standards laid out therein is the highest compliment I could possibly receive--I'm in lyricist heaven!
A few things:
I generally agree with Sondheim's the-chorus-speaking-as-one-doesn't-really-make-sense rule, but as you pointed out, this is a parody of Disney movies, and content dictates form, so the times that we did use the chorus in this way were very deliberate: the songlet at the end is every mini-reprise over a close-up kiss at the end of all the Disney Renaissance movies; the ego-boosting army chorus in No One Remembers Achmed = Gaston's fans/hangers-on; The Golden Rule, since it's part of a flashback, is sort of a throwback to the Disney songs of the '60s and '70s, so it's meant to be a simpler style of song (plus their repeating Jafar's words shows that they're internalizing his message). However, I really liked your point about its use in the "Whistle while you swallow..." line--that was not something we did consciously, but you're right, it DOES make sense that they would all repeat verbatim and in unison the platitudes and life lessons they had all absorbed in their youth. Good catch there. How accidentally smart of us!
Also, I am militantly against the use of false rhymes in musical theatre (outside of Hamilton)--you said that Twisted has its share of false rhymes, but as far as I remember, there is only one, and no one's ever (directly) called me out on it but it's been haunting me for six years! It's in the final section of "The Golden Rule." I felt justified in fudging "reciprocity/philosophy" because 1) like I said, it's modeled after an earlier style of Disney song, and three-syllable slant rhymes appear in every verse of "The Bare Necessities" and 2) three-syllable rhymes are really hard!
I'm thrilled by your appreciation of the internal rhymes--but you missed one in the example you cited! "SAY/ It'll all be OKAY/ But HEY,/ That's just the WAY life is for me." It's echoed in the next verse: "Right and WRONG/ Or to sing me a SONG/ I LONG/ To be as STRONG as I used to be." I'm not sure whether to feel smug or disappointed that this went unnoticed...
One tiny quibble: next time you make a video like this, you should credit the authors of the work you're discussing by name. You obviously put so much time and energy and analytic thought into making this video about a work of art that you clearly love... and that work did not appear out of thin air. No hard feelings--my primary takeaway here is that I'm extremely flattered--but perhaps you could add our names to the description, at least? Don't leave me feeling like Achmed over here! (Forgotten, that is. Not enraged to the point of invading a country. I would never do that. Nor fuck a tiger.)
Again, thank you for this. Watching it absolutely made my day!
Oh my gosh! Thank you so much for watching!! I'm freaking out right now. First: I can't believe I forgot to mention your names in the video! I guess i got so wrapped up in everything that I left them out. I will DEFINITELY credit you in the description that was a total oversight on my part. I apologize profusely!! (Edit: and wanting your name credited is not a tiny quibble. You deserve to be recognized for your superb work!)
I think all the chorus numebrs are great and I totally see the Achmed/Gaston connection. That's so cool about Golden Rule being a throwback style song! It makes so much sense. It really does feel like a disney song from that time period.
For false rhymes, reciprocity/philosophy was the only one I found, and I almost pointed it out in the video but I didn't feel like I needed to because it was such a small example and every other rhyme is perfect.
I can't believe I missed that internal rhyme in Orphaned at 33! That song is brilliant! Feel smug! You deserve it!! I also didn't talk about some of the great alliteration in the show but it's also amazing!!
Again thank you so so so much for watching this and for creating such an amazing piece of art!!
@@SilvanaLTD Thank you for adding our names and for pinning my comment! (And thank you for not drawing attention to reciprocity/philosophy--even though I have just done that to myself in my above comment--I seriously agonized over that one and I only left it in because I felt that if pressed I could cite precedent in the Disney canon, but it still feels like a cheat to me.) Working on Twisted seems like forever ago, and it feels great to know that there are still people out there devoting serious brain space and time to picking up every little detail we were putting down. It really was a meticulous labor of love, as was your analysis of it. Bravo.
@@kaleymcmahon1439 Ahh, sorry to butt in, but I just have to comment how much I love your work on Twisted, Kaley - absolutely one of my favourite musical theatre scores, and your lyrics are funny, smart. moving and so dang well crafted! I really hope you're still writing!
EDIT TO ADD: The ending of "If I Believed" makes me cry every time!
@@beardedartisanThank you for your kind words. And never apologize for paying a writer a compliment; we have the ravenous egos of actors but only get a fraction of the recognition. ;)
Kaley McMahon Oh my goodness Kaley thank you for bringing this musical into the world! This show has gotten me through so much and being a songwriter myself your lyrics are so inspirational to me. This show has such a powerful message and I truly believe that music spreads the most love in the world. Thank you for telling that story with such brilliance and wit💜
Reason one: Tiger Fucker
Reason two: Every Other Aspect
That would have been a much easier video to make
And how could we forget Achmed?
All hail Achmed!
@@thatb33
The Tiger Fucker!
Yes
Reasons why Twisted is the best musical: *just plays the whole show*
Lol true.
Hey, I've seen you in other Starkid comment sections. Hello [REDACTED]
@@fermentedoj315 Hello. I've probably seen every starkid related video out there so that makes sense
Yeah
Yes
YES. BRING ACHMED HIS TIGER AND NO ONE GETS HURT
That line makes me piss myself
TIGERFUCKER TIGERFUCKER TIGERFUCKER
SHUT UP
@@Quackervoltz I mean in his homeland he is a legend.
