Content deleted Content added
Line 33:
== Use in ''Hercules'' ==
In ''Hercules'', Meg is a [[double agent]] who works for [[Hades (Disney)|Hades]] despite beginning to fall in love with his adversary, Hercules,<ref name=":37" /> against her better judgement.<ref name=":39">{{Cite news |last=Schroeder |first=Zahraa |date=August 28, 2023 |title=15 Of The Greatest Disney Movie Songs Of All Time |url=https://smilefm.co.za/the-greatest-disney-movie-songs-of-all-time/ |access-date=February 24, 2025 |work=[[Smile 90.4FM]]}}</ref> Audiences learn that Meg has been in love before, only for her boyfriend at the time to leave her to pursue another woman after she had [[Deal with the Devil|sold her soul]] to Hades to save his life.<ref name=":21">{{Cite web |last=Tisdale |first=Jerrica |date=May 17, 2020 |title=Disney's Hercules: Every Song From The Animated Movie, Ranked |url=https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2496200/disneys-hercules-every-song-from-the-animated-movie-ranked |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250105010126/https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2496200/disneys-hercules-every-song-from-the-animated-movie-ranked |archive-date=January 5, 2025 |access-date=April 27, 2021 |website=[[CinemaBlend]]}}</ref><ref name=":45">{{Cite news |last=Locke |first=Alexandra |date=March 3, 2023 |title=10 Best Disney Love Songs, Ranked |url=https://www.cbr.com/disney-best-love-songs/ |access-date=February 26, 2025 |work=[[Comic Book Resources]]}}</ref> Because falling in love too quickly had been a negative experience for Meg, she is left hesitant and in denial.<ref name=":28" /> Like most Disney heroines, she sings about falling in love with her film's hero,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hicken |first=Jackie |date=April 6, 2014 |title=15 Disney songs that were cut before they ever made it onto the big screen |url=https://www.deseretnews.com/top/2407/10/I-Cant-Believe-My-Heart-Hercules-15-Disney-songs-that-were-cut-before-they-ever-made-it-onto.html |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140410130555/http://www.deseretnews.com/top/2407/10/I-Cant-Believe-My-Heart-Hercules-15-Disney-songs-that-were-cut-before-they-ever-made-it-onto.html |archive-date=April 10, 2014 |access-date=September 22, 2017 |website=[[Deseret News]]}}</ref> a revelation she is too proud to admit.<ref name=":28">{{Cite web |last=C |first=Sandy |date=2017 |title=The 30 best Disney songs |url=https://hiddenremote.com/2017/10/16/the-30-best-disney-songs/13/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216074232/https://hiddenremote.com/2017/10/16/the-30-best-disney-songs/13/ |archive-date=December 16, 2018 |access-date=December 15, 2018 |website=Hidden Remote}}</ref> Therefore, she tries to convince herself that she is not falling in love,<ref name=":40" /> although her attempts are unconvincing.<ref name=":41">{{Cite news |last=Ryan |first=Patrick |date=July 16, 2019 |title=Ranked: The 25 best classic Disney songs, from 'Mary Poppins' to 'The Lion King' |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2019/07/16/ranked-25-best-classic-disney-songs-mary-poppins-lion-king-aladdin-toy-story-little-mermaid-mulan/1702103001/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316082141/https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2019/07/16/ranked-25-best-classic-disney-songs-mary-poppins-lion-king-aladdin-toy-story-little-mermaid-mulan/1702103001/ |archive-date=March 16, 2023 |access-date=February 24, 2025 |work=[[USA Today]]}}</ref>
"I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" expresses Meg's conflicting feelings about Hercules, who she insists she does not love, only for her claims to constantly be refuted by the Muses.<ref name=":27">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_zMrDwAAQBAJ&q=i+won%27t+say+%28i%27m+in+love%29+megara&pg=PA74|title=Musicological Identities: Essays in Honor of Susan McClary|last=Warwick|first=Jacqueline|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2017|isbn=9781351556750|___location=United Kingdom|pages=74|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> Considered to be Meg's [[signature song]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.moviefreak.com/artman/publish/bluray_hercules_1997.shtml |title=Hercules (1997) - Special Edition (Blu-ray) |last=Fetters |first=Sarah Michelle |date=August 12, 2014 |website=MovieFreak.