The 40 best Disney songs of all time, ranked
From Snow White's "Someday My Prince Will Come" to Frozen's "Let It Go," magical melodies have been a Walt Disney trademark for nearly a century
Music Features Sebastian
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.
133 Comments
No “Feed the Birds” or “Oo-De-Lally”? I agree with the #1 but way too many recent songs on this list.
“Feed the Birds” is the movie’s emotional gut-punch. It’s the reprise when George Banks goes on his long walk to get fired. Idk. Maybe the listers steered away “downer” songs.
Maybe. But it was also one of Walt’s favorite songs. This is a quote from the Sherman Brothers: “On Fridays, after work, [Walt Disney would] often invite us into his office and we’d talk about things that were going on at the Studio. After a while, he’d wander to the north window, look out into the distance and just say, “Play it.” And Dick would wander over to the piano and play “Feed the Birds” for him. One time just as Dick was almost finished, under his breath, I heard Walt say, “Yep. That’s what it’s all about.””
Not a bad list. Glad to see “Let It Go” so high. You know it’s an iconic song when every popular song after it ushers a “i like this more than _____” in the youtube comments section. I would have loved to see ”A Goofy Movie” song represented too.
Once again, RIP Splash Mountain.
Between this and the list of the Best Disney characters yesterday, I have no choice but to assume AV Club is actively trying to erase “Tangled” from history.
I like Tangled, but when I think of the best Disney songs, its songs don’t pop into my mind right away. That said, “Mother Knows Best (Reprise)” is straight fire.
When Will My Life Begin is a BANGER
At Last I See the Light is gorgeous, especially with that beautiful accompanying animation (the floating lanterns on the water).
Your replies are so good I’m starring a few while I have time. I hope you get approved on AVClub soon. Cheers.
Many thanks!
You’re very welcome 🙂
I was working at a movie theater when Tangled came out. Circumstances being what they were, I was picking up trash during the Tangled end credits – frequently – and honestly, the end credit song was the best song in the movie. I could see how it had to be over the end credits, because the lyrics recapped the plot of the movie. It made me happy while picking up ruined popcorn bags.
Tangled had garbage songs.
Tangled, which is overall a pretty great film, is a weird musical. It always feels like they cut out 3 or 4 song in the back half of the movie. it starts out pretty strong, but after “I’ve Got a Dream” it kind of stops being a musical.“I See The Light” is really the only full song after that, and that feels a lot closer to a “You’ve Got A Friend In Me” montage kind of thing….well maybe 50/50 montage and musical number.
Wut.
Tale as old as time… “Beauty and the Beast” isn’t on this list, and I have some issues with that.
Only the best romantic ballad in musicals song by one of the greatest Broadway singers of the 20th century. Only just…
And who could forget the best rendition of it:
Let It Go is awful. It’s a song about an individual who decides to run away from the problems she created and eschew any notion of responsibility or morality. “No right, no wrong, no rules for me.” We’re supposed find this commendable? It also reinforces the notion that personal growth for girls involves putting on a slinky dress. Then her sister shows up and said individual…creates a monster to attack her sister. Awful.If Disney had allowed Elsa to be the villain she is, then maybe it could be a pretty good villain song. But they didn’t.Also, Be Prepared belongs in the Top 5 and it’s not even on the list.
Thank you for this. Something bothered me about Frozen the first time I saw it, and it took me rewatching it with my nieces a few weeks lager to realize that the writers accidentally made Elsa the villain of the movie without realizing it.
In development, the character was originally a villain as the story was (VERY loosely) based on a Hans Christian Anderson tale – the Snow Queen. There are other links to the original story which involves trolls (who were not kindly) and people’s hearts being frozen, but instead of freezing them, it causes them only to see the bad and ugly in people. (Interesting considering Anna saw only the good and beautiful in Hans.)
I’m pretty sure the writers knew exactly what they were doing with her villain arc, considering that she sings a song about it and then creates a literal monster out of snow before realizing how far she’d gone.
