(Originally Published August 23, 2017)
Here we have a cover of The Little Mermaid's song "Kiss the Girls," originally sung by a Jamaican crab encouraging a Handsome Prince™ to kiss a girl who can't talk. In isolation, this is all kinds of weird, but in a cartoon with anthropomorphic animals, it is actually fun and endearing.
This version is not that.
Chase Holfelder's cover is produced in a Minor Key (rather than sebastian's Major), and it is produced like a modern pop song. The result is absolute creepiness. I noted this most strongly when he sings, "don't be scared, you got the mood prepared, go on and kiss the girl," followed by, "don't stop now, don't try to hide it how you want to kiss the girl." When you watch this scene in the film, Sebastian's tone is supportive of feelings that are apparent, and his lower register has the properties of an old crooner; these singers - think Frank Sinatra or Barry White (although he's got more disco in him Sinatra, to be sure) - had an earnestness that allowed them to champion romance between couples. When these clues are removed, there is something coercive in a mood that is carefully planned, and the minor key makes the encouragement to push beyond fear a suggestion that we should ignore what we think to be wrong or dangerous.
It is amazing what a change in tone can do for a song, but it is important to remember that this is entirely possible in writing. The right (or wrong) word choice can mean all the difference in your intentions being accurately decoded by your audience.