Before you invite me to any festive social gatherings, there is one thing you need to know. I can’t sing. Most people say the same thing, typically motivated by fear of being the center of attention, but this is different. My friends banned me from their karaoke machine, and then kicked me out their Rock Band group. I thought, “Disney Sing It: Family Hits? Great, this’ll be easy.”
(cue ominous foreshadowing)
I looked to my side, at a six-year old doing pirouettes, smiling as the game showered her with twinkling stars and the Golden Style award after a powerful performance of “Under the Sea.” I was hoping she was too dizzy to notice that I completely and totally bombed in my stuttering, off-key rendition of “Cruella Deville.”
Throughout my demo, Disney Sing It: Family Hits was a merciful game. It never mocked me, and when I gave up halfway through a song, or three, the game let me at least pretend to stick in there until the end. Meanwhile, little miss princess was still racking up the stars and and awards.
There are 30 songs, and 18 of them can be performed in Spanish, and each song uses the original recording with the appropriate scene playing in the background. Although I won’t list every song, you can count on tracks from The Princess & the Frog, Cinderella, Beauty & the Beast, Cars, Mulan, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, Toy Story, and The Lion King.
The pitch-recognition was accurate, including octaves for those with higher and lower voices. In case your windpipes aren’t up to speed, all songs are unlocked from the beginning, and you will never technically fail.
Yes, you can play on hard-difficulty and collect awards, but Disney Sing It: Family Hits, is all about having a good time with others. Besides solo-acts, you can sing as a duet with one or two microphones, or play family-style, in which one person sings a line and passes the mic, and the next person sings a line, and so on.
After the song, the entire track can be replayed, complete with your voice. Some might see this as the chance to really analyze the performance. As someone who grew up under the constant mockery of an older brother, I see other, far more creative uses for such replays.