“the writers accidentally made Elsa the villain of the movie without realizing it.”They realized it. Even she says she is the villain. That’s the whole point.
It would take me more than a few weak lagers to get through Frozen twice.
I think you’re accidentally merging Elsa’s story (which you lay out nicely) with the message of the song. One of the themes of the film is the harm that comes from holding in who you really are – and Elsa’s poor reaction to the stress of coronation combined with her powers being revealed (and her sister being rash) is a part of that. The song celebrates embracing one’s true self, but then the second half of the film essentially drives home that one’s true self is not an excuse for abandoning one’s responsibilities. As in so many worthwhile stories, this one involves characters making mistakes even as they grow, which makes the eventual triumph all the more satisfying.After all, can you say that the film ever really celebrates Elsa’s running away? No – she screws up, and as with so many things in life balance is shown to be what we always need to keep in mind.
One of the things I like about Frozen is that Elsa isn’t a traditional villain (I wish they’d scuttled the whole Hans subplot). And that “true love” doesn’t have to be a romantic love.
I like the grey morality of “Let It Go”. She’s feeling empowered, but she’s become drunk with that power. I don’t know that we’re meant to side with her on it. It’s a character arc.Are we supposed to side with Scar on “Be Prepared”?
I think we’re not supposed to side with Elsa at this point. The song shows that she has understandable motives and very human frustrations, but she’s dealing with them in the wrong way. At this point, she’s set herself up as a bad guy and Anna is the hero on a quest to stop her. Heck, he whole reason why there are two sisters in the movie is because Elsa is the villain for most of the film! Hans is basically there so the sisters can reconcile at the end by kicking his ass together.
I like that one sister sacrificing herself for the other was true love. It’s the best part of the movie (and Olaf).My problem is that I don’t think the movie commits to Elsa’s representation as a villain. I see Let It Go as the prime example. Either way, the audience sure didn’t appear to see her as one. As noted in the blurb, the song is generally viewed as one of empowerment, not as one of a person drunk with power. And if the audience on the whole is misunderstanding a character, then I think that’s on the filmmakers.We’re definitely not supposed to be on Scar’s side. That’s clear from the movie. And the audience doesn’t appear to have any misunderstanding about it. At least not that I’ve seen.
Be Prepared definitely deserves top ten.But the biggest omission for me is Hakuna Matata! Everyone knows that song. Hell, I’d wager Hakuna Matata is the FIRST song that comes to mind for the vast majority of people who grew up in the 90’s. Lion King in general is rated entirely too low on this list. The Circle of Life, Be Prepared, Hakuna Matata, I Just Can’t Wait To Be King…
Let it Go’s not my favorite either, but it seems unfair to categorize it as running away from the problems she created. She was a child locked away in her room for most of her childhood, completely isolated from society, her family, and her parents died together in one fell swoop, and she has this crazy power that makes her terrified all the time. She snapped. It happens. Plus when she’s singing this song she doesn’t know what had happened back at Arendelle, so she’s not running away from that.Also, the “no right, no wrong, no rules for me” applies to her when she’s out in the wilderness. She’s saying she’s going to stay there where she can be what she is and not have to worry about hurting anyone. She obviously isn’t planning to go back to Arendelle and live above the law.Agree about “Be Prepared,” though. Easily the best song of that movie.
Sure. Many villains have tragic backstories. Perhaps I am misremembering (like Roger Clemens), but the reason she ran away was because she started freezing everything.Yes, the song is about herself – how she’s going to forget the past and has no boundaries and no rules. She doesn’t say she’s not going to hurt anyone. She says she’s going to test her limits. It’s fundamentally self-centered. Which is fine for a villain. But the movie doesn’t let her be the villain. And if the filmmakers wanted it to be a villain song, then I think they failed. Because kids (and adults) all over saw it as a rally cry.Right? I watched The Lion King the other day. Be Prepared is soooo good. Not just the lyrics and music, but the visuals are stunning. I can’t believe they cut it for the remake. That was inexplicable to me.