@@charteon9092 But no one remembers Achmed
Underappreciated pun: how The Golden Rule (Evil Reprise) lyrics gradually shift to "Follow the gold and rule"
God that wordplay is my favorite thing ever
It's a simple variation but it works so well.
That's underappreciated? I spotted that and loved immediately it the first time I heard it. More evidence that being literally raised on Sondheim warped my concept of what is Wordplay for Dummies and what is actual genius, ie: Sondheim is literally god and I've been holding everyone else to impossible standards.
@@EveryDayALittleDeath I mean, something being underappreciated /= something being easily noticable. It's literally in the lyrics, anyone's gonna spot it. People just don't talk about how great it is enough
God I'm such a huge nerd for word play and I just about lost my shit the first time I heard it and I still have yet to get over it
Ok, hearing "You can't be a real Disney princess without an I Want song" and then an immediate shift to "Sands of Time" had me thinking you were going to say Jafar was a Disney Princess for a second
I mean, everyone is a princess
the biggest lighting surprise was lauren hitting the light switch in the middle of one of the shows
Lmao i just cackled at this comment
"Whose fault was it?"
"Why did they put a light switch right there?!"
Wait which show is this?
@@sallyroslin4634 Twisted
@@avast47 is it in the youtube video, I never remember the light surprise lol
Can we get some appreciation for Kaley McMahon, Twisted’s lyricist? Isn’t she amazing!
Incredible! The attention to detail is astounding
i would love to bring music theory into this but im not educated enough for that
It takes great talent to combine both Stephen Sondheim and Howard Ashman in a clever way
All hail Kaley McMahon!
YES THEY DID GREAT!
I literally can't listen to "A Whole New World" anymore. I think they nailed it, because the two songs are different in many ways, but they're just similar enough that they sound the same in my head.
Also, I sang "The Power in Me" with my dad (who is also my music teacher) for my school's talent show and everyone cried. I still cry every time I hear it.
Aww that's so sweet. It's such a beautiful song.
Same about "A whole new world", was literally singing it, and kept mixing the lyrics up XD "A whole new wooorld, I FEEL COMPELLED SUBCONSCIOUSLY"
that’s so sweet oh my god i’m
crying. tell your dad i think he’s great pls
i mean you can sing "take off your clothes" perfectly, line by line, to the tune of "a whole new world" and vice versa sooooo
Yeah
Take off your clothes also just, sets up really well that they have very different expectations for that relationship. Aladdin just wants to *bleep*, the subliminal messages, and clearly trying to manipulate her into it (like mind control) adds up to everything we already knew about him. He's an asshole, he's clever to other characters but really transparent to the audience. Meanwhile the princess grew up very sheltered, Aladdin knows that, but it's reaffirmed when he asks her what the tower looks like and she says it's a giraffe when his way of asking clearly implied something more lewd. She's still a child, she's 16, and Aladdin is being way more than a little rapey, especially up from his 33 years, and when he talks about his age he always implies that he's not old ("age is just a number" *ahem*) using language like "orphaned" which is used mostly for children, or saying that he's "only" 33, even though he's literally more than twice her age.
Yeah, he's a real creep! They integrate it really well so that you kind of laugh at it but then when he says "I'm a thief, I take what I want" you're like "woah!"
@@SilvanaLTD Tbh he reminds me a lot in some ways of Dennis Reynolds from It's Always Sunny in that they're both really good really unnervingly accurate depictions of that kind of person while still being entertaining to watch
@@4dultw1thj0b you're so right!
adding onto the fact that he’s at least twice her age, can we please appreciate when Aladdin says that’s kind of creepy you’re like twice her age in response to Jafar saying he loves Jasmine bc the IRONY IN THAT SCENE IS TOO POWERFUL
Also by some of Jasmine's lines through the song, I find it interesting how she takes the line "take off your clothes" as completely metaphorical, like "don't have to pretend with me." She interprets it as being real and authentic, essentially leaving themselves vulnerable with each other purely out of a sense of trust. It not only drives home her purity, but indicates a form of intelligence entirely separate from her ideas. While she is sheltered and rather dense, you can't deny that Jasmine did receive some good education.
Until the end when she realises Aladdin actually wants her to literally take off her clothes and gives a firm no, because our girl won't be quite so easily swayed.
Silvana: The more I looked into it, I realized how good of a show it is. Especially the music
My Mind: A sOnG iS a DiCk iN sHeEpS cLoThInG
Song is a dick in sheep's clothing is a masterpiece
Yesss it is
A masterpiece
Hnnng going through the technical aspects of starkid shows is like crack to me. I love joke videos but I love just taking things apart.
same
N’s Stuff same
Honestly it makes me remember the times I got to study a text I really enjoyed in high school, and got to analyse it.... text analysis is the best thing ever
dylan saunders
thats all
I already see a theme emerging in the comments lol. But you're right.
That is definitely NOT all...
Yeah
I litterally cant with his voice. It's so beautiful
Then there's Jeff Blim being psychotic yet worth obsessing over.
One of the most underrated lines is when Jafar says he loves the princess and Aladdin says something along the lines of, “That’s gross, you’re like twice her age dude” when she’s 16 and Aladdin is 33, one year older than twice her age.
