The Drag Elements of Poor Unfortunate Souls.

 

Disney’s song “Poor Unfortunate Souls” like many other Disney villain songs is both fun and over dramatic, but this is only one of the reasons it is and makes for a perfect drag performance.

Outside of the song itself, is the fact that songwriter Howard Ashman used the likeness of famous drag queen Divine as inspiration for Ursula. So fundamentally there is a connection between the song and drag, but it is not the only connection.

There is a small part of the song where Ursula is just roasting the people who come to see her. They are “miserable, lonely, and depressed, pathetic” along with calling them “poor unfortunate souls” which shows that yes, she doesn’t care for these people, but it is also a read on how these people can’t solve their problems without her help.

The fluidity of movement and “the importance of body language”. Ursula moves seamlessly and elegantly throughout the song, and while yes that is the way she is animated, it also makes watching feel like you are watching a drag performance. She even has props and is using her whole body to put on a show and get what she wants. There is even a comedic element to it with her looking off to the side and whispering how her plan is working. Every part of the song is Ursula putting on a show and having a blast doing it.

This leads to my next point, Ursula’s exaggerated everything, because the point of the song in the narrative is for Ursula to convince Ariel that she is the only one who can fulfill the dreams of the little mermaid. In other words, Ursula is putting on a show and pulling out all the stops like she is trying to avoid being sent home by Rupaul. Ursula is also larger than life and proud of it and she dreams of ruling a kingdom and with that living a lavish lifestyle. A lifestyle where she would surround by the riches she believes she deserves, and all this is to say what is drag if not an over-exaggeration and imitation of the life we queens and kings deserve?

 

 

 

Originally Posted: June 1, 2023