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With Jon Favreau’s live-action-ish remake of The Lion King out later this week, we decided to rank the 40 best musical numbers ever from animated films put out by Disney. Before you ask, no, Pixar films were not included.
40. “A Guy Like You,” The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Analis Bailey: Quasimodo is a lonely character who simply wants to be loved, but all he has are the creepy gargoyles who lead this song. Quasi wants to be noticed by Esmeralda, the woman with whom he has fallen in love, and as he looks out over the burning city of Paris, he wonders whether she is safe. The gargoyles use this opportunity to serenade him into thinking that wherever she is, she is thinking about him and totally digs him. The gargoyles take all of Quasimodo’s imperfections and insecurities and turn them into desirable features. Instead of calling him ugly, they refer to him as “one-of-a-kind.” The song, in true Disney fashion, moves through three different key changes and several different beats, all the while making you feel like the gargoyles are your personal cheer squad. Their spins aren’t exactly convincing, but they get an A for effort.
39. “Love,” Robin Hood
Rob Harvilla: With apologies to Mean Streets, Serpico, The Sting, or The Long Goodbye, Robin Hood was the coolest movie of 1973, a suave ramble through Sherwood Forest soundtracked by the likes of profound-goofball country deity Roger Miller and the gorgeous guitar-and-orchestra torch song “Love,” which scored a Best Song nomination at the ’74 Oscars. (It lost to “The Way We Were.”) Written by Disney music guru George Bruns and Floyd Huddleston and sung by Nancy Adams, it’s a breathy bit of romantic melancholia that Lana Del Rey really ought to cover this instant: “Once we watched a lazy world go by / Now the days seem to fly / Life is brief, but when it’s gone / Love goes on and on.” Indeed, in 2009, “Love” made the soundtrack to Wes Anderson’s The Fantastic Mr. Fox, if you need further indication of the song’s enduring gorgeousness, which, of course, you don’t.
38. “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” The Little Mermaid
Micah Peters: We never really get Ursula’s backstory in The Little Mermaid. Instead we get a thin-sliced version of her worldview in song, which is a million times better. “Poor Unfortunate Souls” is great—first because it slaps, second because it’s a song in a children’s movie about how avarice is diseased, as demonstrated by a big, shaky baritone and pink wisps of smoke that occasionally take the shape of men who want to be taller and buffer, and women who want to be slimmer, more stylish, and more beautiful. The point is that all of this wanting will either kill you or consign you to a fate worse than death, which, again, is metal for a children’s movie.
37. “Out There,” The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Michael Baumann: This is just great musical songwriting—in fact, if anything, it’s a little overambitious for a children’s movie, with its countermelodies, key changes, and Tom Hulce’s piercing upper-register tenor. This isn’t a song to sing along to, it’s a song to sit and be moved by. That’s in keeping with Hunchback’s weird, dark, and sinister tone, which never really sat right when I saw this movie as a fourth-grader. Maybe it’s time for a re-examination of this forgotten oddity of Disney’s Golden Age, because “Out There,” at least, is as stirring as any Disney musical set piece.
36. “I Won’t Say (I’m in Love),” Hercules
Kate Knibbs: Female characters tend to be fully good or fully bad in Disney movies—a Maleficent or a Sleeping Beauty, if you will—but Meg is a little harder to neatly categorize, as she’s a good person with an attitude problem who makes some bad choices. She would be the only Disney princess with a shitty ex-boyfriend, except she’s not an official Disney princess—and perhaps that’s for the best, because she’s also the female Disney character who seems like she’d care the least about the distinction. “I Won’t Say (I’m in Love)” is, like its singer, a refreshing change of pace for Disney. It’s a love song from someone who doesn’t want to be in love, who knows enough to assume things aren’t going to work out. Meg doesn’t trust men and barely trusts herself—it might mean she’s not a Disney Princess, but it makes her a relatable queen.
35. “Two Worlds,” Tarzan
Andrew Gruttadaro: Opening songs are a tradition in Disney canon (“Circle of Life,” “Fathoms Below,” etc.), and while “Two Worlds” isn’t the best of them—nor is Tarzan the best of animated Disney films—it certainly gets the job done. Mostly, its value is in signifying that Phil Collins is about to get weird and (successfully) score an entire movie; but it also provides a saccharine mood for a low-key traumatic prologue in which a baby gorilla gets EATEN BY A TIGER!
