The Disney Song Encyclopedia - fieldi

“THE WORLD IS LOOKING UP TO YOU” 233
“Work This Out” is the banging and throbbing production number from
the television sequel High School Musical 2 (2007), a rhythmic dance number
inspired by the Off-Broadway musical Stomp, in which every object becomes
a drum. The teenage workers at a ritzy country club find their summer job
requires a great deal of kowtowing to the owners’ bratty daughter, Sharpay,
so, while working in the kitchen, they break out in frustration with this energetic
number in which everyone bangs on pots, pans, water goblets, and every
surface available as they sing and dance. Randy Petersen and Kevin Quinn
wrote the vivacious number about working out your frustration.
“The Workshop Song” is the perky, rhythmic ditty written by George
Bruns (music) and Mel Leven (lyric) for the 1961 screen version of Babes
in Toyland, adapting a song from the original 1903 Victor Herbert operetta.
The Toymaker (Ed Wynn) is joined by Tom Piper (Tommy Sands), Mary
Quite Contrary (Annette Funicello), and a workshop full of children in singing
the work song, which has a steady beat and emphasizes the importance
of time in making all the toys for Christmas.
“The World Above” is the song of wonderment written by Alan Menken
(music) and Glenn Slater (lyric) for the 2008 Broadway version of The
Little Mermaid. The mermaid princess Ariel (Sierra Boggess) swims to
the surface and relishes being under a blue sky, feeling that she belongs in
this strange other world more than her own. Later in the show the song is
reprised by her father, King Triton (Norm Lewis), as he scolds Ariel for her
interest in the human world.
“The World Don’t Bother Me None” is the driving folk-rock song about
the diversity of Americans written by John Mellencamp for the documentary
film America’s Heart and Soul (2004). Mellencamp sings the number,
which recognizes the problems still to be solved in the nation but looks at
everyday people as encouragement to believe in the future. The song is
sung over the opening credits showing a montage of ordinary Americans,
the subject of the documentary.
“The World Is Looking Up to You” is the jovial, upbeat character
song written by Randy Rogel for the animated video sequel Cinderella II:
Dreams Come True (2002). Wishing to be more helpful to his friend Cinderella,
the mouse Jaq (voice of Rob Paulsen) gets the Fairy Godmother to
turn him into a human, and he celebrates the power of his new form while
this encouraging song is sung by Brooke Allison on the soundtrack.