Welcome back to another installment of Disney Month here on
Rhode Island Movie Corner, a month dedicated to honoring the best of the best
of Walt Disney Animation Studios in honor of the impending release of their 56th
animated feature, Moana. Previously,
I ranked the current members of the Disney Princess line and listed my Top 5 favorite Disney Protagonists and Sidekicks. And this week, it’s time to delve
into what is usually one of the most prominent parts of any Walt Disney Animation
film... the music. While there are some films like Atlantis: The Lost Empire and The
Rescuers Down Under that go without the use of soundtracks, most Disney
Animated films are well-known for their music. Whether it’s from legends like the
Sherman Brothers or Alan Menken, it’s hard to narrow down all the great Disney
songs to just your Top 10 favorites. But… that’s what I’ll be attempting today.
Now, to keep things fair, I’m limiting my choices to one song per film. Because
if I didn’t, this list would be dominated by most of the songs from one or two
films. With that said, though, I will be listing my ‘Runner-Up’ picks from each
film that I list here. Also, I will not be including songs that were primarily
featured in their film’s credits, so that disqualifies songs like ‘When Can I
See You Again’ by Owl City from Wreck-it
Ralph and ‘Immortals’ by Fall Out Boy from Big Hero 6 (Disclaimer: Even though the latter was used for a
montage scene in the film, it’s still primarily the end credits song hence why
I didn’t count it.) So, without
further ado, here are my Top 10 Favorite Disney songs.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Like I said, it was hard to narrow this list down to just 10
songs so I have quite a few honorable mentions. I’ll rattle them off quickly
here. First there’s the classic song from The
Jungle Book, ‘The Bare Necessities’, sung by Baloo as he teaches Mowgli
about the care-free lifestyle. And no, Screen Junkies, this isn’t the only
memorable song from the film. King Louie’s number, ‘I Wanna Be Like You’, is
just as iconic. Next up is ‘I See the Light’ from Tangled. Overall, this was a nice love song backed by the
gorgeously animated sequence that was Corona’s annual lantern ceremony. My runner-up
pick from this film is Rapunzel’s ‘I Want’ song, ‘When Will My Life Begin?’,
which she sings as she wishes to explore the world outside of her tower. And
speaking of this ‘genre’ of music, finally there’s the two main ‘I Want’ songs
from The Little Mermaid and Cinderella. The Little Mermaid’s ‘I Want’ song, ‘Part of Your World’, is
beautifully sung by Jodi Benson and is set to a terrifically animated sequence
in which Ariel expresses her desire to explore the human world. My runner-up
pick from this film is everyone’s favorite, the Calypso-inspired melody that is
‘Under the Sea’. As for Cinderella,
her big ‘I Want’ song is ‘A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes’, a soothing
melody buoyed by the performance of Ilene Woods in the title role of Cinderella
(Lily James also did a fantastic rendition of the song for the live-action
remake in 2015). For my runner-up pick of this film, that distinction goes to
the obvious choice of the Fairy Godmother’s upbeat melody ‘Bibbidi Bobbidi
Boo’.
10. WHY SHOULD I WORRY? (OLIVER
AND COMPANY)
While 1988’s Oliver
and Company may not exactly be the most beloved entry in the Disney canon,
especially considering that it’s sandwiched between two of the studio’s most
well-received efforts, it does have one major saving grace. And that is the
main song from the soundtrack, ‘Why Should I Worry?’. Sung by the legendary
Billy Joel, it’s probably the one thing that most people remember when they
think about Oliver and Company, and
sure enough, it’s very much the main highlight of the film. In the film, Joel
plays the charismatic street-dog Dodger, who in this sequence shows Oliver that
above all else, he’s got ‘street savoir-faire’. During this entire scene,
Oliver is trying to catch up with Dodger, who is carrying a bunch of hot dogs
that Oliver helped him steal from a vendor. The two end up in various
situations over the course of the sequence, including Oliver getting blasted
with water from a fire hydrant (thanks to Dodger) and Dodger playing a piano
with his tail as the piano is being lifted by a crane. Simply put, this was an
enthusiastically upbeat song that I listened to quite a lot as a kid thanks to
those old Disney Sing-Along VHS tapes (Ah, the good old days…). And as I stated
before in my 80’s Disney Retrospective, this was before I ever saw the actual
film. Sure, it’s probably a telltale sign of how the song ultimately became
more famous than the film itself but hey, who’s counting?