She knew she had frozen stuff right around her, which she assumed would melt now that she was gone. She didn’t realize she had started a permanent frozen winter; she didn’t find that out until Anna found her. As far as she knew, things would be better with her gone and the kingdom would be out of danger. Her whole life (since freezing her sister’s brain) she had believed, more or less correctly, that she was the danger and as long as she was gone the kingdom would be safe. She was “letting it go” because now she was isolated and alone, which she thought she wanted, and now she could stop being so careful because there was no one around to harm.“She doesn’t say she’s not going to hurt anyone. She says she’s going to test her limits. It’s fundamentally self-centered.”Yes, because she’s alone! There’s no one but herself to think about now. But she learns later in the movie that she does need other people and they need her. Let it Go is just one step in her journey. It’s not her entire ethos. The point is that she believes she’s the villain (the danger to Arandelle), but she’s not. That’s why the song “fails” as a villain song. Because she fails as a villain. Because she’s a good person and it wasn’t her fault what happened. I do agree that its message was misinterpreted by pretty much everyone, though.Do you have kids who made you watch Lion King II? It’s terrible, and there’s a song that the villain sings that tries to be Be Prepared and it’s so awful. Like, just give up.
Thank you!
The real villains are Elsa’s parents. A child accidentally hurts her sister, and as a result they take the route of locking her in her bedroom for 16 years.
You have a point in terms of the plot, but that doesn’t mean “Let it Go” isn’t an amazing song from the standpoint of music (although I know people with small children are sick of it because of how much their tykes like to play it or sing it)
Isn’t Let It Go a villain song, though? Elsa is definitely the antagonist at that point in the movie (this is before we find out Hans is the true villain) and there’s absolutely a sinister touch to how she sings “the cold never bothered me, anyway.” Isolated from its context, the song does sound like a triumphant anthem, but within the movie we see Elsa creating her bad guy castle and her mandatory evil queen dress. I think what makes the song so good is that it works perfectly well in both contexts; outside the movie it’s an empowering song encouraging women to let go of social expectations, but within the movie it shows Elsa taking that idea way too far. These dual themes (duality being a big theme in the movie in general) are part of what makes Let It Go a banger.
(Also if you’re gonna condemn Let It Go because the singer is being selfish, then it’s funny that you want to replace it with Be Prepared, a song where a megalomaniac plots to murder his brother. JK, they’re both good but Be Prepared is better.)
This is precisely my problem with “Hakuna Matata.” But just because a character says a thing, it doesn’t mean the movie or the filmmakers are advocating that message. In context of the film it’s pretty clear that “run[ning] away from the problems she created and eschew[ing] any notion of responsibility or morality” was a bad idea. Same for the lion cub, come to think of it.
Agreed on Let it Go. I disagree on Be Prepared, though. While I think it definitely should be on the list, I just kind think it’s not a very good song if you divorce it from the visuals, so I wouldn’t put it in the top 10, let alone 5, personally.
Where’s “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah?” “Poor Unfortunate Souls?” “Be Prepared?” “Prince Ali?” “Friends on the Other Side?” “You’re Welcome?”
The Princess and the Frog is probably my favorite full soundtrack from Disney. Aladdin is a close second, but hearing A Whole New World (especially the end credits one) just feels so 90’s, and not in a good way.
No “Villain” songs in general-(except “Cruella DeVil” and “Gaston” which aren’t even sung (much) by the villains in the song) “Hellfire”?, “Friends on the Other Side”? “Be Prepared”? “Poor Unfortunate Souls”? C’mon!!!
The villain songs are almost always the most entertaining ones, too. “Shiny” from Moana is a lot of fun, mainly because it lets Jemaine Clement do his David Bowie impression.
Love this song, but nearly every song in this movie kills, so I guess they had to pick one.
Beat me to it! LOOOVE this song.
Oh this is a good one.
“Poor Unfortunate Souls” is my favorite Disney song.
Friends on the Other Side blasts Down in New Orleans easily.
I think Zip-A-Dee has kind of been erased given what film it was from (although until recently when that was brought up I don’t think most people associated it with “Song of the South” because they haven’t seen it)
All great songs.
