Howard Ashman on Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid

“This is a classic kind of song. […] At the beginning of every [Disney] film, of the classic fairy tales, there is a version of this song. It’s fascinating, we screened Cinderella about a month ago. A Dream is A Wish is one. [In] Snow White, somehow they got away with two! I’m Wishing and Someday My Prince Will Come are exactly the same type of song!

“This kind of song exists in the Broadway musical. Wouldn’t It Be Loverly – Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady tells us what she wants. Rodgers and Hammerstein, in every show, the leading lady has a chance to plunk herself down on a tree trunk somewhere and sing about what she dreams about. And she sings, this is what I want. It’s called ‘The Girl’s I Want Song’.

“You’re not going to miss what the film’s about. That’s the central issue of the entire film. By having her sing it, it makes that point indelible. She wishes she were human. In the end, she will become human and live happily ever after. That’s what she wants. 

“There is foreshadowing there when she says, What would I give if I could live out of these Waters? What would I pay…? The fact is, she’s going to make a deal with the devil, the sea witch. She’s going to give up her voice. She’s going to give up a lot. She’s essentially going to give up practically her life.”

– Howard Ashman, via his legendary lecture at Disney