34. “That’s What Friends Are For (The Vulture Song),” The Jungle Book
Harvilla: At a particularly low point in 1967’s The Jungle Book, when our hero Mowgli is at his mopiest, here come the vultures, a quartet of explicitly Beatlesque moptops (voiced by J. Pat O’Malley, Digby Wolfe, Lord Tim Hudson, and Chad Stuart) who regale our hero with a sweet and only slightly menacing barbershop-quartet showstopper: “We’re friends with every creature comin’ down the pike / In fact we’ve never met an animal we didn’t like.” Disney, in fact, tried to get the actual Beatles for the gig, but ran into scheduling conflicts, or maybe John Lennon just pitched a fit. As a consolation prize, the evil tiger Shere Khan drops by to drop an unbelievable low note. Don’t even try to sing this at home.
33. “Something There,” Beauty and the Beast
Ben Lindbergh: “Something There” isn’t selling a, well, Disneyfied version of romance. This is a song about a slow-growing relationship in which fright at first sight slowly turns to affection as Belle starts to see past the “coarse and unrefined” manner the Beast has built up to shield himself from rejection. This isn’t a relationship based on bold gestures or infatuation. It’s a bond that comes from questioning first impressions, staying open to another person’s positive qualities, and gradually perceiving “something there that wasn’t there before.”
The only song performed by the Beast—thanks to a suggestion by Belle actress Paige O’Hara—“Something There” was a late replacement for the longer “Human Again,” a song that was scrapped from the original Beauty and the Beast but brought back in subsequent versions. Although this is a duet, Belle and the Beast aren’t singing to or with each other. Technically, they aren’t singing at all; the whole number proceeds via inner monologue, reflecting the unlikely lovebirds’ reluctance to reveal what they’re feeling. The simple “Something There” isn’t the most dramatic or memorable song from Beauty and the Beast, but it may be the most pivotal; in a little more than two minutes, it captures the characters’ growth and makes the movie’s conclusion convincing.
32. “The Gospel Truth,” Hercules
Knibbs: The movie Hercules is a mess, which sucks because it has the best opening of any Disney movie, combining a surprisingly detailed overview of basic Greek mythology with a really catchy gospel tune from composer Alan Menken and playful animation (with a nice lead-in from Charlton Heston’s narrator). “The Gospel Truth” is a full bop and accomplishes a remarkable amount of world-building in a few minutes. Lillias White, who sings as Calliope, one of the main Muses, has had a long career in New York theater and cabaret, and I cannot imagine anyone I’d like to sing-narrate my life story more.
31. “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” Frozen
Gruttadaro: Also known as the less iconic, less annoying song from Frozen, “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” is part of an elite group of Disney songs: The Ones That Play While Horrible Shit Is Going On. (Also in this group: “Two Worlds” from Tarzan, and whatever song the orchestra is playing when Bambi’s mom gets hunted.) It is the song that’s playing as we see Anna and Elsa’s parents die in a shipwreck, so, you know, good vibes all around. But I like it because it evokes childhood in a sweet but sad kind of way, as you recall both the joy of only caring about playing in the snow and the loneliness of sometimes not having anyone to play in the snow with. Overall, it’s a much more layered song than that other one.
30. “Go the Distance,” Hercules
Zach Kram: One of my favorite computer games as a kid was the Hercules edition of Disney’s Animated Storybook, a point-and-click adventure with various “save the world” mini-games. You’d play as the titular hero and sever the Hydra’s heads, prevent the Titans from toppling Olympus, and so on. To the side of these games was a music station where you could listen—and sing along, if you were so inclined—to a few of the soundtrack’s offerings. At that age, nothing quite beats listening to a personalized pump-up jam before going the distance to send Hades back to the Underworld. Hercules’s soundtrack is perhaps best remembered for the Muses’ music, but the ballads from Herc and Megara are the actual best part; the fact that “I Won’t Say (I’m in Love)” isn’t in the top 10 is a striking indictment of my colleagues’ judgment.
