My Definitive Disney Song Ranking (at least for this week)
I can't really put my finger on why, but I've been listening to almost exclusively Disney for the past week or so. Naturally, I started to think about what my favorite Disney songs are and if I could rank them. So I have.
Some opening thoughts: Most of these songs come from the playlist I've been listening to for the past week, so I may have inadvertently forgotten something. Also, I'm admittedly a bigger fan of 1990s-present Disney, so most of this is that. As far as what criterion I used in my ranking, one of the must of a great Disney song is how much fun it is to sing along too. Other than that, mostly just my personal opinions and taste. I think that there are about 45 songs total that I consider for ranking.
First, without comment, songs 43 -11:
43. "Reflection" (Mulan)
42. "The Siamese Cat Song" (Lady and the Tramp)
41. "Colors Of The Wind" (Pocahontas)
40. "Arabian Nights" (Aladdin)
39. "Circle Of Life" (The Lion King)
38. "The Mob Song" (Beauty and The Beast")
37. "Beauty and The Beast" (Beauty and The Beast)
36. "Prince Ali (Reprise)" (Aladdin)
35. "The Bare Necessities" (The Jungle Book)
34. "Belle" (Beauty and the Beast)
33. "I Wanna Be Like You" (The Jungle Book)
32. "In Summer" (Frozen)
31. "Zero To Hero" (Hercules)
30. "Almost There" (The Princess and The Frog)
29. "Be Our Guest" (Beauty and The Beast)
28. "Something There" (Beauty and The Beast)
27. "I've Got A Dream" (Tangled)
26. "Friend Like Me" (Aladdin)
25. "One Jump Ahead" (Aladdin)
24. "When Will My Life Begin" (Tangled)
23. "One Last Hope" (Hercules)
22. "Do You Want To Build A Snowman" (Frozen)
21. "Part Of Your World" (The Little Mermaid)
20. "Hakuna Matata" (The Lion King)
19. "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" (The Lion King)
18. "Kiss The Girl" (The Little Mermaid)
17. "Fixer Upper" (Frozen)
16. "Poor Unfortunate Souls" (The Little Mermaid)
15. "Go The Distance" (Hercules)
14. "Gaston" (Beauty and The Beast)
13. "Let It Go" (Frozen)
12. "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" (The Lion King)
11. "Love Is An Open Door" (Frozen)
And the top 10:
10. "Mother Knows Best" (Tangled) - This song starts out so sweet and innocent, but by the end it becomes rather terrifying because the audience knows Mother Gothel's motives but Rapunzel is still blind to the whole thing. The delivery of this song is what makes it one of my favorite villain songs. If you just listened to the melody, you'd think this song a sweet lullaby, but it's most definitely not. The scene in the movie is also done really well and it's really chilling to see Rapunzel fooled again and again. This is just a great song and really well done overall.
9. "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" (Mary Poppins) - Mary Poppins was actually my childhood. I can't count the number of times I saw that movie before the age of 10 and so although it's not really in the same vein as all of the other Disney movies on this list, this song still gets props because it's just so much fun. Everyone know this song because it's that ridiculous. I remember not being able to understand it when I was little because there were so many big words and I still sang along every time. It's just a universal classic and as such deserves a mention here.
8. "Friends On The Other Side" (The Princess and The Frog) - I honestly forgot about Princess and the Frog for the longest time after I saw it in theaters, which means that I had overlooked this gem for the longest time. I love villain songs so much and this song has all the ingredients of a perfect one, a backup chorus, a misunderstood villain and a hapless victim. It's a terrific song, but there's something missing that I can't put my finger on, and that's why it's not higher. I still love it though and this colors in this scene are fantastic. It's so sad that this movie and song have been almost forgotten because this song deserves more recognition.
7. "I See The Light" (Tangled) - So...Tangled is the only movie with two songs in my top 10. But, I still don't think it's the objectively the best Disney soundtrack of all time (more on that later). Maybe it's just my favorite. I definitely like it better than Frozen though, and that's partially because of this song. Honestly, any Disney movie needs a good love song and this song is an instant classic. It's so simple yet touching. The cinematography for this scene is probably one of my favorite scenes mostly because I love paper lanterns and the flowers in Rapunzel's hair are so pretty. This song is just all my goals and is so sweet that I can't help but rank it this high.