There's this essay I really want to make someday about the clever ways that Twisted reflects on our current political landscape.
Ja'far is the old-school liberal Democrat who wants to believe that everyone can get what they need as long as they just sit down and listen to each other and compromise, and is finding himself fundamentally unable to make any meaningful change to the systemic inequality in society because the people he's trying to work with just do not care about compromising.
The Princess is a young person who is more willing to challenge the status quo and propose radical action, but a combination of her socioeconomic privilege and her lack of life experience means she doesn't yet have the perspective required to effectively execute her visions.
Aladdin is your typical edgy pseudo-libertarian who believes that he personally should have the right to live his life however he wants without having to put in any effort. He takes advantage of The Princess's compassion and naivete to portray himself as an oppressed progressive thinker, but that only stands as long as he is occupying a marginalized class. Once he gains access to wealth and power, it becomes abundantly clear that he never actually valued anyone's interests but his own.
And yet, Aladdin ultimately teaches Ja'far a very valuable lesson. While Ja'far has become a slave to his moral integrity, Aladdin gets what he wants because he believes that he can have it all and doesn't let anyone stop him. This leads to Ja'far realizing that he has to take The Princess and her generation seriously and nurture her drive and her ideas, even if they may sound impractical to him. And in the end, he was right to believe in her. She stops the war peacefully, she successfully enacts what sounds like wealth redistribution by making everyone a princess, and the kingdom's culture is now thriving.
That's a really interesting idea!
This is brilliant.
Wow. If only politicians would trust us
I was skeptical of this at first, but you make an excellent argument here. I'd love to read that essay someday
Have you written the essay yet? I'm really eager to read it now!
the way that they parodied disney songs in such a clever way always blows my mind
Keiku i know lmao, especially in dream a little harder, I love it
Yes
@@rodentia1474 I especially like at how it establishes the town *and* lay out Ja’far’s character, similar to how Belle (the song) establishes the setting and Belle’s wants
While it isn't my favorite part of the show, I think the most well-written part is the turn around from Golden Rule to the reprise. The lyrical change from golden rule to gold and rule is incredible and perfectly establishes how the kingdom still fell apart with Ja'Far at the helm.
And it’s actually something from the movie, when Jafar broke Aladdin out of jail to go to the Tiger Head cave. Like with Achmed, they took something small or minor from the original and made it more important.
And the best part about this is this video only went into why the MUSIC was so good! We still need full analyses on plot, character, writing choreo, set, etc.
That would take years! Lol. But yeah every aspect of this show is amazing
Ah yes, Sondheim, also known as soprano_hater_69
the stravinski of voices
Lmao
Gd, it really kills me how, despite him always writing amazing rich roles for women, he can't give them consistent vocal ranges for shit. It's especially egregious in Merrily and Company where they're constantly either having to sing in the same register as the men or their melody an octave up!
@@4dultw1thj0b Oof yeah
@@4dultw1thj0b I dunno what it says about me that I immediately thought of Amy's part of Not Getting Married Today for female vocals that aren't demanding, but then I remembered that I was an actual child when it inspired me to master the art of singing patter songs specifically to annoy people who told me I talked too fast to be understood, and thus I probably don't count. And while I stand by the statement that Amy's notes are not difficult to hit, some of Susan's notes are just not human. I mean, it's not Anne, but dang.
It’s short but Golden Rule (Evil Reprise) is honestly one of my favorite Starkid songs. I love how the instrumentals are the same but then those high notes are added in to make sure you know that it’s evil! I get chills just thinking about it!!!
Unrelated: AJ Holmes (composer) and Kaley McMahon (lyricist) must be so happy that there’s finally a video breaking down their genius
It really is a great song! And I would love for them to see it. I tweeted it at starkid so maybe I'll tweet it directly to them
For me everytime Lauren is on stage it's my favorite
I'd like to add:
Another piece of forshadowing Aladdin's twist is when Jasmine sees his place he actually tells her "I'm just squatting here" much like Dark Aladdin tells Scared Aladdin.
"But I live here!" "Noooo! You're just squatting here".
Also I steal everything is a parody of One Jump Ahead.
Ooh that's a good one.
@@SilvanaLTD Thanks!
Golden Rule (Evil Reprise)' instrumental sounds like something you would hear in Cooking Mama and I'm into it
lol I love Cooking Mama. I see what you mean though.
I wish twisted was more popular, it’s probably my favourite musical, it’s funny, sad, and just overall amazing
Another little lyrical bit of genius from "Happy Ending": Aladdin and Jasmine sing "everything" pretty much at the same time. Also the overlapping songs are just /chef's kiss.
Oh my gosh. Only when “dream a little harder” and “twisted” were put up for comparison did I realize, that the issue was the same with the townspeople and the villains. They only dreamt. They only wished. Oh dear. I think I’m just a very slow thinker.
Edit: also “take of your clothes” as the song to bring closure to Aladdin and the princess’s relationship is really telling. He’s the one stringing her along, trying to confuse and fool her. It’s basically showing how unhealthy it is, therefore making the audience unable to cheer for this relationship.
Twisted is absolute perfection. Not only is it a parody musical but it's also a complete commentary on Disney as a franchise!