29. “Reflection,” Mulan
Lindsay Zoladz: Not many of us can relate to the experience of going undercover to battle against a vicious emperor, but who hasn’t been here: “When will my reflection show who I am inside?” “Reflection” cuts to the core of what it feels like to be Mulan, but it also speaks to anyone who’s ever felt like they’ve had to hide their authentic self in order to be accepted: “Now I see if I wear a mask I can fool the world / But I cannot fool my heart.” The actress and singer Lea Salonga brings a beautiful pathos to the version in the movie, but I’ll always be partial to the 1998 version performed by a then-little-known recording artist named Christina Aguilera. I guess the person she was inside was just longing to wear these pants.
28. “One Jump Ahead,” Aladdin
Alison Herman: This song is our introduction to Aladdin, Charming Rapscallion, which is crucial for maintaining our loyalty once he magically transforms into Aladdin, Filthy Rich Prince. This teenager may be stealing from the honest merchants of Agrabah, but he’s doing it with a smirk apologetic enough that you can’t help but root for him. The song accelerates in lockstep with a chase scene through the city streets, introducing us to the shops, cops, and, uh, courtesans of Aladdin’s home. (We don’t actually see them at work, because this is a Disney movie, but we do see another woman declare Aladdin “rather tasty.” Risqué!) Our hero ultimately outwits his pursuers, not that he takes too much pleasure in it. Gotta eat to live; gotta steal to eat. Otherwise, they’d get along—and not end up in a steaming pile of manure.
27. “Be Prepared,” The Lion King
Gruttadaro: “Be Prepared” is perhaps the most immediate proof we have that Scar is just a messy bitch who loves drama. As he saunters around in the shadows—while green fog shoots from the ground, highlighting his cheekbones, which he’s all too proud of—Scar vamps it up and explains his plot to assassinate his brother. I mean, look at this lion:
Take approximately six sips of water, Scar.
Scar ruins the Pride Lands immediately (the Disney version of Golden State blowing a 3-1 lead); “Be Prepared” is his arch thesis statement; and also a banger; and also just good advice for anyone about to take a test, do a presentation, or attempt to usurp a ubiquitously popular king.
26. “Zero to Hero,” Hercules
Baumann: Exposition never banged so hard. On one level, “Zero to Hero” is a clever sendup of the celebrity athlete, as exemplified by Michael Jordan in the mid-’90s. But on another level, the line “Who put the ‘glad’ in ‘gladiator’?” is a lyrical masterstroke that ought to inspire myths and legends of its own.
25. “Just Around the Riverbend,” Pocahontas
Megan Schuster: This isn’t my favorite song from Pocahontas (that would be no. 17, “Colors of the Wind”) but it’s equally full of adventure and a message to better appreciate nature—which is a very relevant theme in 2019! It ends in a heavy-handed metaphor about choosing the path (or in this case, river offshoot) less traveled, but Disney is rarely subtle about what it’s trying to get across. Regardless, the song is an uplifting reminder that change can be a good thing—as long as you come at it with the right attitude.
24. “Heigh-Ho,” Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Harvilla: It works for miners, it works for Disney animators, it works for Uber drivers, it works for bloggers: “Heigh-Ho,” the musical crown jewel of 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, is a working stiff’s anthem, jolly and determined, a reminder that there’s a job to be done but it’s 5 o’clock somewhere. Composed by Frank Churchill with lyrics by Larry Morey—and sung by Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Bashful, Sneezy, Dopey, and Doc (name a more iconic septet)—it’s the father of them all, as ubiquitous Disney anthems go, a plucky ode to pride and determination and branding and cultural ubiquity. Tom Waits loved it. Brian Wilson loved it. Los Lobos loved it. The Simpsons loved it. Because everyone knows that everyone has a job to do.
23. “Belle,” Beauty and the Beast
Charlotte Goddu: Before Beauty and the Beast dives into the therianthropy and kidnapping that make up the majority of its plot, this song lays a foundation by communicating the key elements of Belle’s character: She likes to read and she is very pretty. It’s a shame, though, that the entire rest of the movie ignores her actual most impressive quality: the ability to simultaneously read and walk. That, nose firmly stuck in a book, the woman manages to wander through the bustling center of her French town without being decapitated by a baguette remains, to me, the most fantastical element of a movie that features a talking candelabra.
