Musical movies go through several drafts of a script and storyboards before they make it to the big screen, meaning that some great songs are written and cut out throughout the movie-making process. Adapting a musical from stage to screen also means that some songs will be lost along the way.
Whether it is to conserve time or to create a different tone for the film, it is inevitable that some songs will be cut. However, some songs should have been kept in, either to preserve the message that the film wishes to convey or create character moments that would make fans happy.
The Lorax - "Biggering"
The Lorax follows the Onceler as he creates a corporate empire by chopping down trees and selling "thneeds," a product he makes from the tree leaves. In the film, the Onceler says that he didn't realize what he was doing was wrong. He sings "who cares if a few trees are dying?" to explain that he didn't know the harm his "thneeds" were causing the environment.
However, the cut song "Biggering" has a darker tone than the rest of the film, removing all plausible deniability that the Onceler might have had. The Onceler sings "who cares if some things are dying," indicating that he knows about the extent of the damage but chooses to ignore it. The studio must have taken it out to preserve the family-friendly tone, at the expense of the character's descent into greed.
Beauty And The Beast - "Human Again"
Beauty and the Beast is a timeless tale about a young woman finding love with a beast hidden in a fairytale castle. The castle contains enchanted objects such as the candelabra Lumiere. The song "Human Again" features the enchanted objects singing about all the things they'll do once the curse is broken.
The song was cut for time, but interestingly, although the live-action remake in 2017 attempted to humanize the enchanted objects by giving them a larger role in the story, the film does not include this song. The song would have made breaking the curse more urgent, as it is not just the Beast that Belle must save, but the objects as well.
The Emperor's New Groove - "Snuff Out The Light"
The Emperor's New Groove began production as a film called Kingdom of the Sun. The initial film featured a royal mortician named Yzma sacrificing a young emperor in order to blot out the sun and regain her youth. Although evil Yzma would have been cool to watch, the final film is a comedy and removes Yzma's totally evil intentions, making her more of a comedic figure.
Yzma's song "Snuff Out the Light" features an amazing vocal performance by Eartha Kitt. The song would have made the film much darker, and the song was cut when the production crew was forced to change their initial dark idea into a comedic one.
Hamilton - "Congratulations"
Angelica's passion is one of the best parts of Hamilton, a musical following the founding fathers of the United States. Alexander Hamilton cheats on his wife Eliza and publishes a pamphlet detailing his infidelity, inspiring Eliza's sister Angelica to confront him with the cut song "Congratulations."
This song portrays Angelica as a passionate defender of her sister, but the song was cut and merged with "The Reynolds Pamphlet" to save time. Another reason for the change is that Angelica's marriage wasn't actually loveless and stating that it was would have made the musical seem uninformed. However, seeing Angelica genuinely angry and putting Alexander in his place would have been incredible.
Frozen - "Life's Too Short"
One of the most popular Disney films in recent years, Frozen is all about the two sisters Elsa and Anna, and their strained relationship. In the film, Anna ventures to the mountains to bring Elsa home and is unsuccessful, but in the cut song "Life's Too Short" their argument becomes more sinister and dramatic.
In the film, Anna mentions the frozen fjord, which makes Elsa upset and she accidentally hurts Anna. However, in the cut song, Anna's selfishness makes Elsa angry, and Elsa purposely lashes out, freezing Anna's heart. The song may have been removed to make Elsa more likable, but most likely the song was cut because it mentions a prophecy, which was included in the initial drafts of the film.
Into The Woods - "Agony (Reprise)"
Into the Woods changed a lot of things from the original stage play, but kept the core story of a group of fairytale characters venturing into the woods. One of the major cut songs was "Agony (Reprise)," in which the two Princes sing about cheating on their wives.
The first "Agony" song is a comedic moment in the film. The reprise is just as comedic but paints the Princes as terrible people who will cheat on Cinderella and Rapunzel. Taking the reprise out of the film completely changes Rapunzel's story. In the musical, she dies after learning the Prince has cheated on her, but in the film, she lives and rides off into the sunset with him, failing to learn the lesson that the Witch was trying to teach her about the world.
Hamilton - "Schuyler Defeated"
Hamilton paints Alexander Hamilton as a misunderstood figure, and this is most apparent in the cut song "Schuyler Defeated." In the musical, Alexander finds out that his rival Aaron Burr has taken his father-in-law's seat in the Senate and goes to confront him, but the issue is dropped quickly.
In the cut song, Alexander is genuinely angry, and Eliza is quick to step into the argument, stating "I've gotta stop a homicide." Burr gets more characterization, Eliza is bothered by her father losing his seat instead of being passive, and this song sets up just how much Alexander relies on Eliza to navigate the political landscape. The cut song also gives the audience more of Philip, which is always a plus.
Sweeney Todd - "The Ballad Of Sweeney Todd"
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street stars Johnny Depp and follows Sweeney as he seeks revenge on a corrupt judge. The opening number of the film, "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd," was cut from the film to create a faster opening credits sequence.
The original play features the inhabitants of London singing about Sweeney's kills, setting up the musical motifs. This song gives life to the people of London, making the audience care a bit more about them and see them as more than background characters. In the film, this song is replaced by an instrumental, moving the film along quickly at the expense of London's characterization.
Little Shop of Horrors - Don't Feed The Plants
Little Shop of Horrors follows Seymour the florist as he finds a tiny plant that grows up to be a carnivorous alien. The film is infamous for having its original ending removed because the audience at the time hated the dark, apocalyptic ending of the plants killing Seymour and taking over the world. The film created a new ending where Seymour and his lover Audrey defeat the plants and settle down in the suburbs.
During this song in the stage musical, the plants actually take over the theatre, sending their vines across the stage. Hopefully, the rebooted Little Shop of Horrors will contain this song, now that audiences are more accustomed to darker-themed endings.
Frozen 2 - "Home"
Frozen II continues the adventures of Elsa and Anna as they venture into a faraway forest. The cut song "Home" sung by Anna gives more life to Arendelle, making audiences care more that the kingdom might be destroyed at the end of the film, and would have made Anna becoming queen make more sense.
The official Disney storyboard for this song features Anna looking up at a statue of her grandfather, who in the film turns out to be the villain. This song could have expanded on Anna and Elsa's idolization of the colonizing members of their family, but in the film, Elsa shows no conflict over her connection to her grandfather and immediately renounces him as soon as she learns his past.