6. "For The First Time In Forever" (Frozen) - I'm always super annoyed that "Let It Go" gets so much recognition while this song is often slighted. I like this song better because a) it's not overplayed to death, and b) it's more lyrically complex than "Let It Go". Anna's excitement in this song (and in the whole movie basically) is so relatable. Also, Elsa's part is a perfect contrast. And let's not even talk about the reprise (which I didn't rank but might even like better than this). In conclusion, this song is criminally underrated because Disney chose to promote "Let It Go" and deserves so much more hype than it gets.
5. "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" (Mulan) - I think that this song is probably my favorite song to sing with a large group of people. I think that every Disney fan loves this song and because such a rallying cry. It's one of the most anthemic (Kayla says this isn't a word but it's in the dictionary) Disney songs and because I love me a good anthem it's become one of my favorites.
4. "Under The Sea" (The Little Mermaid) - THIS SONG IS SO MUCH FUN! I remember having the Little Mermaid soundtrack as a child and memorizing the words to this song. The rap-ish part in the middle is one of my favorite parts of any Disney song ever. Sebastian is the ultimate sidekick and this song in this song he pulls out all the stops to convince Ariel she's happy where she is. I feel like Sebastian is me trying to get my friends/family to make the decision I want them to, except he's 10000x cooler than me and I can't rap.
3."A Whole New World" (Aladdin) - So I guess this means I think this is the best Disney love song? I'm ok with that. The musical quality of this song is why I love it so much. It's so easy to sing along to. And the harmonies, man. It's just gorgeous. Aladdin's lyrics in this song melt my heart and it's really fantastic to see how well he wants to treat Jasmine. Also, a magic carpet!!!! I want one of those :)
2. "I Won't Say (I'm In Love)" (Hercules) - CAN WE TALK ABOUT MEG? Meg is one of my favorite Disney characters because she is so different from other heroines. Most princesses are openly looking for love, but Meg just stumbles into it. And she knows how much trouble she's in too. This is a love song for the people and not just for the perfect couples. I imagine many people can relate to these lyrics just a little bit more than they can songs like "A Whole New World". I know I can. This song is just so sassy from both sides. Indignant Meg insists she's not falling for Hercules, but the Muses aren't buying it for a second and that back and forth is what make the song special. Meg's internal monologue and the Muses as voices in her head remind me of so many night of me trying to get my feelings together and thus I have a huge soft spot for this song.
Unranked songs:
"The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers" (Winnie the Pooh) - You can't really take this song seriously, which is why I decided not to rank it. It's just a fun little ditty that brings me back to my childhood obsession with Winnie the Pooh. Fun, but not really a "Disney song" in my mind. That's not to say I don't love it though.
"Hellfire" (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) - My two unranked songs are complete opposites. This song is perhaps the most chilling that Disney has produced, because of both its sound and its subject matter. I've never seen the Hunchback movie, which is why I hadn't heard this song until very recently. Because of this, I can't really rank it with the songs I've heard for years.
SOOO...that was way longer than I meant it to be, but oh well. It's also liable to change very soon because I can't make up my mind, but for right now, that's what I think. If you got this far, thanks for sticking it out. Feel free to comment if you disagree about anything.
Some opening thoughts: Most of these songs come from the playlist I've been listening to for the past week, so I may have inadvertently forgotten something. Also, I'm admittedly a bigger fan of 1990s-present Disney, so most of this is that. As far as what criterion I used in my ranking, one of the must of a great Disney song is how much fun it is to sing along too. Other than that, mostly just my personal opinions and taste. I think that there are about 45 songs total that I consider for ranking.
