Sumner's Tales: Sting talks...

"I was approached by Disney to write a number of songs for an animated feature, 'The Emperor's New Groove' and I was very excited about it. They've been a part of my life since I've been old enough to remember anything about movies, and to be asked to write songs, I was deeply flattered. I wrote the beginning song and the end song, and they've used some of the themes from those songs in the film. The final song is a buddy song between Pacha and Kuzco, 'My Funny Friend And Me'. It's really their story. I quite like buddy songs, along as they're not too sentimental. It's been a three year journey, it's up to the public now. If they like what we've done then I'll be even more happy."
Disney Promotional Interview, Oct 2000

"This project for Disney has been going on for ages. They keep sacking the characters that I'm writing for, so the songs have to be thrown out too. It's kind of frustrating. In animation the songs have to be recorded first and then you animate to the songs. They describe a character, they describe what he says and what he does and then you write a song for him. And then they fire him... and you have to start again. I wish they'd fire me actually at this point in time... (Laughs)."
Japanese Radio Interview, 9/99

On having songs 'rejected' by Disney...
"At first, I was angry and perturbed. Then I wanted some vengeance. We couldn't use the songs in this new film because the characters they were written for didn't exist anymore. I'm not a particularly easy person to call and say, 'We're not using your songs', and I didn't make them feel any easier about it. After about five minutes of ranting and raving, I thought, 'OK, let's get back to work. Let's try to make this thing happen. It's been a very long road, but I'm happy we got this far. I didn't think we would at one point."
Associated Press, 12/00

On working with Disney...
"I was brought up with the Disney movies - The Jungle Book, and The Sword In The Stone, and Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio. I mean I, you know, vividly remember, like any kid of my age, anybody of my generation. It's an institution that I'm very, very proud to have been asked to join with. It's not the sort of thing you say 'no' to. Disney calls up and says, 'Well, you know, we want some songs.' You say, 'OK.' That's an honor to begin with, and to actually complete them and finish them and have it come out as a movie is amazing. I'm thrilled."
Launch, 12/00

His reaction on Disney's plans for an ending that involved building a theme park is constructed in the midst of a rainforest!...
"I told them I was resigning because it was the exact opposite of what I stand for. For the past 12 years or so I've been involved with the problems in the Amazon and the destruction of the rain forests. The people who live there don't have any human rights or legal protection, and I've been raising money to try and provide that. More than saving trees, we're trying to save people's lives. I've spent years trying to defend the rights of indigenous peoples and they wanted to march over them to build a theme park! I wasn't going to be a party to it."
The Daily Mirror, 01/01

On whether Disney asked him to write the songs for Kingdom Of The Sun because of his interest in Latin America...
"I keep working with them. We have been collaborating for more than a year. We are exchanging ideas all the time and generating new possibilities. It's possible that it was one of the reasons why Disney put their interest in me, because the story happens in the old Inca empire. I accepted because the challenge was writing music for children. It was something I have never done before, a real shame for a father of six. So, I was puzzled to see if I could do it or not. It's been a hard task..."
La Nacion, 3/99

On the difficulties of writing for Disney and having songs 'rejected'...
"I make albums just to please myself, I really do. This project, first I had to please him [Dave Hartley] then we had to please the director and the producers, and then the Mouse. And being told to go back to the drawing board is something I'm not used to at all."
The Daily News of Los Angeles, 12/00

On working with Disney...
"To be asked to write songs for Disney characters meant that, if you did it successfully, those songs would become immortal and last for generations. That really appealed to me. I wanted to get away from 'Sting,' to be a journeyman and be hired for my craft as a songwriter. I thought it would a useful exercise to not be stuck in my groove. It was a difficult process. It began three years ago and started out as a serious effort. We were very disappointed the (original) project wasn't completed. They kept us on, which was kind of flattering because they fired everyone else. Normally they would probably just throw the other songs out, so I think it was a tribute to the work that they're putting them on the soundtrack."
Associated Press, 12/00

On working with Disney...
"I had concerns about working for a big corporation, but two of my close friends, Elton John and Phil Collins, had worked with Disney and they encouraged me to do it. Like everybody else, I had grown up with Disney movies and I was aware that it had a legacy with a very long reach. I was intrigued by the idea that people would be watching the movie and listening to my songs in 20 or 30 years' time. Also writing for animated characters was a challenge that appealed to me."
The Daily Mirror, 01/01

His reaction on Disney's plans for an ending that involved building a theme park is constructed in the midst of a rainforest!...
"At first, I was angry and perturbed, then I wanted some vengeance. I wrote them a letter saying, 'If you do this, I'm resigning because this is exactly the opposite of what I stand for. I've spent 20 years trying to defend the rights if indigenous peoples and you're just marching over them to build a theme park. I will not be a party to this.'"
Uncut, 02/01

"'My Funny Friend And Me' took a long time, believe me. It's a buddy song, and I wanted it to be sentimental but not too sentimental. It took a while to try and get the flavour of that relationship. These two [characters] are so opposite, so different, so antagonistic for a lot of the film, so I needed something that wasn't mushy but at the same time was emotional, and that took a while to get. In fact, it was up to the last minute that I came up with it."
Launch, Dec 2000

"I've grown up with Disney - films such as 'The Jungle Book' and 'Pinocchio' and 'Sleeping Beauty' - and I thought, okay, if you're going to have a legacy into the future, what better way than to write for one of these films that people are going to watch in 30 years' time. And I have six children. I thought my stock would rise if they saw their dad doing a Disney film. I enjoyed it, I enjoyed the challenge. Two of my close friends, Elton John and Phil Collins, had worked with Disney and they encouraged me to do it. I was flattered that Disney came to me and wanted me to do something that was so successful for those two."
Daily Record, 07/01