22. “A Girl Worth Fighting For,” Mulan
Riley McAtee: In the 21 years since Mulan was released, this song has grown some mold in spots. “You can guess what we have missed the most since we went off to war” doesn’t ring as innocently in 2019 as the writers may have intended, and “in victory, they’ll line up at the door” just feels gross. Mushu even throws in a cringe-inducing catcall at one point. It’s almost the Disney version of “locker room talk,” a PG way for weary soldiers to share their sexual conquests. Mulan—who of course doesn’t really have “a girl worth fighting for”—tries to push back against her meathead companions, but her interjection (“How ’bout a girl who has a brain, who always speaks her mind?”) doesn’t really land with them.
But that’s just one perspective on “A Girl Worth Fighting For.” As the troops trudge through the countryside, we see what it is they’re really fighting for: the thunderous hills, gentle rivers, and quiet farmers of feudal China at peace. There’s something beautiful here worth protecting, and that is made clear by the abrupt end to the song, when the soldiers stumble upon a destroyed village. This juxtaposition is made all the more powerful by what happens seconds after the song ends, and Mulan finds a doll in the still-burning wreckage. Mulan finally knows which girls she’s fighting for.
21. “I Wan’na Be Like You (The Monkey Song),” The Jungle Book
Gruttadaro: Louis Prima scatting in a Disney movie? Sign me up. The Jungle Book has maybe the most relistenable songs out of any animated Disney film, and “I Wan’na Be Like You” (why is the apostrophe in there? No idea!) is a highlight, a song that turns the jungle into a New Orleans bar circa 1934. Written by the Sherman brothers, the guys you can thank for “It’s a Small World (After All),” it’s a truly good song even outside of its Disney confines. “I Wan’na Be Like You” is one of the best offerings from Disney, early proof that the best way to make a good children’s movie song is to just make a good song, period.
20. “Let It Go,” Frozen
Schuster: Idina Menzel, blast my body into atoms using the sonic boom of your vocal cords! Seriously, “Let It Go” is a jam, but it would be about a quarter as impactful without Menzel’s range and the absolutely pummeling power of her voice. (I should note that I am a capital-S Sucker for a good key change, and, boy, does this song have one—along with a spectacular outfit swap from Elsa.) This song became such “a thing” that my nephew’s preschool class sang it at their graduation, and he happily “rehearsed” it for what must have been weeks leading up to the performance. I think it’s lower on this list because there’s a lack of nostalgia around it (the movie was only released in 2013), but its message and Menzel’s affecting delivery make it a lock to become what “Part of Your World” was for my generation.
19. “Whistle While You Work,” Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Alyssa Bereznak: When Disney released Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, during the tail end of the Great Depression, children’s entertainment was sparse, Roombas did not exist, and few families had the disposable income or free time to be precious about their progeny. So it tracks that one of the era’s catchiest children’s tunes just so happened to be a song about enjoying your chores. Sample lyric: “And as you sweep the room / Imagine that the broom / Is someone that you love and soon / You’ll find you’re dancing to the tune.” Aside from being the breakout hit on the very first commercially issued film soundtrack ever, “Whistle While You Work” is a relic from a much simpler era, when society could fathom no childhood fantasy more titillating than a handful of woodland creatures who are happy to help out around the house.
18. “Gaston,” Beauty and the Beast
Surrey: An ode to bro fragility, “Gaston” is the ego boost our antagonist requires from his legion of sycophants after getting rejected by Belle early in the film. Flexing about how he eats dozens of eggs every morning—nobody has high cholesterol, clogged arteries, and increasing blood pressure like Gaston!—among other exaggerated proclivities, “Gaston” is as entertaining as its subtext is low-key terrifying. (What’s scarier than a dude who can’t take no for an answer and whose first impulse is to punch things?) Nevertheless: No one drops an absolute banger like Gaston, and we gotta commend him for that.
