Music Monday: my favourite Disney songs

I've adored music for as long as I can remember and so many of my childhood memories involve music: listening to ABBA with my grandparents, getting my first CD/tape player for Christmas aged 5, hearing Lou Reed and The Ramones in the car and learning about Joy Division and New Order from my dad when I was much too young to understand how one of those bands became the other. 

One style of music in particular is imbued with a particular sort of nostalgia, and that is the music that accompanies Disney movies. For 80 years now children have been growing up with the films and songs of Walt Disney, whether in the cinema, on vinyl, video, CD, DVD, streaming services - the list goes on. I remember a 2-cassette compilation that I played all of the time and adored (even after my younger brother vomited on the cardboard insert), then a 2-CD set with a mix of cinema and pop versions of the songs, plus a heap of sing-a-long videos both owned and rented. There are currently 55 official "Disney Animated Classics", plus live action and other films, so I thought I'd put together a list of 20 songs I loved most as a child and still love as an adult. I've listed them alphabetically because I wouldn't know how to begin to pick my all time favourite!

1. A Whole New World - Aladdin

Aladdin was number one at the box office when I was born and was one of the movies I had on video (and now have on DVD). A Whole New World is its signature song, an adorable duet between princess Jasmine and dreamy street rat Aladdin. I learned to play this song on keyboard when I studied music in high school, and I still try to sing both parts when I hear it now. 

2. Thomas O'Malley Cat - The Aristocats

Ev'rybody Wants To Be A Cat is the obvious choice from this movie but I am especially fond of Thomas' theme song. I didn't know the words as a child and I still don't but it's so groovy and charming that I love it anyway. This film combines cats and Paris, two of the things that I'm most entranced by, and is definitely underrated. 

3. Looking For Romance (I Bring You A Song) - Bambi
I have to admit, I didn't see Bambi as a child - the first and only time that I've seen it was on a Friday afternoon in my first year high school English class, I guess at the end of a particularly draining week for my English teacher. As a result, the only exposure I had as a child was to Little April Showers. When I was a grown-up (or at least coming out of my teen years) and downloading Disney songs for my music collection, I heard this for the first time. It sounds like it should be a sweet love song but it's one of those old movie songs that sounds really melancholy. 



4. Belle - Beauty and the Beast
I didn't have the video of Beauty and the Beast at home, but my paternal grandparents had it and its accompanying soundtrack CD. I gravitated towards that CD as it was the only name I recognised from their collection as a small child and I used to play it when I visited. Belle is the opening song in the film so that's the one I'd hear most often. I was into books as a child and I'm still a reader now so I like all the lyrics about her going to the book-store to borrow love stories she's read before. 

5. Gaston - Beauty and the Beast
Maybe it's cheating to pick more than one song from the same film but Gaston is one of my favourite Disney songs because it's so hilarious. Gaston isn't a good guy and he infuriates me as a character (his views aren't a million miles away from those of the US President, no?) but this song is so good that I can almost let it slide, at least for this scene. It's hard for me to pick my favourite line so I recommend that you go and listen to it if you haven't already!



6. So This Is Love - Cinderella
This is one of my favourite Disney love songs. It's short and sweet but manages to still contain some of the most beautiful lyrics of the whole Disney canon. Cinderella was another of the films I had on video and of course the compilation tapes I had chose Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo to represent it, which I understand because that definitely has more appeal to children but as an adult I definitely prefer So This Is Love. While on the subject of Cinderella songs I also need to give a shout-out to Oh Sing Sweet Nightingale and A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes - both of them are also beautiful.

7. I Won't Say I'm In Love - Hercules
I think I borrowed Hercules on video from family friends so I only got to see it once but Megara's song must have been on my cassette because I've always had a soft spot for it. I don't really know the story of Hercules (although I have been reading up on Greek Mythology a little) but from what I understand Meg didn't really want to get involved with love and Hercules and just wanted to be left alone which is cool in my eyes. I'm also a big fan of her purple aesthetic.

8. The Bare Necessities - The Jungle Book
This was definitely one of the first songs on my cassette and has so much nostalgia attached to it. It's one of the most fun Disney songs I can think of, impossible for a kid to resist dancing and singing along to. I think I must have watched The Jungle Book a lot when I was young because I can remember the plot points much more clearly than other movies and I'm sure I could still get through this song without missing any of the words.