It manages to do so much but somehow not be overcrowded. It's amazing
Yeah I agree
This is really good! Also one thing to note: the importance of rhymes and surprise are brought together in "no one remembers Achmed" when the rhyme is set up to be "'cause they can't laugh when they're all **dead**! I'll make them all regret the day they chose to forget- what's that name everyone?- **Achmed**!" but the subversion of replacing it with "tiger-fucker" makes it awesome
Oh my gosh never noticed that! That's brilliant lol
Starkid: releases Twisted
[ Everyone liked that. ]
Facts
this video is so well-researched and comprehensive, and it doesn't even go into another aspect of why twisted is so great: along with being a beautifully crafted piece of theatre, it is also an excellent parody in terms of style and references, both musical (in the orchestrations) and written (in both the dialogue and lyrics). My favorite one of these is the line "who would seek emplyment/ when life offers such enjoyment" because it is sung to a slight variation of "One Jump Ahead". references like this are sprinkled throughout the show.
Yes! The parody in Twisted is so pointed. It makes fun of the source of material but also pays homage to it respectfully which I think is the best kind of parody.
The level of references to Aladdin and Disney/Pixar were so nuanced; they played them large and small, sometimes down to a small gesture that might only be noticed by Disney fanatics, or might be a "fridge moment" where you only get it later when you're standing in front of your fridge and thinking back on what you just saw. True parody obviously written and performed by people who truly loved Disney.
Also the moment with the Captain afterwards where he is like "but he's always one jump ahead"
‘C A U S E Y O U S T O L E M Y D A U G H T E R ‘ S H Y M E N
Aj Holmes clearly admires and is deeply influenced by Sondheim. Aj is so underrated imo. He has written so many incredible songs for Starkid and is an amazing performer
He's just an all-around talented man.
Glad he got his time to shine in Book of Mormon
Twisted is literally my favorite Starkid musical. Just as funny as the rest, but somehow emotionally investing
four_girls_in_search_of_awesomeness I find TGWDLM emotionally investing as well
Yeah I love twisted
STAR. KID. VIDEO. ESSAYS. I have been WAITING for these!
Ugh I hope someone has the score books so we can get some musical analysis of the less pop-standard songs
Also Follow The Golden Rule is one of those songs that could have cut like
2 half-choruses. For momentum But maybe we're supposed to really get lost in the doomed optimism for the turn-around to hit harder
I would love some deeper musical analysis. If only I knew anything about music (there's a reason why I focused on lyrics lol). And yeah I see what you mean with Golden Rule. It's interesting if it was a more standard Broadway production they probably would have tried cutting it down in out of town try outs (something else Sondheim talks a lot about in the books) but since it's a small production they don't get to do as much of that experimentation. With how relatively quickly these shows are made it's astounding that they're good at all, let alone as amazing as Twisted.
@@SilvanaLTD Yeah it's considered (not always by fans but by people who know the industry) pretty remarkable if a band puts out 1 album a year. Starkid, maybe by the grace of having such a large, tight-knit group, is above that pace AND adding scripts, memorization, choreography, costume design, set tech, finances, and workshopping all of it. It's... kinda ridiculous and it makes me wonder if they're working themselves to death over all of it
Dang it, I want to do a musical analysis of Twisted now. But I can't make videos!
@@QuikVidGuy plus Starry and other side projects, which we don't even see the behind the scenes of. mad respect
We need to get Sideways on this.
Having studied MT myself at Uni too. It's definitely my favourite Starkid musical for the same reasons you stated. It's honestly just brilliant in it parody of Disney and Wicked.
That's awesome! I'm a film student but I've always loved musicals. Twisted really is amazing.
oh i absolutely LOVE this! twisted is not only my favorite starkid musical but also just... one of my favorite musicals period i'm blown away by how well it nails every aspect every time i watch it
Yes! It's so good!!
Twisted was really different from other Starkid musicals. Because even though I know it's just acting, even more, it's a parody, I was emotionally affected so much.
I mean, there was a technical happy ending for Jafar but I was sad that no one knew of his sacrifice. He deserved better. I am still hurt. Let me cry for a bit.
Yeah it's a really powerful show but also hilarious which is a testament to the writing
basically: kaley mcmahon and aj holmes are GODS
They really did an amazing job with the show.
“Two of my favorite things: starkid and Sondheim”
Did I ghostwrite this? Because that’s me in a sentence lol
Wow this video has only been up for a few hours and already the response is amazing! I'm glad you guys are enjoying it. For people asking about other video essays, I definitely have some planned for the future. I'm about to go on my first overseas vacation for a few weeks so I won't be posting anything this intense for a bit (but I'll still be posting other smaller videos). When I get back I'm definitely going to work on some more video essays/analyses. I have some ideas brewing and I'm also planning on re-editing a video essay I made for a class about Broadway and the internet to upload on this channel (the audio is horrific so I need to fix it lol). In the meantime, make sure to check out this video I made about The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals as a movie! czcams.com/video/0fdkCwY1De4/video.html
Do you think you'd ever make a video like this on Spies Are Forever? It is CRIMINALLY underrated.
I have an idea for a Spies are Forever video essay brewing! It probably won't be out for a while but I'm planning it in my head right now.
@@SilvanaLTD Yes!