17. “Colors of the Wind,” Pocahontas
Zoladz: First of all, this is an underrated karaoke song. Trust me. But also, what a generationally formative lesson in environmentalism! Long before we millennials were wracked with anxiety about climate catastrophe we were children singing along to this Oscar-winning Disney ballad about the timeless dangers of that very evil. “You think you own whatever land you land on, the Earth is just a dead thing you can claim,” Pocahontas chides John Smith (who, it feels relevant to note here, is voiced by Mel Gibson). Her tone is damning, but as she hits that chorus, the melody swoops and soars like the eagle she sings about. Vanessa Williams belted out the soundtrack cut, but credit should also go to Judy Kuhn, who brought life to the version Pocahontas sings in the movie. “You can own the earth and still,” she sings at the end, “all you’ll own is earth until you can paint with all the colors of the wind.” There are worse things you could write on a protest sign.
16. “Friend Like Me,” Aladdin
Knibbs: “Friend Like Me” is a two-and-a-half-minute showcase for Robin Williams, which is exactly as much fun as it sounds. Within the film, the Genie is trying desperately to impress Aladdin, and his frenetic, impression-heavy big-band sales pitch is so dazzling you don’t even stop to think about how weird it is that the Genie apparently knows conversational French.
15. “Beauty and the Beast,” Beauty and the Beast
Gruttadaro: Did I spend the first decade and a half of my life thinking Mrs. Potts was singing “tailor’s old as time” and that “Beauty and the Beast” was some allegory about a ridiculously aged suit-maker? You’re damn right. I’m not ashamed. However, I do now understand that it’s “Tale as old as time” and that “Beauty and the Beast” is the most beautiful song about finding everlasting love in unexpected places. Written by Disney gods Howard Ashman and Alan Menken and sung by overall goddess Angela Lansbury, the song is one that feels revelatory and warmly familiar. As the melody glides along, you feel like the notes belong to you—that they were written for you. It’s a trick I can’t comprehend, but I can—and I will—sing along to “Beauty and the Beast” every time I’m lucky enough to hear it.
14. “Prince Ali,” Aladdin
Kram: “Prince Ali” isn’t the best Aladdin song—keep reading!—but it is the most fun and the best to encapsulate the magic of that particular movie. It has tempo, it has trumpeting fanfare, it has various Robin Williams voices; it starts with some sense of order and—by the time Aladdin bursts through the palace doors—grows almost manic by the end, with colors and lines of verse and acts of genie magic flashing almost too quickly to capture all in one viewing. The ensorcelled sultan serves as a suitable audience stand-in, amazed as he is by the foreign prince’s presentation. The song defies you to listen without tapping your foot and bopping your head, if not full-on dancing in time with the chorus.
13. “When You Wish Upon a Star,” Pinocchio
Lindbergh: It’s strange to experience a strong emotional response to a song that’s become a corporate anthem, but that’s what will happen when most of one’s cherished childhood movies are preceded by the same melody. (Disney knows what it’s doing.) “When You Wish Upon a Star” is inescapable: It’s been covered countless times, preserved by the Library of Congress, and credited by Brian Wilson for inspiring one of the best Beach Boys songs, “Surfer Girl.” I couldn’t avoid it even if I went on a Disney media deprivation diet; I live within earshot of a dock for Disney cruise liners, so the first seven notes of the song’s chorus, blasted by a ship’s horn, routinely intrude on my privacy. I can’t say I mind.
Recorded for Pinocchio in 1939, “When You Wish Upon a Star” won the 1941 Academy Award for Best Original Song, making it the first Disney song to snag an Oscar. Although many accomplished performers have taken their turn at the touching song in the past 80 years, no cover version can compete with the sentimental value of the original, which features a quavery vocal by musician and actor Cliff Edwards, the voice of Jiminy Cricket. Sure, the lyrics probably paint an unrealistic picture of adulthood—anything your heart desires will come to you?—but the fantasy is fun while it lasts.
12. “The Bare Necessities,” The Jungle Book
Peters: For most of the songs on this list, the movie in question would still be The Movie without them—this is deeply untrue for “The Bare Necessities.” Putting aside that the late Phil Harris (Baloo, but also Little John from Robin Hood, Patou from Rock-a-Doodle, and O’Malley from The Aristocats) was profoundly in his bag, the song is warm, fuzzy, and comforting. Sort of like floating down a river on the belly of a friendly bear who also happens to be musically inclined. A gentle, sunny reminder that the universe tends to sort itself out.