Runner-Up: Admittedly
the rest of the soundtrack for the film is just ‘ok’ at best. I mean, it’s
disappointing to note that the song performed by ‘The Divine Miss M’ herself,
Bette Midler, ‘Perfect Isn’t Easy’, is easily the weakest song in the film. But
another thing that this soundtrack has is a song by Huey Lewis which opens the
film; ‘Once Upon a Time in New York City’. Simply put, it’s Huey Lewis, the
same guy who brought us the classic songs from Back to the Future. But I also think that the song ‘Good Company’,
sung by Oliver’s new owner Jenny as she practices the piano, was a cute little
melody that showcased the growing friendship between the two of them.
9. BELLA NOTTE (LADY AND THE
TRAMP)
Call me crazy, but I consider the ‘Bella Notte’ sequence
from Lady and the Tramp to be one of
the best romantic film scenes of all-time. And keep in mind… we’re talking
about a scene that centers around a romance between two dogs. But it’s easily
the most famous scene from the film. After spending some time with the charming
stray Tramp, him and the house-owned cocker spaniel Lady head on over to an
Italian restaurant named Tony’s, which Tramp was shown to frequently visit
earlier in the film and was also shown to be on good terms with the owner, Tony.
And even though they’re just dogs, Tony has his assistant Joe prepare them a
plate of spaghetti and meatballs. As they eat, Tony and Joe serenade them, via
accordion and mandolin, respectively, with the romantic melody that is ‘Bella
Notte’. The film then transitions to Lady and Tramp in the park, during which the
song is then sung by a chorus for the remainder of the scene. And while George
Givot’s (the voice of Tony) take on the song is excellent, I kind of prefer it
when it’s sung by the chorus as it takes on a very soothing tone that I think
works quite well in this romantic context. Still, there’s no denying how iconic
this scene is, especially the part where Lady and Tramp both start to eat a
single strand of spaghetti and they end up sharing a kiss once their mouths
meet. It’s so famous that it’s been replicated in other forms of media, including
shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy. Not bad for a film that,
like Oliver and Company, is sandwiched in between two of
Disney’s most famous films.
Runner-Up: Okay, I
should probably lay out a disclaimer for this one. The other memorable song
from this film is ‘The Siamese Cat Song’. This plays during the scene where the
two Siamese cats of Aunt Sarah’s cause all sorts of trouble and Lady subsequently
gets blamed for it all. It’s a memorable scene for sure and I remember seeing
it all the time on those old ‘Disney Sing Along’ tapes. With that said, though…
um, this is one of those cases of early Disney where, from a modern
perspective, this scene may come off as being incredibly racist to some people.
But like with the natives from Peter Pan,
while I understand if people do see it that way, it doesn’t ‘really’ bother me
that much.
8. I’LL MAKE A MAN OUT OF YOU (MULAN)
Taking the Number 8 spot on this list is the stand-out
sequence from Disney’s highly underrated 1998 effort, Mulan. At this point in the film, Mulan has already enlisted in the
Chinese army under the assumed name of Ping. The scene starts off with the
soldiers on their first day of training under Captain Li Shang, who starts off
the song. Shang’s singing voice is provided by Donny Osmond, though it’s
interesting to note that in the Chinese versions of the film, the song was
performed by, believe it or not, Jackie Chan. Yes, THAT Jackie Chan. Anyway,
this leads to a fun training montage and the best part about it is that there’s
a clear arc to it. As it begins, it’s made clear that Mulan and the other
soldiers are severely lacking when it comes to combat experience. As such, the
sequence starts out with them struggling to complete their training exercises.