Your videos are always really educated and stuff so I'm really glad
Would you mind telling me what the idea is? It's okay if no.
@@meg4322 I think I'm gonna keep it a secret for now, but it's more of a character/story analysis that I'm leaning towards.
@@SilvanaLTD alright, that's fine
oh yay (I like that kind of content that you produce more than the ranking, just because ranking videos are super common)
The instrumentation in Golden Rule (Evil Reprise) changes to be more bass an percussion focused and it's great.
Also, my favorite Starkid song ever is "If I Believed".
I wish I knew more about music so I could've put that into words like you did. And If I Believed makes me cry. It's steadily moved up as one of my favorite Starkid songs over the years.
I like how all the villains in the song twisted are singing about how history has told the wrong story, and then there’s just cruella, an irredeemable evil, who tries to make a coat out of puppies
Summary: Aj Holmes is one talented song writer
this is such a good and in depth review!! makes me finally realize why i love twisted so much, it’s just so good
Thanks! I've watched it so many times I really wanted to just dig into it more.
Yeah
In happy ending I think Aladdin’s line “I’ll be the oNNNe who *plunders* her cAAAve of *wonders*” is hilarious and mixed w Jeff motioning towards the top of his pants in his choreography is gold
Lol it's great
If you’ve seen the show, it would be a really fun and interesting if you made a video on Spies Are Forever. I just love it so much.
I just watched it last week! I want to do more videos like this when I get home from vacation.
I watched so many compilations and watched it so many times and listened to the song so much, but "Whats the name? Tiger Fucker!" literally lol
i'm writing a very starkid inspired musical currently and both me and another writer watched this at the exact same time and found it so useful as a reference!! you've been such a big help with this one video!!
That's so cool! I definitely recommend Finishing the Hat and Look I Made a Hat if you've never read them. So much interesting information about lyrics and the writing process and also a lot of fun showbiz stories.
IDK if you and your partner are still writing that musical but if you are, i would recommend Sideways's videos as well , as he does a lot of analysis in musicals, especially for Disney (Ashman in particular) and Sondheim.
I am an avid lover of Twisted, and have always been in awe of the genius that went into the writing and the lyrics. This video made the lyricist in my heart go giddy with joy. My favourite song is Twisted, and I have spent hours contemplating everything about it. From the minor notes whenever he says "twisted" to show his discontent, to the sheer emotional weight for Ja'far's character, everything is done perfectly. It made me so happy to see there are people who appreciate the beauty of this show as much as I do. Consider me subscribed! 😊
Thanks for watching and subscribing! Twisted is probably my favorite song, but they're all so good it's hard to choose! I wish I knew more about music composition so I could analyze it better.
Please make more starkid video essays! I loved this. One note though: your mic was a little quiet, turn it up a tad!
Thanks! I'm hoping to make more when I get home from vacation next month. And yeah, I'm definitely still trying to figure out audio. I just got this mic and I know nothing about sound so hopefully the next video will be better.
Yeah, just take that mic and *kick it up a notch*
@@SilvanaLTD imo the mic is perfect
okay but "you are kind, and that's enough" "you're a diamond, in the rough" makes me ugly cry every time
Me: *literally agrees with everything she says* yes yes best video
Haha thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
This video was so iconic I neeeeed more
Subscribe! lol. I'm gonna be out of the country for a bit so I probably won't post any more video essays until the end of July, but I will definitely have some other content out before then to tide you over.
Can we also talk about how "Twisted" is Jafar's "No Good Deed", Jafar's lyrics in "Happy Ending" mirror "The Wizard & I" ("And one day the genie will say to me....") and how Jeff Blim actually moves like the animated Aladdin?
everytime i hear the switch to “a thousand and one LIFETIMES” i physically tear up. without fail.
also thank you for analyzing the show like you did, twisted is in my top three musicals of all time and i love hearing a genuine look at it like this!!
Thanks! And that song always gets me too.
The subtle change of tone in each beat and sound in happy ending really shows the emotions of each character within the song , each of them having what I call The Shades of Hope , red hope (jafar) is a hope that drives those who have nothing to lose , this kind if hope is the most beautiful yet dangerous hope because it can cause conflict in a story or cause the character to hit a plateau in their story which for jafar it is conflict. Orange hope (Aladdin) is the hope that drives people who want something for themselves or others , this kind of hope can be used both for selfish and selfless people depending on the story and character , for Aladdin (god that's weird way to spell that ) he is focused on his goal of getting the princess and getting the gold both figuratively and literally , he is over excited to get to the tiger head cave because of his selfish goal of money , and cooch , he having this ideal is great to me because it is the exact thing Ursula says "fortune favors the Beautiful" so everything is going in Aladdin's favor is what is supposed to be the contrasting joke . Last but not least , Yellow hope (jasmine) is the hope that drives the naive and children , this hope is very prevalent in jasmine as her vision of a man is still that of a little girls view on society , she thinks that Aladdin is the one for her because he speaks good and has a tragic backstory but never really looks at anything else about him , which you see when Aladdin comes as a completely different person and she still wants him , her hope drives her more and more to love what she doesn't have instead of what she does or likes , she has a good life , but looks for a guy who doesn't , she has money , but looks for a guy who doesn't , this really shows how naive she is and shows that having this kind of hope is the most dangerous because it clouds your utter judgement and actions to the will of those who have red hope or yellow hope . Thank you for coming to my Ted talk
Wow! That's a great analysis.