First, without comment, songs 43 -11:
43. "Reflection" (Mulan)
42. "The Siamese Cat Song" (Lady and the Tramp)
41. "Colors Of The Wind" (Pocahontas)
40. "Arabian Nights" (Aladdin)
39. "Circle Of Life" (The Lion King)
38. "The Mob Song" (Beauty and The Beast")
37. "Beauty and The Beast" (Beauty and The Beast)
36. "Prince Ali (Reprise)" (Aladdin)
35. "The Bare Necessities" (The Jungle Book)
34. "Belle" (Beauty and the Beast)
33. "I Wanna Be Like You" (The Jungle Book)
32. "In Summer" (Frozen)
31. "Zero To Hero" (Hercules)
30. "Almost There" (The Princess and The Frog)
29. "Be Our Guest" (Beauty and The Beast)
28. "Something There" (Beauty and The Beast)
27. "I've Got A Dream" (Tangled)
26. "Friend Like Me" (Aladdin)
25. "One Jump Ahead" (Aladdin)
24. "When Will My Life Begin" (Tangled)
23. "One Last Hope" (Hercules)
22. "Do You Want To Build A Snowman" (Frozen)
21. "Part Of Your World" (The Little Mermaid)
20. "Hakuna Matata" (The Lion King)
19. "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" (The Lion King)
18. "Kiss The Girl" (The Little Mermaid)
17. "Fixer Upper" (Frozen)
16. "Poor Unfortunate Souls" (The Little Mermaid)
15. "Go The Distance" (Hercules)
14. "Gaston" (Beauty and The Beast)
13. "Let It Go" (Frozen)
12. "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" (The Lion King)
11. "Love Is An Open Door" (Frozen)
And the top 10:
6. "For The First Time In Forever" (Frozen) - I'm always super annoyed that "Let It Go" gets so much recognition while this song is often slighted. I like this song better because a) it's not overplayed to death, and b) it's more lyrically complex than "Let It Go". Anna's excitement in this song (and in the whole movie basically) is so relatable. Also, Elsa's part is a perfect contrast. And let's not even talk about the reprise (which I didn't rank but might even like better than this). In conclusion, this song is criminally underrated because Disney chose to promote "Let It Go" and deserves so much more hype than it gets.
4. "Under The Sea" (The Little Mermaid) - THIS SONG IS SO MUCH FUN! I remember having the Little Mermaid soundtrack as a child and memorizing the words to this song. The rap-ish part in the middle is one of my favorite parts of any Disney song ever. Sebastian is the ultimate sidekick and this song in this song he pulls out all the stops to convince Ariel she's happy where she is. I feel like Sebastian is me trying to get my friends/family to make the decision I want them to, except he's 10000x cooler than me and I can't rap.
1. "Be Prepared" (The Lion King) - I think that I knew when I started this ranking that this song would be number one, but it's still a little bit weird to see it here. But I do have three villian songs in my top 10 so I'm not entirely surprised. Also, this song is an absolute masterpiece and deserves so much more recognition than it usually gets on rankings like these. I think my favorite part about this songs is that you can imagine its scene so vividly when listening to it. From the very first note you can feel the sound echo around the cave, and the smoke rising. Scar is regal and ambitious and you can hear it clearly. This is also one of the only villains songs involving an army as large as the one Scar has assembled. War drums and ingenious lyrics make this battle cry emphatic and memorable. I just love this song a lot. (Also, I think that objectively this soundtrack is the best Disney soundtrack. Although this is the only song in the top 10, the rest is so close and also fantastic)
Unranked songs:
"The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers" (Winnie the Pooh) - You can't really take this song seriously, which is why I decided not to rank it. It's just a fun little ditty that brings me back to my childhood obsession with Winnie the Pooh. Fun, but not really a "Disney song" in my mind. That's not to say I don't love it though.
"Hellfire" (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) - My two unranked songs are complete opposites. This song is perhaps the most chilling that Disney has produced, because of both its sound and its subject matter. I've never seen the Hunchback movie, which is why I hadn't heard this song until very recently. Because of this, I can't really rank it with the songs I've heard for years.
SOOO...that was way longer than I meant it to be, but oh well. It's also liable to change very soon because I can't make up my mind, but for right now, that's what I think. If you got this far, thanks for sticking it out. Feel free to comment if you disagree about anything.
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