The 40 best Disney songs of all time, ranked

Music always played a pivotal role in the films of Walt Disney. “Steamboat Willie,” the short that introduced Mickey Mouse to the world in 1928, is impossible to imagine without Mickey whistling “Turkey In The Straw.” The studio’s first feature, Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, was designed as a musical, establishing a precedent that runs all the way through Encanto, the 2021 film whose “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” was a number one hit a year ago. Animated features weren’t the only Disney films to showcase music. Television shows, shorts, and live-action films were rife with melody, creating a rich body of work that has endured throughout the years, sometimes thriving outside the confines of the films, too. The breadth and depth of the Disney catalog can be heard in the following 40 songs—songs that have been at the center of pop culture for almost 100 years running.

As Disney celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, The A.V. Club marks the occasion with a series of lists, essays, and more.

40. Seize The Day (Newsies, 1992)

A flop upon its theatrical release in 1992, cultivated such a large cult following that it made its way to Broadway nearly two decades later. A stirring anthem arriving about halfway through the film, “Seize The Day” is a rallying call for the newspaper peddlers, inspiring them to rise up against the publishers. It’s a song that seems destined for the stage: a big, rousing number that showcases the ensemble.