@@SilvanaLTD Thank you , I want to make a documentary on the mindset of hope and hopelessness , and showing that every great story uses the shades of hope in each character
@@gasi-kxrma That's really cool!
@@SilvanaLTD Thanks and good job on the video
Thank you so much for justifying all of my feelings about this show and showing me that there are actual reasons why it feels like a show I could see on Broadway
haha thanks
yes! i absolutely love that part of twisted (the song) where everyone sings something different and then comes together. tbh....i really don’t like that the cruella bit comes right after it. like i like that joke, it’s great in the context of the song, but i love that musical moment so much that i don’t think a joke was appropriate there? but i friggin love this musical and you nailed it with this vid
Thanks. I always laugh at the cruella part, but it would be interesting to see it without. I still get very emotional with the joke in there so idk.
Silvana Ltd. it is very funny but i just wish it could’ve gone somewhere else in the song ig? but to be fair i can’t suggest another way to end the buildup they have going on and i’m no songwriter so who am i to try to rewrite their song yknow. i think part of it is me wanting that part of the song to go on longer bc i love it so much lmao
@@breadddie When something like that happens I just cut the bit out of the soundtrack I'm putting on my phone, maybe add a slight crossfade to disguise it
My Great Comet playlist goes right from "raise a glass! WOOOOOOOAH!" to "Now, DRINK!" so I don't have to hear the word g*psy sang merrily for 2-3 minutes.
The joke itself can't really go anywhere else, but if you don't like it, it might be possible (depending on how you deal with the overlap) to try and get an effect without it. The "I only wished" slowly getting slightly quieter (not fading out all the way though) and then just taking a beat before Ursula's next line would take out the funny aspect and leave a lingering feeling of still being crowded but somehow also being alone, appropriate for the tension in that point in the plot
As someone who is not a theater / musical nerd, nothing has made me realize just how much of Starkid went unappreciated by me. It was a very fun and informative video that put things into a new perspective, and will make future rewatchings even more enjoyable now that I actually have the knowledge to appreciate things that went unnoticed by me. Thank you very much so even the uninitiated can appreciate this masterpiece at a higher level!
Aw this actually means so much! It's easy for someone who is also obsessed with musicals to like a video about musicals, but the fact that you aren't and you still like that video is awesome! Thanks so much!
One of my favorite moments is the shift in meaning when the villains sing "I only wished for x." The emphasis changes from "I only wished for THIS THING, isn't that an innocent thing to wish for?" to "I only WISHED, but did not act" which is a huge theme of the show, and what sets Jafar's character apart (in fact I read that as the line that prompts his to make his decision in the end). There are so many brilliant little moments like this, and I'm still thinking about them years later! Twisted is my favorite StarKid musical, it definitely has my favorite lyrics hands down, and I love this video for outlining the show's brilliance in such a smart way!
This is so good, well done!!
I would like to point out an aspect I thought would be mentioned. The show starts "in media res", which means it starts in the middle of the action. It's not easy to understand this until you reach "Sands of Time", specifically the bit where he sings "take me back", and then the scene moves to one where the people love Ja'far. Through the events of the show, we can see that the people hate him because of what he did/didn't do when he was the Royal Vizier. The costumes also help. He transitions from Vizier to Assistant Vizier to Royal Vizier again, suggesting the show started "in media res", as mentioned above.
Sorry if you don't understand any of this, English is not my first language, but I'm studying this whole "in media res" for my exam on Friday and I just happened to notice it.
Keep you the amazing work!!!!
EDIT: To add to your comment about the Finale, I think that the fact that everyone has different clothes on but sings the same thing adds emotion a somewhat of a happy resolution to Ja'far and Sherrezade's relationship.
Your English is great! I know a little bit about "in media res" but more in terms of film because that's what I study, so I didn't think about it for this, but yeah that's really interesting. Good luck with your exam.
I REALLY appreciate that you took the time to really analyze Twisted by looking at it through the sense of one of the greatest writers of musical theatre, and one of my favorites, Stephen Sondheim. Many people in the current fandom of theatre in general like the works of Sondheim but they don’t take the time to really listen to the wisdom and knowledge in store in his shows or either of his books! So ‘hats’ off to you ma’am! ( pun intended). This analysis was by far the best Starkid one I’ve seen and you’re right, it fits perfectly within Sondheims 3 rules. VERY well done analysis! I would like it more times if I could!
Haha that's a good pun. Thanks so much for watching! I always loved musicals growing up, but when I saw my first Sondheim show I realized just how many layers there could be in theater and I really got into analyzing lyrics and things. I got into Starkid like a year after that so it makes sense to me to use his work as a lens.
have come back to this video after sondheim’s passing because hearing his philosophies on musicals and songwriting through the lens of one of my favourite shows ever is even more special now :(
lmaoo thank you for using charlie and dee's slam poetry as an example
Haha you're welcome. I love that episode. "He be talkin' but we don't be hearin"
This video is very good. I really like how detailed everything is. Gives me even more reasons for my love of twisted.
Thanks!
