JUKEBOX: “If I Didn’t Have You” by Billy Crystal and John Goodman

Mike and Sulley

Hi everybody! It’s Kimberly here for my thirteenth post for the genre “Children’s Music.”

When Monsters University came out last year, audiences got to see how Mike and Sulley, who are the best of friends in Monsters Inc., actually started as rivals. The fact that Mike and Sulley started their relationship hating each other is kind of strange to think about considering the close bond they seem to have in Monsters Inc. Their close friendship is especially apparent in the song “If I Didn’t Have You” which is the song I’m reviewing today.

“If I Didn’t Have You” was written by Oscar-winning composer Randy Newman. Pixar fans will probably know Randy Newman because of his characteristic sound present in multiple Pixar movies. He lends both his writing and singing ability to songs like “You’ve Got a Friend In Me” from Toy Story. Although Randy Newman doesn’t actually sing in “If I Didn’t Have You”, his song is well-represented by the likes of Billy Crystal and John Goodman. Most people would know Billy Crystal from movies like When Harry Met Sally… or if you’re a fan of the Academy Awards he has been the host a total of eight times. Fun fact: Billy Crystal was the original choice for the voice of Buzz Lightyear, but he turned it down and the role went to Tim Allen. As far as John Goodman goes, most people would recognize him for his role on the television show Roseanne. However, for our purposes they’re more famous for their roles as Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan.

In the 2001 Pixar film Monsters Inc. Mike and Sulley go through a lot whether it’s dealing with a human kid or ending up in the middle of nowhere with the abominable snowman. Their friendship goes through some ups and downs through the course of the movie, but at the end their friendship is stronger than ever. We see “If I Didn’t Have You” performed by Mike and Sulley during the end credits of Monsters Inc. and it could be summed up in one word: BROMANCE. It’s interesting hearing Mike and Sulley sing a song together and John Goodman’s voice is nice and bluesy much like Randy Newman. “If I Didn’t Have You” is intermixed with singing and spoken words and has a classic, big-band feel. Overall, “If I Didn’t Have You” is a fun song to listen to (despite its confusing double negative), but its impact is weakened without the wonderful Pixar animation. Therefore, I’m giving “If I Didn’t Have You” 3 ½ records.

I hope you enjoyed my review of “If I Didn’t Have You” and I think I’m speaking for all of the JUKEBOX girls when I say that we wouldn’t have nothing if we didn’t have you! J

Below is a video for “If I Didn’t Have You.”