11. “Hakuna Matata,” The Lion King
Schuster: From its twinkling, plink-ling opening notes to the jazzy finale, “Hakuna Matata” is a transformative journey. So great was its power back in the mid-’90s that it became much more than a song from a kids movie: It was a bona fide movement. YOLO before YOLO existed; a common phrase to crochet on a pillow before “Keep Calm and Carry On” overtook Pinterest boards. Its message is simple and clearly stated in the refrain: “It means no worries for the rest of your days.” Not to mention the music video (read: scene from the original Lion King movie) absolutely slaps:
The song serves as both our introduction to the unique humor of Timon (voiced by Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella) and a montage of Simba growing up. (Plus, the animation still looks incredible even 25 years later—just look at it in comparison with Jon Favreau’s forthcoming remake.) And while it’s a pretty impactful scene in the film, “Hakuna Matata” may also be the most fun four minutes of any Disney animated movie. Which seems perfectly fitting.
10. “Kiss the Girl,” The Little Mermaid
Goddu: First thing’s first: “Kiss the Girl” takes a real this-movie-was-released-in-1989 approach to consent that, in this day and age, I cannot endorse. “It don’t take a word, not a single word / Go on and kiss the girl”? Nah, man. The more words the better! But The Little Mermaid’s retrograde approach to romantic relationships is old news. Let’s put disapproval aside for a moment to appreciate the song’s revolutionary pairing of utter simplicity and bald honesty. I firmly believe that one could boil down the plots of roughly 75 percent of movies to “kissing.” But how many of those films boast a musical number dedicated to that central, smooch-related choice? Far too few, one could argue. Sometimes, it really is just about whether or not you kiss the girl.
9. “I’ll Make a Man Out of You,” Mulan
Peters: It’s a pop song with a giant orchestra and a meaty backing chorus section, the one most likely to send an entire car full of adults into hysterics when it comes on shuffle three hours into a road trip. I guess the biggest indication of how good “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” is would be how long its popularity has endured, despite its being the second-most heteronormative/repressive song in Mulan behind “Honor to Us All.”
8. “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King,” The Lion King
Knibbs: Simba goes through some heavy shit in The Lion King—which is, lest we forget, a children’s movie about a boy processing the emotional fallout of watching his uncle murder his dad. But before all the trauma starts, he gets to sing “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King,” one of the most purely playful Disney songs. Simba is entitled, arrogant, and extremely charming, romping his way throughout his soon-to-be kingdom without a care in the world. It’d be insufferable if it weren’t so catchy.
7. “Under the Sea,” The Little Mermaid
Surrey: With The Little Mermaid’s boisterous underwater melody, Disney expressed a universal truth: The sea is dope. “Under the Sea” is infectious to jam to—whether listening to the original, Oscar-and-Grammy-winning rendition or one of its contemporary remixes. (Bubba Sparxxx plus The Little Mermaid is as glorious as it sounds.) The Little Mermaid is among Disney’s many live-action remakes in the works, and while some surly corners of the internet are in a tizzy about its casting of Ariel—lol calm down, she’s a mermaid!—its biggest obstacle may be living up to the original’s stellar soundtrack. To paraphrase everyone’s favorite crustacean, Sebastian: You dream about remaking the classics, but that is a big mistake.
6. “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” The Lion King
Surrey: Let’s be honest: If, like me, you were a little kid the first time you watched The Lion King, “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” doesn’t evoke a lot of romantic inclinations. I saw two lion pals reminiscing and playing together at dusk; innocent stuff! But now? Dear god, Nala’s face is the most DTF thing I’ve ever seen. (I’m sorry.)
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No disrespect to Donald Glover and friggin’ Beyoncé, but with Jon Favreau’s live-action version of “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” performed in broad daylight with two photorealistic and inexpressive lions that look like they emerged from the Planet Earth series, there’s no question the original track—much like the original film—remains king. And for what it’s worth, this one is exceedingly hornier.