I am oblivios to a lot of musical things but this taught me a lot
Thanks. I highly recommend Finishing the Hat and Look I Made a Hat if you're interested in Sondheim or musicals in general.
"I WANT THE MOON. I WANT TO LIVE ON THE MOON!" plays in my head way too often
I just wanted to point out other rhymes/near rhymes/alliteration within the lyrics you analyzed because I I feel it adds yet another layer to Twisted's lyrical brilliancy.
5:12 Notice also the repetition from press/breast/against. They're not perfect rhymes, but there's assonance with the repeated 'eh' sound, as well as the repetition of the 's' sound.
5:32 There's some satisfying alliteration with floors/foes.
5:49 These lyrics include the repetition of 're' in restore/repute as well as the words "fierce fearsome" which is one of those satisfying rhymes that repeats the "feers" sound and adds onto it the second time.
One of the most satisfying lyrics, in my opinion, of Twisted, is one you didn't include.
"You ooze sex when you flex those impeccable pecs."
Aside from the main rhyme of sex/flex/pecs, there's also the repetition of the 'oo' sound in "you ooze" as well as some alliteration in "impeccable pecs" with the repetition of the 'pec' sound.
Great video, by the way! I really want to read those books now lol
Those are all amazing lyrics! I didn't really talk about alliteration in this video, but Twisted does use it very effectively. I definitely recommend the books if you're interested in Sondheim or just in lyrics in general.
I cannot stress how much I love this video,,, I've been waiting for someone to make a starkid related video essay
Thanks! I'm hoping to make more in the future.
Well I've just been gushing with admiration for this show and Stephen Sondheim for 23 minutes straight
With the amount of time it took to make this video it was like a month straight for me.
I wanted to add that "Happy Ending" on top of being similar to west sides tonight its really just the classic act 1 ender. All the main characters reiterate what they want (often with their motifs) until they blend into the common thought between them. This occurs in tons of musicals and I actually use this method when I'm in a theater to geuss when the end of act 1 is. When I a see song that reflects that formula I begin to get ready to go to the lobby because I know when this song ends I need to race to concessions/bathroom
Haha totally!
Honestly who would have guessed the cruella joke would age so damn well?
What an insightful analysis! You earned yourself a subscriber.
Thanks! Welcome to the channel!
Um this is such a great analysis. You did an amazing job, and it was really refreshing and fun to watch. Also the title song for twisted is sooo underrated I don't understand
Thanks! I love the title song. It gives me chills. I remember when I first watched it my brain couldn't even comprehend how amazing it was.
@@SilvanaLTD Honestly same
Happy Ending always reminds me so much of “Who I’d Be” from Shrek the Musical. Both songs are the Act 1 closer; the main character sings about leaving behind his negative image, being the hero and getting the girl; the “sidekick” character sings about longing for another person(albeit in VERY different contexts); the princess character sings about her dreams of love and a perfect life; have killer harmonies; and have a very similar endings in terms of the characters singing over/in between each other(sorry I don’t know what the musical terminology for this would be, my musical education is very basic) and ending on the same word/ phrase in a lovely harmony.
I’m so glad to see an analysis video on one of my absolute favorite musicals! Whenever I try to describe this show, I always say, “it’s exactly what it needs to be,” because I genuinely can’t think of a way to describe it besides perfect. And I’m not being facetious, I have plenty of shows that I adore that don’t reach the level of “perfection” that Twisted does, not because Twisted is necessarily better, but because every single line and decision in the book, lyrics, and music was exactly the right one. It manages to be hilarious, touching, and an amazing parody without any of those traits clashing into each other. I love it so much, and it was really cool to see you break down why it works so well!! Great video :D
Thanks for watching! Twisted really does just get it so right. Like everything about it feels perfect
“Starkid and Stephen Sondheim” finally, someone who appreciates theatre at it’s finest!
Schaffrillas brought me here, and I'm glad he did! Loved the song by song breakdown, and this is helping me fall down the Starkid rabbit hole even deeper.
Thanks for watching! Always glad to encourage more Starkid rabbit holes
RIP to Stephen Sondheim
Thank you for not only your musicals, but also for guiding songwriters everywhere
I have been sent by your former funny crab floor mate but I watched the video and now I have a new channel to binge.
Haha thanks for checking it out!
this is AMAZING! it's so cool to see the actual reasons why twisted feels so /good/ and well done, and you explained everything super well so it all made perfect sense. i would love to see you do a similar style of video on other starkid shows!
Thanks so much! I'm definitely have some other topics in mind for future videos
The thing about how Sondheim makes different choruses for everyone is also very present in Merrily We Roll Along (the Blob)
Yes! That's a great example. I love that song. Putting It Together from Sunday in the Park with George is another great example.
Honestly, my favorite "suprise" in the musical is "I oNlY wIsHeD tO mAkE a CoAt OuT oF pUpPiEs!" Because it just comes so far out of left field
Yeah it's a complete 180 it's hilarious.
Sondheim was one of the reasons I joined my (our) fraternity. When you showed his books and that he chose pink and blue (the fraternity colors) for the covers I screamed
I came here from Schaffrillas' video.
Great video btw, it really makes appreciate the songs even more.
Just the small clips of those emotional bangers was enough to get my eyes watering up. Ridiculously good show.