Every last person I know who has seen Encanto has agreed that “Surface Pressure” is a far superior song than “Bruno”.
I don’t remotely get how We Don’t Talk About Bruno became, apparently, an earworm. Nothing at all against the piece, which is a fine exposition song, but I didn’t find it musically gripping at all. Surface Pressure is also my favorite from that film, but there are multiple others I also thought were more catchy.
Because my kids and every kid in their classes all sang it. I’ll agree that it’s not the best song (even Miranda didn’t think it was going to be so big), but children love it like Baby Shark.
“Bruno” is maybe the third best song in that movie. My guess is that everyone attaches to it because of the chorus.
I don’t know that it’s superior, but it’s my favorite from the soundtrack. I think Bruno is a better, catchier song that is more important to the movie, but I have a lot of baggage that makes Surface Pressure my jam, so I assume only a certain type of person likes it better.
That’s actually a big part of what makes it better, imo. It’s relatable outside the movie whereas Bruno means next to nothing out of context. It’s still a catchy, well-constructed song, and show tunes don’t have to make sense on their own. But I think it’s another criterion.
Yeah that’s fair enough. I don’t mind it being on here because I love it and do think it’s a damn good song, but SP certainly does more heavy lifting emotionally, on top of also being a damn good song (with dancing donkeys!).Anyway, long story short, my daughter is home sick today so I’ma go make her watch this movie now. lol
I love Surface Pressure but the overlapping melodies/lyrics in Bruno are fucking brilliant
No argument. That’s Miranda for you. Very reminiscent of “Non-Stop”, the end of Act 1 of Hamilton.
In addition to missing “Beauty and the Beast” – “Be a Man” from Mulan , “I Won’t Say I’m in Love” from Hercules, and “Hell Fire” from Hunchback (actually, the entire score for Hunchback is by far my favorite of Disney).
Pre-Disney Pixar movies made it on previous lists, so, you know
“When She Loved Me” is so so good.
This list is actually pretty good. Limiting the number to 40, though, seems a little low, especially considering that many of their musical films contain multiple songs that could have made it. It could also have included some songs written or adapted specifically for the theme parks and TV shows if they allowed more than 40 entries. Grim Grinning Ghosts, anyone?Minor complaint, but in what world is “Baby of Mine” only “slightly melancholic”? Its probably the single most heart-breaking piece of music Disney has ever released. If I didn’t have more self control, I’d be a blubbering mess everytime I heard it.
Baby Mine is a fully destructive song. 🙁 I can’t even. One of my favorite Christmas ornaments is of the end scene where Jumbo is holding Dumbo after he flies into her arms on her train car. It makes me tear up just thinking about the special moment of their finally getting to be together. I, personally, do not have any self-control.
Damn it, now I think I have something in my eye, excuse me…
🙁
Baby Mine, You’ll Be In My Heart, and Aloha ʻOe will trigger the waterworks for me, every time.
This list has one glaring omission.
what are we even doing here any more, honestly
I know a few people that would have an issue with this list. Namely:
Abraham Delacey, Giuseppe Casey, and Thomas O’Malley.
Also, Bare Necessities is a better song than I Wanna Be Like You.
Song starts at 1:10
ZERO songs from Hunchback? List invalid.
Bells of Notre Dame and especially Hellfire are supremely good.
Absolutely – came here to say that ‘Bells of Notre Dame’ may be the best show opener of any Disney movie.
I’m happy to see often-ignored but great Disney songs on this list, like “Not in Nottingham” and “Candle on the Water”. But I’m surprised nothing from Tangled (“I See the Light” or “When Will My Life Begin?”), Hunchback of Notre Dame or Pocahontas made the list, as well as “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah”. Plus the other terrific songs from the Toy Story movies, “When She Loved Me” and “I Will Go Sailing No More”.
Pixar movies are amazing, When She Loved Me is perhaps the best sequence in any of their films, due in no small part to that song…
But Pixar songs don’t belong on this list, any more than Iron Man belongs on a list of the best Disney characters.