5. “Be Our Guest,” Beauty and the Beast
Zoladz: The definition of a show stopper. The “Be Our Guest” sequence in (yes, the original) Beauty and the Beast is a feat of visual wit, ingenuity, and 2D animation—the whole thing feels like the best acid trip of all time. (“The candlestick is … talking? And he has a French accent?”) “Be Our Guest” is a worthy introduction to the dazzling magic at work within the Beast’s castle, and its cast of characters, from Chip to Mrs. Potts to the uncomfortably sexy feather-duster. The number’s momentum keeps building as it ramps up to a truly superb finale, during which Lumiere gets to ham it up like the superstar he most definitely is. “Be Our Guest” is iconic, the closest Disney animation ever came to Busby Berkeley. Dining alone never seemed so thrilling!
4. “Part of Your World,” The Little Mermaid
Knibbs: One thing that sucks about being a kid is that you’re not important, and at some point you realize that you just kinda have to wait until you grow up a bit to be a real person in the world. “Part of Your World” nails that late-childhood angst about waiting impatiently to matter better than any other children’s movie song. It’s weird how well a song about longing works in a cartoon about mer-people, and it works only because Ariel’s cosseted frustration is treated like a real problem. I adored Ariel when I was growing up because she sang “I want more!” as though she really deserved it, and it was cool to have a Disney princess whose main virtue was curiosity.
3. “You’ll Be in My Heart,” Tarzan
Baumann: On the Tarzan soundtrack, Phil Collins eyed up Elton John’s galactically popular efforts on Lion King and tried to ratchet the earnestness up to 11, all while not quite hitting the musical theater bull’s-eye the way Sir Elton did. The result, “You’ll Be in My Heart,” is one of the most emotionally maximalist pieces of music in the modern pop canon, with lyrics that sound like they were written by a distant father trying to win back his children’s affection in one tearjerking swing.
That’s particularly true of the radio single arrangement, which is the definitive version of “You’ll Be in My Heart.” For some reason, that version is four minutes long, when most of the emotional heavy lifting is done in the first 30 seconds by the strings, which sound like a post-prog interpretation of a mother’s heartbeat. I’d write more, but I’m crying so much I can’t see my screen.
2. “Circle of Life,” The Lion King
Lindbergh: “Circle of Life” is the soundtrack to the most iconic opening sequence from a Disney film, a scene so effective at drawing in viewers that it ran unabridged in The Lion King’s sensational 1993 teaser trailer, heralding the box office apex of the Disney Renaissance. That scene worked without the dialogue it originally included because the imagery and music spoke for itself. “Circle of Life” isn’t just a song; it’s a saying the song popularized that has since crept into every corner of culture, whether through parodies of (or references to) the song itself or as a concept that the movie has lodged in the lexicon.
Composed and demoed by Elton John in less than two hours, “Circle of Life” lost out at the Oscars to “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” another John song from the soundtrack, which won the 1995 Academy Award for Best Original Song. John’s solo version of “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” is probably better than the one in the movie, but John’s pop performance of “Circle of Life” pales in comparison to the Lion King recording, not least because it lacks Lebo M.’s Zulu chant. The coupling of that opening cry and the image of a red sun rising over the veld has made millions of listeners and viewers feel like they’re perched upon Pride Rock, suspended in a sunbeam.
1. “A Whole New World,” Aladdin
Harvilla: Don’t you dare close your eyes, or even think about getting all contrarian about this. “A Whole New World” is Disney’s apex, a magic-carpet ride of wonder and adventure and PG-rated romantic euphoria with killer harmonies, killer alliteration (“Shining shimmering splendid”), a killer key change, and enough bulletproof splendor that even the extremely wayward 2019 live-action remake couldn’t screw it up. Written by Disney god Alan Menken with lyrics by Tim Rice—and sung by Aladdin stars Brad Kane and Lea Salonga in the film—“A Whole New World” won both an Oscar for Best Original Song and, in a first (and only!) for Disney, a Grammy for Song of the Year, beating out Sting, Billy Joel, Neil Young, and, yes, Meat Loaf. The pop version, with Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle, even hit no. 1 on the Hot 100, sealing the song’s singular dominance in a Disney catalog defined by dominance. Fire it up next time you’re at karaoke and see if it doesn’t transport you somewhere.