Brilliant video! I'm so glad you brought up the rhymes because they're so clever and sometimes so subtle that it takes a few listens to even catch them. My fav is Power In Me:
"The source of all my hidden *value*
Is the *moral you* supply"
"Through thick and thin, success or *ruin*
I'll carry *you in* my heart"
"You are *kind and* that's _enough_
You're a *diamond* in _the rough_ "
yes! I just love internal rhymes. They're so satisfying
Another thing why it is so good: Robert Manion is finally there
He made quite a splash.
Twisted is my favorite starkid musical (I haven't seen every single one yet but I DOUBT any other could ever top it) and I'm so glad to see someone else appreciates it just as much!
Yeah it's just so well-written and funny and amazing. I love their stuff, but Twisted is very special.
Another set of nice internal rhymes I really like is in the Golden Rule song: "always treat others like sisters and brothers", and its Evil Reprise: "gold that my neighbor earns for his labor".
Oh those are good ones I hadn't noticed. People are always pointing out great lyrics I missed which just shows how awesome this show is.
RIP Sondheim you will be missed.
I wrote my dissertation on the importance of musical theatre and how new musicals are adapting to the times and I honest to god referenced this video XD
That's so awesome!!!
This is so fantastic 😍😍😍 Twisted and The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals are my two favorite Starkid productions! Because I watch so many musical analysis videos I understood many of the reasons why I enjoyed Twisted so much, but I really don’t understand my pull to rewatch TGWDLM. If you do another analysis please consider TGWDLM! But anyway I LOVE this video 😍😍
wow, SAME! to everything you said lmao
please do one for more shows
I'm hoping to do more video essays when I get back from vacation next month.
Have fun, I'd love for you to do trail to Oregon next. As a drama student it interests me so much.
this was such a good analysis of the show!! this honestly sums up why twisted is one of my favourite musicals of all time. if you did this type of analysis video essay for all of starkid’s shows (and spies are forever 👀), that would be amazing!
Thanks! I definitely want to do more videos like this when I get home from vacation!
yes! spies are forever is my favourite tcb (and second favourite starkid affiliated show) and i'd love to see an in depth analysis for it!
Q: Why is Twisted so good?
A: Dylan, Jeff, Joe, Lauren, Rachael, Meredith, Nick, Jim, Lauren, Jaime, and Denise.
You forgot Robert but yes absolutely
lauren is just in there twice cause she's so iconic
Yessss
@@kolinedrington5492 I have failed you, Professor Hidgens :(
I haven’t seen any of your videos before this, but I am thoroughly impressed! I love this in-depth look at the musicals. You don’t get to see that on other StarKid Channels. Please keep doing these video essays!!!
Thanks for watching! I definitely want to make more soon.
God the emotional impact of this show. Even just hearing that small part of the last song gave me chills and made me tear up.
I always get chills when listening to the song Twisted.. like Jesus, you didn’t have to be that good Dylan.
"If I believed" Is such a powerful song. A man of facts and logic finally breaking and giving into emotion after over a decade of a hardened heart. I think this song goes above and beyond even "Twisted" where, as an honor bound man, he's struggling between his oath to his king vs the oath to his nation while his own life takes a back seat.
Though I love “If I believed”, I have to defend “Twisted”, it’s simply the best song in the show. “Twisted” song IS the show, without this song Twisted the musical is nearly worthless. Why? Because “Twisted” is the culmination to basically all conflicts and inner struggles Jafar has faced. The song is structured very interestingly in a way that it manages to fit multiple character revelations. The first part of the song, before Disney villains start appearing, shows Jafar coming on terms with the fact that sometimes doing everything at once is just impossible and that he has to give up some of his dreams to achieve others. However, it also sets up a dilemma: be a lawful and, perhaps, more liked but ineffectual or be hated and despised for doing the right thing.
The second part of “Twisted” escalates this dilemma. Different Disney villains start appearing, sharing their stories. All the stories revolve around the “villains” taking their only chance to do the right thing, even if they were untruthfully deemed villains for it. This part of the song escalates the dilemma and fills it with more examples, introduces Jafar to the unfortunate side of this choice and the consequences of failure. All this hypes up the choice Jafar will take and makes it more grand (and this part is just very strong).
Part 3 of “Twisted” song begins after the villains go away. Jafar briefly sums up the situation and his thoughts on it. It makes the song more grounded and, after strong and even nerve-wracking ending of the second part, returns the listener to the context, setting up the stakes and making Jafar’s choice more impactful. And then the song finishes with Jafar finally deciding he will not turn away and will help the city, even if it means sacrificing his life and good name. In the process, Jafar expresses how he came to terms with the fact that he will never be a hero and admitting that he is not an angel or a good person, as he is going rogue and overthrowing the sultan, even if his actions are kind of justified. This humility makes him even more heroic and likable, considering he is at the lowest point in his life ( on my first watch, I thought he was going to lose it and become a true villain, and this would be a story about society breaking a noble man, but I appreciate how they didn’t go the expected route and make a more mature and pleasant finale)
The ways the rhymes layer in twisted is one of my favourite parts of the score
This is honestly such a good video. I can tell you put so much work into this. Love it
Thanks! It took a while but I'm happy with how it turned out.
Silvana Ltd. haha I'm rewatching Twisted now. It's such a good show oml