I don’t know anything about Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers. This said, how did the last Disney karaoke game, which was chock-full of songs by these artists, win four stars in this space?
The answer: Disney, of all the companies that have tried to monetize “American Idol”/”Glee” mania with a singing video game, is the only contender that gives you more to do than sing along with the bouncing ball. Key to the unique karaoke vision delivered in Disney’s “Sing It” lineup is a mode called Sing It Pro, in which a songstress from the House of Mouse gives you singing tips and leads you through vocal exercises, tracking your progress as you complete lessons in pitch, harmony, duets and more.
The headmistress in “Sing It: Family Hits,” which, as a collection of 30 songs from Disney’s beloved feature films, is the first Disney karaoke game that truly takes advantage of having “Disney” on the front of the box, is Anika Noni Rose, who voiced the heroine of “The Princess and the Frog.” Rose, unsurprisingly, outclasses the 16-year-old teachers the “Sing It” series has served up so far, and misses no opportunity to smile big and say things like “Doesn’t that sound silly?”
Rose’s inherent charm aside, this toddler-friendly approach seems odd, as the game’s song list, heavy on’50s and ’60s classics like “Supercalifragilistic” from “Mary Poppins” and “Sleeping Beauty’s” timeless waltz “Once Upon a Dream,” will surely appeal more to adults than children. Who among us of a certain age could resist singing along to “The Bare Necessities” or “Under the Sea,” songs little kids may very well not know?
Unfortunately, for every must-have — “Be our Guest,” “A Whole New World,” “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” — “Sing It: Family Hits” omits a great song in favor of something out of left field. Instead of “One Jump Ahead” from “Aladdin,” we have “Time of Your Life” from “A Bug’s Life.” “Colors of the Wind” from “Pocahontas” is missing, but no worries, we can sing “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride” from “Lilo and Stitch 2.”
“Sing It: Family Hits” has what it takes to warm the hearts of millions – with songs like this, the question isn’t “Will this karaoke game have any songs I know?” but “Which is my favorite?” — but what should have been one of the year’s biggest hits is doomed by inexplicable omissions to be a title remembered as much for those omissions as anything else.
– Ryan Vogt