I’m pretty mystified that Be A Man didn’t even make this list. It brims with fun masculine bravado, in the same vein of Gaston (also a great song). More importantly, while in most situations these days a message like that would be taken as a sexist overshoot, in Mulan it serves a vital role of establishing the very expectations that the hero eventually bursts through. While as a society we want to move past gender stereotypes and discriminations, we know they existed in the past and we can’t celebrate what Mulan achieves without first establishing that norm.The song effectively drives home the heart of the film – all those things being touted in it (action, determination, strength, etc) that certainly are good in general are being assumed as inherently masculine, and of course when all is said and done we see that Mulan had them in spades…those are traits anyone can have and call on when circumstances call for it.Throw on top that the song is also musically fun as heck (and makes the personal top tens of many folks), and…well, there it is!P.S. Fun list, and it’s good to see older Disney eras and less famous films getting equal consideration!
No “Colors of the Wind”?! Or anything else from Pocahontas?
Yeah, “Colors of the Wind” is just an amazing powerful song by itself out of context from the film; in context, it’s beautifully animated ( actually, overall Pocohontas is generally a visually stunning piece of work). It also hints to some clever Sondhiem-ish wordplay.
And “Drums of War/Savages” is probably the closest Disney has ever come to doing a big, complex, “everybody on stage now” Big Broadway musical number. Granted, it’s not going to be a kid’s earworm that children will dance around to, but it’s a pretty great “Les Mis meets Tonight Quintent” from West Side Story anthem.
Not sure how these missed, much less aren’t in the top half-Hakuna MatataPart of Your WorldBe PreparedBibbidi Bobbidi BooBeauty and the Beast Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
How… HOW is Part of Your World or Under the Sea not on here, yet KISS THE GIRL is?
Under the sea is on the list (#9). You’ve must have missed it.
Yeah, I must have, that’s my bad.
But Poor Unfortunate Souls clearly should be up there, too. The Little Mermaid has a solid claim on MVP status here.
Anyone want to attempt a list of songs or instrumental music that could have/should have been here but weren’t? No? Well, here I go anyway, and I’m going to include a few examples that weren’t originally written for Disney but are either now closely associated with the company, or so well used that it almost seems like a Disney music now:Steamboat Bill, An Actor’s Life for Me, The Sorceror’s Apprentice, When I See an Elephant Fly, Casey Junior, The Three Caballeros, Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah, How Do You Do, Everbody’s Got a Laughin’ Place, The Ballad of Pecos Bill, Peter and the Wolf, The Merrily Song, The Headless Horseman, Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo, Alice in Wonderland (it’s become a jazz standard), Whale of a Tale, My Pretty Irish Girl, Once Upon a Dream, Higitus Figetus, Mickey Mouse Club March, The Ballad of Davy Crockett, Baroque Hoedown, A Pirate’s Life for Me, The Love Bug Theme, Grim Grinning Ghosts, There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, Its A Small Word After all, The Tiki Room, Part of Your World, Beauty and the Beast, Hacuna Matata, One Little Spark, Listen to the Land, Hellfire, Go the Distance, Two Worlds One Family, Hawaiian Rollercoaster, Look Through My Eyes, everything from The Princess and the Frog and Moana that already wasn’t on the list, Winnie the Pooh, I See the Light, Strange Things, I Will Go Sailing No More, If I Didn’t Have You, Married Life, The Spirit of Adventure, Real Gone, He’s a Pirate.
(stands, applauds)
“When I See an Elephant Fly.” I get that we are supposed to think the crows are racist, but I’m Black, so I’m allowed to love that song.
It feels like a song that could have been performed by Louis Jordan or Fats Waller.
Yeah, it would have made a great jazz song! And for the record I obviously do hate that they had a white man voicing at least one of the crows, and that his name was Jim Crow (wtf). But I like the song! 🙁
“When I See an Elephant Fly.” I get that we are supposed to think the
crows are racist, but I’m Black, so I’m allowed to love that song.