But then, as the scene progresses, they too start to get better and better. And
it’s all spurred by the best moment in the entire sequence. Going back for a
quick second, the sequence started off with Mulan and company being presented
with their first big training exercise; grab an arrow lodged in a tall wooden
log by climbing up to it, all while carrying heavy weights. Obviously, they all
fail at first (Shang: “We’ve got a long way to go…”). But when Mulan is told to
go home by Shang because she’s “unsuited for the rage of war”, she does succeed
in grabbing the arrow, finally managing to impress Shang and their comrades.
And so, as the song concludes, the soldiers are now shown to be mastering their
training, ending one of the best scenes in the entire film.
Runner-Up:
‘Reflection’, the beautiful solo sung by Mulan following the incident with the
Matchmaker as she laments about who she’s meant to be, just barely got beat out
by ‘I’ll Make a Man Out of You’.
7. YOU’LL BE IN MY HEART (TARZAN)
As I’ve stated before, it seems as if I’m in the minority
when it comes to liking the soundtrack from Disney Animation’s 1999 effort, Tarzan. From what I’ve seen online, some
people aren’t too big on the songs that were provided by Genesis front-man Phil
Collins. The main reason why, again going from what I’ve gathered online, is
that instead of the characters in the film singing the songs, they’re performed
by Collins himself. And at the very least, I do get that argument as it is a
bit of a weird spin on the usual proceedings of a ‘Disney musical’. However, I
think that on their own merit, Collins’ songs are really good. And even with
that said, I think that they also work fine in the film, too. At the very
least, they all match up to their respective scenes. And if I had to choose a
favorite, I’d go with the [admittedly] obvious choice of ‘You’ll Be in My
Heart’. This is one of the few instances in which a character in the film sings
the song, albeit partially. It’s first sung by Tarzan’s adoptive ape mother
Kala when he is an infant to calm him down. But after that, Collins takes over
and basically all the other songs in the film are just sung by him. Still, it’s
a great song that can be used as either a romantic song or a song of motherly
love depending on the situation. Thus, it earned the Oscar for Best Original Song
at that year’s ceremony. In fact, this was the last Disney animated film to do
so for more than a decade. Which song broke that drought? Well, let’s just say
that it’s coming up in a bit…
Runner-Up: Admittedly
it was rather hard to pick just one ‘runner-up’ from this soundtrack. Like I
said, I do like most of the songs in the film; ‘Strangers Like Me’, ‘Son of
Man’, etc. But I decided to go with the one that opens the film; ‘Two Worlds’.
And open the film it did… on a great note.
6. GASTON (BEAUTY AND THE BEAST)
You’ve probably noticed that I don’t have a lot of ‘villain
songs’ in this list. While I do recognize that many consider Disney’s ‘villain
songs’ to be some of the best songs to come out of their respective films, I’ll
admit that they’re usually not my favorite songs on a Disney film’s soundtrack.
For the record, though, that’s not to say that there haven’t been any great
Disney villain songs… because there have been. ‘Hellfire’ from Hunchback of Note Dame, ‘Be Prepared’
from Lion King, ‘Friends on the Other
Side’ from Princess and the Frog, the
list goes on and on. But I’ll admit that I lean more towards the songs
performed by the main characters or sidekicks. I guess it’s because I just
prefer heroes over villains in general. But, anyway, if I had to choose my
favorite Disney ‘villain song’, it would have to be the one named after its
main subject, ‘Gaston’ from Beauty and
the Beast. The scene starts out with Gaston sulking at the local tavern
after being “Dismissed! Rejected! Publicly humiliated!” by Belle when he tried
to propose to her. His lackey LeFou manages to cheer him up by reminding him of
the fact that he’s the town hero and that everyone loves him. What follows is
an extremely catchy tune in which Gaston lists all his accomplishments in life,
like how he’s grown to ‘roughly the size of a barge’ (because he always eats
five dozen eggs every morning) or how no one can beat him in a spitting
competition. It perfectly captures the smug egotism of Gaston with the running
theme of “No one (insert verb here) like Gaston”, a line that I know many of us
have quoted in Gaston’s manly voice. In short, this is just a fun ‘squad’ song
that highlights one of Disney’s best villains. What’s not to love?
