Human Stuff Lyrics
Human Stuff
SCUTTLE(spoken): Wow - this is special...this very very unusual.ARIEL(spoken): What? What is it?
SCUTTLE(spoken): It's a dinglehopper!
ARIEL: A dinglehopper?
SCUTTLE: Oh these babies are fantabulous. Absolutely indispensary. When it comes to dingle hoppers I'm a regular
encyclopoodia!
Say thatcha wanna have a hairdo
Like the folds who live up there do
That'll flap their wigs!
GULL 1: Flop their wigs!
GULL 2: Flap!
GULL 3: Awwwk!
SCUTTLE: Well, you'll look absolutely dandy
If you use one of these handy
Little thingmajigs!
GULL 1: Thingmabobs.
GULL 2: Jigs!
GULL 1: Bobs!
GULL 3: Awwwk!
SCUTTLE: Pick up the dinglehopper, just like so
Twirl it the way I'm twirling now!
Give it a little yank, and there ya go!
You're what the call "the dog's meow"!
GULLS: Wonderful stuff!
GULL 3: Awwwk!
GULLS: That human stuff!
Can't get enough -
GULL 3: Awwwk!
GULLS: Of human stuff!
And we are the authority -
No need for us to bluff!
Because we're great and explanatin'
Human stuff!
ARIEL(spoken): (holds pipe) Whats that?
SCUTTLE(spoken): A snarfblatt!
ARIEL(spoken): Wow!
SCUTTLE: Back when the world was prehistorial
People sat as still as coral
Flat upon their bumps
GULL 1: On their runts!
GULL 2: Bunks!
GULL 3: Awwwk!
SCUTTLE: There they would be, not even thinkin'
Bored to death and barely blinkin'
Way down at the dumps
GULL 1: On the dumps!
GULL 2: At!
GULL 1: On!
GULL 3: Awwwk!
SCUTTLE: Then they invented snarfblatts, just by chance
Suddenly life was la-di-da!
Snarfblatts're what you use to make folks dance
Give it a blow, and then - voila!
GULLS: Wonderful stuff!
GULL 3: Awwwk!
GULLS: That human stuff!
If you're a buff -
GULL 3: Awwwk!
GULLS: Of human stuff!
GULL 1: It's marvable!
GULL 2: Stupendible!
SCUTTLE: Completely A-OJ!
Which sounds absurd, but take my word -
GULLS: That's what the humans say!
SCUTTLE&GULLS: Sensible stuff
That human stuff!
None of it fluff -
Not human stuff!
And heaven knows
Since we're the pros
From us, you'll get no guff
SCUTTLE: And once you've got a who's-ma-gig -
GULL 1: A thing-ma-what -
GULL 2: A watch-ma-gig -
SCUTTLE: That's all you need to bring you up to snuff!
GULLS: Right up to snuff!
With proper dinglehopper groomin'
Rest assured...you'll look real human!
SCUTTLE: We know, 'cause we know
Human stuff!
Song Overview
Song Credits
- Primary Artists: Original Broadway Cast of The Little Mermaid
- Featuring: Tituss Burgess (Sebastian) & Eddie Korbich (Scuttle)
- Writers: Alan Menken (music), Glenn Slater (lyrics)
- Producer: Alan Menken
- Album: The Little Mermaid (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
- Release Date: February 26, 2008
- Genre: Disney Broadway show-tune / Comic patter
- Length: 2 min 15 sec
- Label: Walt Disney Records
- Mood: Zany, educational-ish
- Language: English
- Instruments: Banjo, clarinet, slapstick percussion
- Copyrights © 2008 Walt Disney Records
Song Meaning and Annotations
Pitched halfway between vaudeville and bird-brained TED Talk, “Human Stuff” turns a seagull’s ignorance into Ariel’s encyclopedia. Scuttle presents a junk-drawer of seaside debris—dinglehoppers, snarfblatts, “who’s-ma-gigs”—and insists they’re high-society gizmos. The jaunty 6/8 bounce, peppered with squawks and rim-shots, mirrors his manic confidence.
Under the comedy, the song seeds a theme that powers the whole musical: curiosity. Ariel’s wide-eyed wonder meets Scuttle’s confident guesswork; the clash is funny, but it also shows how badly she wants to belong to the surface world. Every wrong definition nudges her one step closer to trading fins for feet.
Feathers, Forks & False Facts
Comic Alliteration – “Fantabulous… indispensary… encyclopoodia” builds Scuttle’s pseudo-scholar persona.Audience Call-and-Response – Gulls argue “flap!” “flop!” providing rhythmic punctures that keep kids giggling while parents clock the wordplay.
Misapplied Technology – Turning a smoking pipe into a “snarfblatt” lampoons human habits as senseless gadgets through a gull’s eyes.
Similar Songs
- “Positoovity” – The Little Mermaid Broadway Cast
Another Scuttle-led pep song that swaps fork facts for tap-dance optimism. Both numbers lean on avian slapstick and malapropisms. - “Friend Like Me” – Aladdin
Genie’s jazz-hand tutorial on wish fulfilment matches Scuttle’s show-off teacher vibe—big-band horns, lightning-fast rhymes, plenty of comedic breakaways. - “Les Poissons” – The Little Mermaid
Chef Louie’s culinary carnage mirrors Scuttle’s misinformation spree: cartoon violence, French-flavoured rhymes, and a lesson Ariel probably shouldn’t trust.
Questions and Answers
- Where does this song appear in the stage plot?
- Early in Act I—Ariel surfaces with Flounder, seeking Scuttle’s expertise on human artifacts.
- Was “Human Stuff” in the 1989 animated film?
- No. It was written specifically for the Broadway adaptation to expand Scuttle’s role and give Tituss Burgess (original Sebastian) a breather before “Under the Sea.”
- What’s a “dinglehopper” really?
- A common dinner fork—though Scuttle markets it as a hairbrush. Eight-year-olds still quote this in school cafeterias.
- How many bird calls are scripted?
- The score specifies at least nine distinct “Awwwk!” lines; productions often add more, timed to percussion hits.
- Did the Broadway cast improvise any lyrics?
- Eddie Korbich was encouraged to riff within Menken’s melody; some regional mounts insert local jokes while keeping core rhymes intact.
Fan and Media Reactions
“My kid now insists our salad forks are dinglehoppers—thanks, Broadway.” – Twitter parent @ForkFiasco
“Korbich’s ‘encyclopoodia’ might be the most delightful mispronunciation in the Disney canon.” – Playbill review
“Impossible to exit the theatre without miming a snarfblatt solo.” – Reddit user u/SeaFoamDreams
“The gull choreography is peak slapstick—tap shoes meet tail feathers.” – The New York Times theatre blog
“Scuttle proves that confidence beats accuracy every time; a useful life lesson?” – TikTok clip commentary