I’m white, and love that song even though I’m not allowed to. It’s all the goddamn Vaudeville-era puns – I laugh every time.
With the tone of the article’s intro, I thought we’d get a few more “Outside the Box” choices. For something like three decades, when you went to a park, “It’s a Small World After All” was pumping through the speakers once… maybe twice per hour. I didn’t mind it, personally, because I was a kid, and it’s a good kid’s song. Okay, maybe if it’s not on the list due to backlash from being overplayed, then there’s some logic. I guess.But I second “It’s a Small World After All”“The Ballad of Davy Crockett”“Mickey Mouse Club March”add: “My What a Happy Day” and “Fee-Fi-Foe-Fum” from Mickey and the Beanstalk.“Jolly Sailor Bold” interpolated with Hans Zimmer’s “Mermaids” theme.and this:
Part of Your World got robbed!
Which Part?
Hakuna Matata and Circle of Life is the first song that comes to mind when I think of Disney (and I think many millennials would agree). But my personal favorite would be the titular Angela Lansbury song from Beauty and the Beast.Also, shout out to Can You Feel The Love Tonight for sexualizing animated lions. While you all have been outraged at a 1-second same sex kiss in Lightyear, I’ve been fuming for 30 goddamn years at this blatant beastiality corrupting our youth.
I’m still not over the M&M’s and the pant-less Root Beer Bear!
Pink Elephants On Parade and He’s a Tramp are ranked higher than every song from Beauty and the Beast? I know lists are meant to be dumb, but this is a new level of dumbness
How is “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” only 27? Madness. “Surface Pressure” also deserves a spot. And what about “Dos Orugitos”? It was nominated for an Oscar, for crying out loud. The whole soundtrack should have been on here. Also “Baby Mine” should be higher for the tears alone. Also all the songs from Frozen 2 are better than “Let it Go.” I’d pick “Show Yourself.”
WHAT??? No « Part of Your World »???? I thought it would be in 2nd place but it’s that monkey song??? My day is ruined !
I had to read this list twice to make sure I was correct in noticing “Part of your world” isn’t in here. That’s a massive oversight.
Whaaaat. No Beauty and the Beast title song that Angela Lansbury did so beautifully and tenderly that I cannot imagine anyone topping? Or the Belle song, the perfect set up song you could ever guess for. Nonsense.
So we can be all Disney all the time, but a couple paragraphs on Lin Brehmer would be too much to ask for?
‘Heffalumps & Woozles’, yo!!!
100 slideshows of Disney.
Three Points: 1. Lists are silly2. regardless of the retrograde gender politics, I’d campaign for “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” to be a list like this. 3. You know, Disney bought the Muppets in 2004 so all of those great songs from the 2011 Muppets film *technically* qualify here….
Like, “Man or Muppet” won the Oscar, but “Life’s a Happy Song” probably belongs on here.
Along with so many other omissions already discussed (no “Be Prepared”? no Notre Dame or Tangled at all? seriously?), I do have to ask… “Colors of the Wind”…? I understand and agree that Pocohontas isn’t the best Disney film, and maybe there are other troubling aspects to it, but that song is pretty damn majestic.
I mean, fair play if there are 40 better songs — Disney’s catalog is super deep — but we apparently have time for frippery like “I’m Late,” so… (And while we’re here, we prefer that to “In a World of My Own” or “All in the Golden Afternoon”? Eh, if you say so…)
Wait a second… No Hunchback, or Hercules, or Tangled? But we have two (TWO) songs from Enchanted? Yikes… my number one will always be “Circle of Life”
How is “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid not included!? Not only is it one of the best Disney songs it’s one of the best “I want” songs in musical theater history!And nothing from Hunchback, Hercules, or Pocahontas!? For shame!