Runner-Up(s): Ok I’m
kind of cheating here because I have two other songs from Beauty and the Beast in the runner-up spot instead of one. The
first is probably the most famous from the film, ‘Be Our Guest’, the literal
personification of dinner and a show. But the title song ‘Beauty and the Beast’
is great as well, matched perfectly with the film’s beautifully animated
sequence of Belle and Beast’s first dance.
5. LET IT GO (FROZEN)
Yeah, yeah, I know… some of you are tired of hearing this
song being brought up all the damn time. It’s been covered so many times on
YouTube that it’s practically become its own sub-genre on that site. But with
that said, it’s hard to deny the impact that this song has had on pop culture.
Just like how the song serves as Elsa’s anthem of liberation in the film, it’s
undoubtedly served the same purpose for many others. And of course, it was one
of the major factors into reworking Elsa as one of the main protagonists
instead of being the main villain. Frozen’s
music was created by the duo of Robert and Kristen-Andersen Lopez, who also did
the music for Disney 2011’s release, Winnie
the Pooh (the latter even voiced Kanga). Back when Elsa was still set to be
the villain, the two began to develop a song that was more about her inner
struggles instead of just being her ‘badass song’. No joke, that was the
literal note that they got from the filmmakers. And while it ultimately meant
that director/co-writer Jennifer Lee had to re-write the whole film to
accommodate this change, we all know that it was for the best. The song is
great and is set to one of the best sequences of the entire film in which Elsa
rids herself of her former demons (e.g. shedding the gloves that were used to
conceal her icy powers) and builds her ice palace, away from those who’d fear
her. And of course, it’s all backed by the phenomenal performance by the vocal
powerhouse that is Idina Menzel (or ‘Adele Dazeem’ if you’re John Travolta).
And that is why ‘Let it Go’ won Best Original Song at that year’s Oscars,
making Frozen the first Disney
animated film to win that award since Tarzan
which, fittingly enough, was also directed by Frozen’s co-director, Chris Buck. Sure, some might find it to have
been ‘played out’ at this point but it’s still undeniably the most iconic
element of the global phenomenon that is Frozen.
Runner-Up(s): Once
again, I have two ‘runner-up’ picks from this film. The first is the other one
that everyone loves, Do You Want to Build
a Snowman. It’s a song that details Anna’s attempts to reconnect with Elsa
over the years, starting off in the cutest way possible before ending on a
somber note and hitting us in the feels as the result of it ending with the
death of Anna and Elsa’s parents. Would you believe that this song was almost
cut? Thank god they kept it in, right? The other song that I like is ‘For the
First Time in Forever’, which is a duet involving Anna and Elsa but mostly
focuses on Anna as she finally gets the opportunity to leave the castle grounds
because of Elsa’s Coronation Day. This song was then reprised later in the film
when Anna tries to reason with Elsa in her ice palace. This version gradually
crescendos before ending with Elsa accidentally striking Anna’s heart with her
icy powers.