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308071233/http://www.moviefreak.com/artman/publish/bluray_hercules_1997.shtml |archive-date=March 8, 2016 |access-date=March 6, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" explores the "misunderstood nature" of the character.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Maccani |first=Chelsea |date=Jun 5, 2017 |title=Underrated Disney Songs You Totally Forgot About |url=https://www.sweetyhigh.com/read/underrated-disney-songs-060517 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241208194030/https://www.sweetyhigh.com/read/underrated-disney-songs-060517 |archive-date=December 8, 2024 |access-date=September 13, 2018 |website=Sweety High}}</ref> Upon realizing she has in fact begun to develop feelings for Hercules, much to her chagrin, the song allows Meg to work through her denial,<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Weber |first=Lindsey |date=July 25, 2014 |title=Disney's Hercules Is an Underrated Masterpiece |url=http://www.vulture.com/2014/07/disneys-hercules-is-an-underrated-masterpiece.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190817071257/http://www.vulture.com/2014/07/disneys-hercules-is-an-underrated-masterpiece.html |archive-date=August 17, 2019 |access-date=March 3, 2016 |website=[[Vulture (magazine)|Vulture]]}}</ref> by "alternating between fantasizing about how delightful it would be to be loved by Herc, and stomping her foot in anger at the very thought".<ref name=":25">{{Cite web |last=Devotta |first=Sam |date=November 16, 2016 |title=(Un)Covered: I Won't Say (I'm in Love) |url=http://idobi.com/editorial/uncovered-i-wont-say-im-in-love/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250127150149/https://idobi.com/editorials/uncovered-i-wont-say-im-in-love/ |archive-date=January 27, 2025 |access-date=July 22, 2017 |website=[[idobi Radio]]}}</ref> Resembling an "admonishing" exchange between Meg and the Muses,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.bostonphoenix.com/archives/1997/documents/00442999.htm|title=Disney's Hercules is a heroic effort|last=Gantz|first=Jeffrey|date=June 26, 1997|website=[[Boston Phoenix]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151009130648/http://www.bostonphoenix.com/archives/1997/documents/00442999.htm|archive-date=October 9, 2015|access-date=March 2, 2016}}</ref> "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" is Meg's attempt to avoid the clichéd storylines of her predecessors as she berates herself for previous poor decision-making.<ref name=":23">{{Cite magazine|last=Weatherby|first=Taylor|date=March 15, 2017|title=Every Song From the Disney Renaissance (1989-'99), Ranked: Critics' Take|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/movies/7727697/disney-renaissance-songs-ranking-beauty-and-the-beast|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620055708/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/movies/7727697/disney-renaissance-songs-ranking-beauty-and-the-beast|archive-date=June 20, 2018|access-date=March 28, 2017|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]}}</ref><ref name=":36" /> The song takes place following Meg's date with Hercules, described by Alexandra Locke of ''[[Comic Book Resources]]'' as "an ode to her desire to protect herself against vulnerable feelings".<ref name=":45" /> After strolling through a Greek courtyard while performing the song with the Muses,<ref name=":23" /> the character's resistance finally proves futile and she ultimately relents,<ref name=":0" /> the Muses having "taunt[ed] her into honesty".<ref name=":26">{{Cite web|last1=Shoemaker|first1=Allison|last2=Suzanne-Meyer|first2=Dominick|date=March 15, 2017|title=Ranking: Every Disney Song From Worst to Best|url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2017/03/ranking-every-disney-song-from-worst-to-best/full-post/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180914022712/https://consequenceofsound.net/2017/03/ranking-every-disney-song-from-worst-to-best/full-post/|archive-date=September 14, 2018|access-date=September 13, 2018|website=[[Consequence of Sound]]}}</ref> "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" is also the only song in which the Muses duet with one of the film's main characters.