Disney Family Singalong: Fans Show Confusion, Delight Over Return of Company's 'Bouncing Ball' During Special

Disney and ABC's hastily put-together 'celebrities singing at home' special was Thursday night's [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

Disney and ABC's hastily put-together "celebrities singing at home" special was Thursday night's The Disney Family Singalong, in which musicians and celebrities who have worked with the company in the past sang classics from their favorite Disney movies. One of the first segments featured Beyonce, who voiced Nala in the2019 remake of The Lion King, singing "When You Wish Upon A Star." Fans watching at home noticed her segment did not have a "bouncing ball," or "bouncing Mickey" in this case, with the lyrics on the bottom of the screen.

For the most part, the special featured song lyrics on the bottom of the screen, with a bouncing Mickey to help viewers follow along. In other words, it was similar to the Disney singalong VHS tapes of old. However, Beyonce's clip strangely did not include this feature. While many know the words to the 80-year-old song she sang, some still hoped the lyrics would have been shown.

"Wait, what? Are we not good enough to sing along with [Beyonce] on the Disney singalong? Where are the lyrics? Where is the bouncing ball?" one Twitter user wrote. Another commented, "Where's the bouncing ball? I guess no one's allowed to sing along with Beyonce?"

Once the mouse ears showed up though, fans were enamored by it. "Bouncing Mickey is sooo much better than a bouncing ball!" one tweeted. "If someone told me they'd bring back 'follow the bouncing ball' sing-along Disney after I wore out the VHS tapes, I'd have called you a liar, but............... Here we are," another chimed in.

Disney announced the special earlier this week. It was put together in a fashion similar to CBS' ACM Presents: Our Country and Fox's iHeart Living Room Concert for America, where celebrities recorded themselves performing from home. In this case, Ryan Seacrest hosted the hour-long special, with appearances from Demi Lovato, Michael Buble, Little Big Town, Derek Hough, Julianne Hough, Tori Kelly, Josh Gad, Luke Evans, Christina Aguilera, Donny Osmond, Auli'i Cravalho, Darren Criss, Jordan Fisher, Josh Groban, John Stamos and Amber Riley. Zac Efron also joined his High School Musical castmates for a virtual reunion to introduce their performance "We're All In This Together."

The special also included a PSA to raise awareness of Feeding America, which is helping families hurting during the coronavirus pandemic. "If there's something that we've all learned in the past few weeks, it's to cherish every moment and the importance of connection, whether through laughter, stories or music. We hope that we can help create some new unforgettable moments in everyone's home in a way that only the magic of Disney can," ABC Entertainment President Karey Burke said.

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