Bio: I am choosing a piece from the 1997 Disney film Hercules. Hercules is the 35th animated movie made by Disney and it is based off the greek mythological hero Hercules, the son of Zeus. The piece I decided to go with is Go the Distance which was released on May 27, 1997. It was composed by Alan Menken and produced by Menken and David Zippel, in the US. The song is sung by Roger Bart who voices Hercule’s singing voice in the film. Without further ado below is the song.
Role: The role of this song is to show us how Hercules feels. It lets us further understand what Hercules is going through. He does not feel accepted and is treated like an outcast, someone who does not belong. This song tells us that Hercules wants to find where he feels he belongs and he is willing to put in the effort and time to get where he wants to be. Go the Distance is almost the backbone of Hercules because without it it kind of feels like Hercules does not want to do anything about how he feels and there might not be a story. It is essential to the bigger piece.
Dynamics: One of the musical elements that really shows and demonstrates Hercule’s strong emotions is the dynamics. When the song gets really soft it really connects with his desire to move forward and achieve something great. When the song gets really loud it shows his passion the strong will that is within him.
Lyrics: The lyrics say it all, literally. The lyrics tell us what he dreams of and his goals for the future, they could not be anymore clear than they are now. There are certain parts of the verse that change which is telling us that Hercules can and will go the distance.
Social Commentary: I believe the social commentary or social/moral message of the story is that we will all find our own places in the world. The journey might be hard, easy, difficult, simple, complex, whatever the case, but at the end you will find where you feel accepted and belong.
Opinion: My opinion is that this piece of work is amazing, it truly is. The song is inspirational and what makes it so inspirational is that fact the moral message, lyrics, dynamics all come together almost perfectly. This song is gives off positive “vibes” that make you feel like everything is alright because the lyrics tell you so along with the dynamics that give you the feeling encouragement to face your life’s obstacles.
Sources:
“Can YOU Go The Distance? | A Disney Message For Everyone”. Sites.Psu.Edu, 2019, https://sites.psu.edu/adisneymessageforeveryone/2015/04/12/can-you-go-the-distance/. Accessed 3 Apr 2019.
“Go The Distance”. En.Wikipedia.Org, 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_the_Distance. Accessed 3 Apr 2019.
“Hercules (1997 Film)”. En.Wikipedia.Org, 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules_(1997_film). Accessed 3 Apr 2019.
Mae, Raniela. “Interpretation Of The Song GO THE DISTANCE”. Assignmentshomeworksetc.Blogspot.Com, 2019, http://assignmentshomeworksetc.blogspot.com/2011/02/interpretation-of-song-go-distance.html. Accessed 3 Apr 2019.
Nathaniel Appolloni Music Blog 
I recently watched this movie because of this song. This song definitely does feel inspirational and uplifting. Alan Menken has written so much music for Disney, like the music for “Aladdin,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “The Little Mermaid,” but he also wrote music for the musical “Little Shop of Horrors,” which is nothing like any Disney movie!
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I found your blog post about the film Hercules to be very fascinating. The lyrics of this song are very powerful. In the beginning, he is lost and does not know his purpose, but by the end he is on a mission. He has finally found a goal and has set out to achieve it. I believe this song shows that people may feel lost and hopeless sometimes but once they find their purpose in life they are unstoppable. This really connects with college students because we are expected to forge a plan for the rest of our lives at such a young age and this can be overwhelming. However, once we find the right career path for ourselves, we can achieve anything.
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