9. He's A Tramp - Lady And The Tramp
Lady And The Tramp wasn't a movie that I've seen much of; the only time I remember watching it was at a sleepover and I'm not sure either of us stayed awake until the end. This song, on the other hand, is very familiar. It stuck out to me as a child when listening to my Disney tapes, probably due to the unique vocal by Peggy Lee whose 'Fever' is one of my all-time favourites.


10. Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride - Lilo & Stitch
This song hasn't been with me for as long as a lot of the others since I was 9 when Lilo & Stitch came out but I really like that Hawaiian sound - this song just sounds like being by the beach somewhere warm. Lilo & Stitch is such a weird, quirky movie that I really need to revisit. 





11. Part Of Your World - The Little Mermaid
Definitely one of my favourite films, and one of my favourite princesses, this song of Ariel's has always been special for me. There's something about the crescendo of the chorus going back into the quiet delivery of the last lines that speaks to me - it's the sound of a curious girl longing to experience the world she's obsessed over and imagined for such a long time.

12. Kiss The Girl - The Little Mermaid
Again, I can't choose just one song from this film. Kiss The Girl is so romantic by itself, then when you add in the high-stakes storyline that it's trying to resolve there's an extra layer of desperation added on top. The CD I had as a child had Peter Andre singing this which was much better than it sounds.


13. Under The Sea - The Little Mermaid
I couldn't leave this off the list. It's one of the most fun songs ever written, packed with clever wordplay and even a little rap from Sebastian the crab. It's impossible not to smile when this song comes on and I still sing along to it in the shower even though it's far too fast-paced for me to keep up with. 


14. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious - Mary Poppins
This was, without question, my favourite Disney song as a child. I adored Mary Poppins so much that one year I asked for it on video as the sole item on my Christmas list (well, aside from chocolate). I was a precocious child who was able to spell it without any trouble and it probably drove my family nuts. 



15. Feed The Birds - Mary Poppins
Not one of my favourites as a child - I wasn't particularly fond parts of the movie when the colours and cartoons were replaced by bleak London and riots at the bank and men with moustaches - but this song is objectively one of the loveliest and most touching in any Disney film. Apparently it was Walt Disney's favourite song and I can understand why.


16. I'll Make A Man Out Of You - Mulan
At present, this is the only Disney song that has remained on my iPod, never to be removed. How can I? It's motivational, funny, and an excellent shower song. Mulan was one of my favourite Disney films growing up, arguably a feminist one - the song is about being manly, sure, but we all know which character ends up saving China in the end. 



17. Second Star To The Right - Peter Pan
This song is the opening theme to Peter Pan and is another one of those that became my favourite when I grew up (sorry Peter, it just happened). It's still part of that old set of songs with the orchestra and the choir and the weird little jumps here and there which I love. Listening to it takes me somewhere magical, maybe to my own Neverland. 



18. Just Around The Riverbend - Pocahontas
Pocahontas was the first film that my parents took me to see at the cinema and I quickly became obsessed with it. I had Pocahontas books and jigsaws, and there was one of those coin-operated Pocahontas rides when they took me on my first holiday that I never wanted to leave. Just Around The Riverbend is about dreaming, like Part Of Your World, and I love the idea of wondering whether something amazing is around the next corner. 



19. Colors Of The Wind - Pocahontas

My other childhood favourite, for sure. Colors Of The Wind starts out so dramatic and then paints this wonderful world of nature and adventure - it's irresistible. Pocahontas is such a sad movie now that I think about it but the animation is incredible and this song is a masterpiece. I couldn't stand the 90s-keyboard Vanessa Williams version though.



20. Once Upon A Dream - Sleeping Beauty
I know I said I couldn't pick a favourite song of all-time, but all things considered, it's probably this. Once Upon A Dream is so simple and I'm not sure just what it is that makes it so lovely but I fall for it every time. I know the melody comes from Tchaikovsky's ballet so I can't give the Disney writers full credit; I think perhaps it's the combination of music, animation and lyrics that does it for me. Like many of my favourites, it's about dreaming and passion and love, and it's so perfect that they made it the only song in the movie.

Do you agree with my choices? Have I missed out your favourite? Let me know in the comments!