No love for the best song in Mulan:
No Zero to Hero means this list can fuck right off
Not a bad list, but some notable misses and overranks. First, Pink Elephants and He’s a Tramp are both travesties for the top 10. Pink Elephants is merely an oddity, and He’s a Tramp is fine, but hardly top 10. Certainly neither song should be pushing Bare Necessities out of the top ranks.Although just about anything from Mary Poppins is fantastic, Tuppence a Bag should make an appearance in this list. Like Not in Nottingham, it’s a melancholy turn in what is otherwise an exuberant soundtrack. Portobello Road from Bedknobs and Broomsticks should also be here. David Tomlinson was a mainstay for Disney in the 60s and 70s, and his talents are on display with the best song from this movie. If Robert Altman’s Popeye is considered a Disney movie (it was co-produced by Disney), then at least one of those tunes should get a spot.
I advocate for this every chance I get:Check out all the Nilsson Popeye DemosBonus:
Not a terrible list, but I feel like some of these are beat out by “Poor, Unfortunate Souls”, “Hakuna Matata”, and “Everybody Wants to Be a Cat”.
Gaston at 17? BE OUR GUEST at TEN? This is absurdity.
Be Prepared? Hellfire? There aren’t nearly enough Villain Songs on this list.
“Part of Your World” is not only missing, but should be #1 or at least near there. It is the ur-modern-Disney song. Also, entirely underrated, and always overlooked, is “Something There,” from Beauty and the Beast which – in stark contrast to Little Mermaid and other fairy tale stories – depicts the act of two people *falling* in love, in fits and starts, repudiating the false notes of “love at first sight” narratives.
How in the world is ‘You’re Welcome” or ‘Shiny’ left off of this list?
Well, I for one am totally appalled that the theme from Slumbered (“One Indescribable Instant”) was left off this list! I’m particularly fond of Lea Salonga’s rendition …
“You’ll Be In My Heart” is objectively terrible.And “Remember Me” needs to be about 20 rankings higher.
Really? Two songs from Enchanted and two songs from Pixar (which is Disney the same way Marvel and Star Wars are- should we included “Jedi Rocks” on this list*) but no “Once Upon A Dream” from Sleeping Beauty?
*No. The answer is no, we shouldn’t.
“Happy Working Song” isn’t that great. Couldn’t get why it was nominated for an Oscar. Other than “HaHA! it’s a spoof! She’s singing about toilets!”“How Do you Know?” is a great song – deserves to be on the list.
I’ll give you “How Do You Know”, which is just delightful. (“They know the song too?”). But the point remains– not having Once Upon a Dream on this list is pretty ridiculous.
Luke-warm take- Surface Pressure is way better than the overated We Don’t Talk About Bruno
Other commenters have said it but it bears repeating: Really, no Beauty and the Beast?!
Dont agree with this ranking (#1 is decent), but then any ranking of disney songs is going to be so subjective. Your age, which movies you watched the most as a kid (mary poppins, aladin, little mermaid, beauty and the best, anything earlier than the 90s too), whether you watch things with your kids or dont have kids. Let if go does nothing for me. I dont like randy newman, so friend in me does nothing for me. Meanwhile Aladin…i would have more songs in the list. The first disney movie i saw in theaters was a re release of Bambi, so April Showers will always be special to me.
All this time I thought it was “The Bear Necessities”.
I can’t believe “Feed the Birds” isn’t on this list. I also can’t believe “Kiss the Girl” isn’t higher up. Like, much higher.
Just, what the fuck.
For ‘some reason’ ‘’What made the red man red?’’, ‘’When I see an elephant fly’’, ‘’We are Siamese’’ and ‘’Everybody wants to be a cat’’ were excluded, but interestingly ‘’I wanna be like you’’ wasn’t. Hmmm….
“Remember Me” is devastating. It’s only rivalled by “When She Loved Me”.Now who the hell is cutting onions??
My Ding-a-Ling should have been a Disney song. Probably would have best fit in The Jungle Book somewhere.
Counter proposal ….scrap all those and replace the list woth ..the contents of the Tron soundtrack , the Tron Legacy Soundtrack , the remix album of said soundtrack …and that Mulan song about making a man out of the rrecruits.That was good.Oh and See my Vest , by Mr Burns from the Simpsons ..only technically Disney , but it’s a parody of that song from Beauty and the Beast , so it’s in.