<ref name=":21" /> During one scene, the Muses transform themselves into stone busts, which Amory Rose of ''[[Business Insider]]'' believes is a possible reference to ''[[The Haunted Mansion]]'' attraction at [[Disneyland]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rose |first=Amory |date=September 20, 2020 |title=27 hidden references and clever jokes in 'Hercules' you probably missed as a kid |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/hercules-clever-interesting-details-that-went-over-your-head#the-muses-recreate-a-scene-from-disneys-popular-haunted-mansion-ride-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430050543/https://www.businessinsider.com/hercules-clever-interesting-details-that-went-over-your-head#the-muses-recreate-a-scene-from-disneys-popular-haunted-mansion-ride-25 |archive-date=April 30, 2024 |access-date=February 7, 2025 |work=[[Business Insider]]}}</ref> Excerpts from "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" are also used in some of the film's score, one of the few songs to do this.<ref name=":32">{{Cite web |date=May 26, 1997 |title=Filmtracks: Hercules (Alan Menken) |url=https://www.filmtracks.com/titles/hercules.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230827110018/https://www.filmtracks.com/titles/hercules.html |archive-date=August 27, 2023 |access-date=May 3, 2021 |website=[[Filmtracks.com]]}}</ref>
[[Filmtracks.com]] described "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" as the film's "standard 'female song of longing'."<ref name=":32" /> According to Taylor Weatherby of ''Billboard'', the character "finally comes to a conclusion to which many a girl (or guy) can relate".<ref name=":23" /> Tracy Dye of [[Bustle (magazine)|''Bustle'']] described the scene: "Joined by The Muses, Meg attempts to vehemently deny her amour for Hercules",<ref name=":13">{{Cite web|last=Dye|first=Tracy|date=July 10, 2015|title=7 Reasons Meg From 'Hercules' Is The Most Underrated Disney Heroine Ever|url=http://www.bustle.com/articles/96508-7-reasons-meg-from-hercules-is-the-most-underrated-disney-heroine-ever|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180914061518/http://www.bustle.com/articles/96508-7-reasons-meg-from-hercules-is-the-most-underrated-disney-heroine-ever|archive-date=September 14, 2018|access-date=March 3, 2016|website=[[Bustle (magazine)|Bustle]]}}</ref> and Zahraa Schroeder of [[Smile 90.4FM]] described it as "Meg’s brain fighting her heart".<ref name=":39" /> Additionally, the musical number predicts that one of Hercules' most difficult challenges will be trying to change Meg's opinion of him.<ref name=":15">{{Cite web|url=http://opinionmoviegoer.blogspot.ca/2014/06/hercules-ron-clements-and-john-musker.html|title=Hercules (Ron Clements and John Musker, 1997) Review|date=June 6, 2014|website=Opinionated Movie-Goer|access-date=March 6, 2016}}</ref> Writing for ''[[The Daily Dot]]'', Aja Romano cited the song as Meg's [["I Want" song]],<ref name=":22">{{Cite web |last=Romano |first=Aja |date=December 11, 2015 |title=The definitive ranking of Disney 'Want Songs' |url=http://www.dailydot.com/fandom/ten-best-disney-want-songs/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240618165408/http://www.dailydot.com/fandom/ten-best-disney-want-songs/ |archive-date=June 18, 2024 |access-date=July 6, 2016 |website=[[The Daily Dot]]}}</ref> whereas ''[[USA Today]]''<nowiki/>'s Patrick Ryan labeled it as the film's [[11 o'clock number]].<ref name=":41" /> In addition to her conflicted feelings about Hercules, "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" also demonstrates Meg's independence.<ref name=":31">{{Cite web |last=Wilkinson |first=Matt |date=March 5, 2021 |title=Disney+: Every Song In Hercules, Ranked Worst To Best |url=https://screenrant.com/disney-hercules-songs-ranked-worst-to-best/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240507130139/https://screenrant.com/disney-hercules-songs-ranked-worst-to-best/ |archive-date=May 7, 2024 |access-date=April 27, 2021 |website=[[Screen Rant]]}}</ref>
| |||