4. HAKUNA MATATA (THE LION KING)
It was hard to pick just one song from The Lion King, which has probably my favorite Disney soundtrack of
all-time. I love all the songs that came courtesy of the legendary Elton John
and lyricist Tim Rice, the latter of whom also worked on the soundtracks of Aladdin and the Broadway adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. ‘I Just Can’t Wait
to Be King’, ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight?’, ‘Circle of Life’, etc. It was
hard to narrow it down to just one. But I went with the [again, admittedly]
obvious choice of ‘Hakuna Matata’. Going off what I was talking about last
week, this song, sung by the duo of Timon and Pumbaa, helps liven the mood
after the devastating loss of Mufasa. After finding Simba out on the desert all
alone, they let him stay with them as Simba begins to learn about their
carefree lifestyle and how he should ‘put his past behind him’ by adhering to
their motto and “problem-free philosophy”, ‘Hakuna Matata’, which means ‘no
worries’. And while Simba does wise up after a while and embraces his destiny
as the rightful king of Pride Rock, this is still a classic song that is easily
one of the best moments in the entire film. Pumbaa gets a hilarious ‘flashback’
in which other animals are shown to be turned off by his constant flatulence,
Simba gets a ‘crash course’ in regards to Timon and Pumbaa’s ‘bug diet’, and
even ends up becoming an adult as the result of him spending many years with
his two new friends. Really, there’s not much else that I can say about ‘Hakuna
Matata’ that hasn’t been said before by others. It’s just a classic, laid-back
tune from one of my favorite films.
Runner-Up(s): Simply
put, given what I said before, let’s just put the rest of the film’s soundtrack
as my ‘runner-up’ pick, ok?
3. WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR (PINOCCHIO)
What more can be said about this song that hasn’t already
been said? This is practically the anthem of Disney. It’s used during the
opening logos of most of Disney’s film output. The first seven notes of the song
are used as the horn signal whenever the Disney Cruise Line leaves port. In
other words, this is arguably the most famous Disney song of all-time. And
rightfully so as it’s a terrific tune sung excellently by Cliff Edwards, the
original voice of Jiminy Cricket, during the opening credits. But as I noted
before in my 30’s/40’s Disney Retrospective, it seems as if there’s a bit of
controversy surrounding this song. This controversy stems from the supposed
message that this song implies. The implication that all that kids need to do
is wish upon a star to make their dreams come true. But like I said in the
retrospective, I don’t think the song is literally telling people to do that.
It’s just a heartwarming melody that correlates well with the plot-line in Pinocchio in which Geppetto wishes on a
star for his wooden puppet Pinocchio to be a real boy. But at the very least, I
think Disney is aware of this controversy. 2009’s The Princess and the Frog opened with a reference to this song but
then went in a totally different direction by having Tiana’s father tell her
that one has to work hard for their dreams to come true. Still, it’s hard not
to love the classic tune that is very much, 100%, utterly, undoubtedly, in
every respect… Disney.
Runner-Up: Easily the
other classic tune from this film is ‘I’ve Got No Strings’. It’s set to an
entertaining sequence in which Pinocchio performs for Stromboli in his
traveling puppet show. But for you Marvel fans out there, like myself, you’ll
remember the sinister version that was used in the trailers for Avengers: Age of Ultron, a fitting
connection seeing how Ultron was basically the dark personification of
Pinocchio.
2. A FRIEND LIKE ME (ALADDIN)
Last week, I listed Robin Williams’ unforgettable character
from Aladdin, the Genie, as my #1 favorite
Disney sidekick. In fact, he’s quite possibly my favorite Disney character,
period. And, sure enough, his big musical number, ‘A Friend Like Me’, ends up
being my favorite tune from the film. It’s all set to an excellently animated
sequence in which the Genie, freed from the confines of the magic lamp, shows
Aladdin the true extent of his powers. Originally, the piece was done in the
style of legendary scatman/bandleader Cab Calloway. But once Robin Williams was
cast, the song was reworked to match the Genie’s new wise-cracking,
anachronistically pop-culture spouting characterization... and probably to
better fit Williams’ musical abilities, also. And, sure enough, it all comes
together nicely. Williams does an excellent job performing the song and the
animation in this sequence is flashy and colorful throughout. There’s even some
traces of Aladdin’s original design, when he looked more like Michael J. Fox
instead of Tom Cruise, left in at this part because this was one of the first
scenes of the film to be animated. But ultimately, the key to this scene is
that it does its job at showcasing just what the Genie can do, effectively
making this one of the studio’s most creative animated sequences ever. Highlights
include the time that he tap-dances with his two hands and the big
show-stopping finale that includes dancing camels, dancing elephants, you name
it, it’s probably there. What more can be said but...
