Continued Exploration: You've Got A Friend In Me from Toy Story (Music and the Fictive Dream)
Background Information:
I chose to write about the song featured in the movie Toy Story called "You've Got a Friend In Me". Toy Story is a computer animated film produced by Pixar and released by Disney Pictures in 1995. Directed by John Lasseter, Lee Unkrich, Josh Cooley, and Valerie LaPointe. Tom Hanks plays Woody and Tim Allen plays Buzz Lightyear. This movie series consisted 5 movies and was an extremely popular movie for everyone to enjoy.
"You've Got a Friend In Me" was written and sang by Randy Newman in 1995 for the movie. Newman sang 2 other songs in the movie called "Strange Things" and "I Will Go Sailing No More". All the songs were performed in the US and were clearly a big hit.
Overview:
The meaning behind this song is special for the movie and for real life friendships that we can all relate to at some point in our lives. This song is about having a friend that will be there for you no matter what happens in life. That friend will help you unconditionally and guide you through rough patches in your life. When Newman sings "We stick together and can see it through". What I took away from this line is that that friend will have your back and can see's your problem to help fix it. Newman also sings "You've got troubles, and I've got them too". This means that your troubles are your friends troubles too because he cares for you and won't shy away from helping out.
Personal Effect:
What does this song mean to me? This song has a very relatable aspect to it. I am extremely fortunate with the friends I have been blessed with in my life time that would do anything for me just as I would do for them. I can a couple close buddies that I can count on unconditionally and that is something I am very proud of. Friends that are basically family is what this song is about and something I can easily relate to.
Musical Elements:
Music elements I found most relevant is the slow tempo and the dynamics present in this song. The slow tempo is brought by Randy Newman with his calm and soothing voice to match the slow tempo is the background music. The dynamics present in this song are composed by the electric bass as well as the snare drum that brings the beat to the song.
Sources:
You've got a friend in me by Randy Newman. Youtube. retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy4uiiy0qgA
Toy Story. Walt Disney Pictures/ Pixar. Retrieved from
The Guardian. Randy Newman interview. Retrieved from
No Words, No Song. You've got a friend in me. Retrieved from
https://nowordsnosong.medium.com/youve-got-a-friend-in-me-randy-newman-toy-story-theme-d8c8e317f079
Hi Trenton,
ReplyDeleteWe must have been best friends in a previous life – Every topic of yours I really enjoy, and often wish I had thought of your idea haha.
Where do I start with Toy Story…? I love Toy Story; when I watched Toy Story 4 a few years ago I almost wanted to tear up; so ridiculous. Then, about a month ago, I watched it again with my boyfriend and my 9 year old son, and I thought for sure my boyfriend was gonna tear up!
I don’t know what it is, but I think that Toy Story is the all-time greatest animated film, and I am sure many would disagree but I think it conveys one of the most important messages – loyalty! Like you, I also have been fortunate to have the same best friends since Kindergarten and I am very thankful for that. The lines: “And as the years go by - Our friendship will never die” certainly resonated with me.
Check out this video of a guy and his daughter singing “You’ve Got a Friend in me” together. So cute!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukD8zj6ngVY
I really enjoyed your blog this semester – Thanks for sharing!
Leigh
Hi Trenton,
ReplyDeleteThis is also one of my favorite songs from the Toy Story series! Like you said, I think it does a great job at encompassing what the movie truly is about. Having friends that let you take some of the weight and burden off of your own shoulders and put it on to theirs is really a rare thing. That is one of the things that this movie and Datong do really well at, is expressing that type of rare friendship. This song helps to strongly support this theme from the movie, and not to mention how catchy it is! Here is a nice ukulele cover of the song! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTIJfKU8OwI
This song is very nostalgic to me. Toy Story was a favorite for me and my brothers, it was really one of the only movies we could agree on as kids. I love how bright Newman's tone is and the way he enunciates his word really add to the sound. You can almost hear him smiling as he sings, especially for words like "you" and "me."
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