The Disney Song Encyclopedia - fieldi

92 “I’D STICK WITH YOU”
“I’d Stick with You” is the charming duet about friendship written by
Walter Edgar Kennon for the animated video sequel The Hunchback of
Notre Dame II (2002). When the young child Zephyr (voice of Haley Joel
Osment) gets separated from his parents in the Paris throng, the hunchback
Quasimodo (Tom Hulce) finds him and assures the boy that he will always
take care of him. In the duet, Zephyr lists various scenarios of crisis, and
Quasimodo happily replies that he will not leave the youth no matter what
the circumstances. The musical scene is observed by the circus worker
Madellaine, who sees the misshapen hunchback in a tender and more affectionate
light.
“If I Can’t Love Her” is the soul-searching ballad for the Beast (Terrence
Mann) in the Broadway version of Beauty and the Beast (1994). The
tormented prince-turned-beast fights off despair and considers his ability
to fall in love with Belle (Susan Egan) in this stirring first-act finale song.
The Beast reprises the song later in the show, after he has allowed Belle to
return home and wonders if he will ever see her again. The number was
written for the stage version by Alan Menken (music) and Tim Rice (lyric)
and has a resounding, operatic tone that is far heavier than anything found
in the animated film version. Among the handful of recordings of the song
are those by James Graeme with the National Symphony Orchestra and by
Ron Raines.
“If I Didn’t Have You” is the Oscar-winning song about friendship written
by Randy Newman for the computer-animated film Monsters, Inc. (2001).
A jazz instrumental version of the song is heard over the opening credits
of the movie, and a slower, soft-shoe rendition is sung on the soundtrack
by Billy Crystal and John Goodman during the final credits. The lyric for
the old-time vaudeville number states that without a friend, one is nothing.
Crystal and Goodman retain the vaudeville style by ad-libbing comments
between the lines, and, though they are not seen, the two are heard engaging
in a dance. A recording of the number was made by Mitchell Musso.
“If I Never Knew You” is the romantic duet written by Alan Menken
(music) and Stephen Schwartz (lyric) for the animated film Pocahontas
(1995). Captured by the Native American tribe and tied up in a hut, Captain
John Smith (voice of Mel Gibson) is visited by his beloved Pocahontas
(singing voice of Judy Kuhn), and the two sing about how grateful each is
for having known the other, no matter what the consequences of their love.
Michael Crawford recorded the ballad in 2001, and touching duet versions