Runner-Up(s): Like Lion King, this is another instance in
which I’m going to put the remaining soundtrack of the film in the runner-up
spot instead of just picking one song. Because Aladdin had an equally fantastic soundtrack outside of ‘Friend Like
Me’. ‘Arabian Nights’ does a great job of setting up the atmosphere of Agrabah.
‘One Jump Ahead’ is a fun tune set to Aladdin’s efforts to escape the Palace
Guards. ‘Prince Ali’ is another memorable showtune, again sung by Robin
Williams, to help introduce Aladdin’s new persona. And of course, who can
forget the film’s big love song, ‘A Whole New World’, sung by Aladdin and
Jasmine as they rode the Magic Carpet. But there was one other song from the
soundtrack that sadly never made it into the film. ‘Proud of Your Boy’ was
written by the late Howard Ashman, sung by Aladdin as he laments about the fact
that he’s constantly been a disappointment in his mother’s eyes due to his
troubling ways. His mother was originally in the film but ended up getting cut.
And so, even though it no doubt must’ve hurt Ashman’s collaborative partner
Alan Menken to do so, the song was cut as well. It did, however, come back in
the Broadway musical adaptation.
1. GO THE DISTANCE (HERCULES)
For my number one favorite Disney song, I decided to go with
Hercules’ ‘I Want’ song from, well, Hercules;
‘Go the Distance’. The song symbolizes Hercules’ struggles to fit in with the
human world, unaware that he’s the son of the gods Zeus and Hera and was taken
from his home in Mount Olympus when he was a baby. The song starts off with him
basically praying to the Gods to help him find his place in life before taking
a brief break as Hercules learns about the necklace, which has the symbol of
the gods on it, that he was wearing when his adoptive parents, Amphitryon and
Alcmene, first found him. As he heads off on a journey to the temple of Zeus,
the song starts up again in a much more rousing iteration compared to the
slower but very much hopeful tone of the first verse. And finally, it is
reprised once more as Hercules heads off on his quest to become a ‘true hero’
and return to the world of the gods. The reason why I love this song so much is
because it truly is an inspiring anthem. Obviously, none of us are a Greek
demigod like Hercules but away from the context of the film, this song’s inspirational
feel can be uplifting and inspire people to never give up and achieve their
dreams no matter the circumstance. In other words, this is basically just like
‘Let it Go’ but was done 16 years before that song was ever conceived. Just
imagine playing this song while working out at the gym or doing some similar
activity; it does motivate you. Sure, it may not exactly be a ‘classic’ like
‘When You Wish Upon a Star’ but it’s still a great song because of its ability
to inspire. And that is why it’s my favorite Disney song to date.
Runner-Up: This was
another instance where I do like most of the songs from the film’s soundtrack;
‘The Gospel Truth’, ‘One Last Hope’, ‘I Won’t Say I’m in Love’, etc. But if I
had to choose just one for my runner-up pick, it’d probably be the montage song
‘Zero to Hero’, sung by the Fates as they recount Hercules’ rise in popularity.
Simply put, it’s catchy, upbeat, and the animation is, like many great Disney
animated sequences, flashy and colorful.
And those are my Top
10 favorite Disney songs. Obviously, there are a lot of other great Disney
songs that I didn’t cover here. Like I said, it was hard to narrow this down to
just a Top 10. So, be sure to sound off in the comments below about your
personal favorites, especially if they’re ones that I didn’t mention here. Next
week, Disney Month concludes with what is easily the biggest list of them all.
A complete rankings list of the 55 animated features that Walt Disney Animation
Studios has produced up to this point, from Snow
White to Zootopia.
