Top Ten Disney Songs

One from all of the Disney classics.  Everybody had a favorite, mine was Beauty and the Beast.  I had all the promotional lifestyle items to go with it too: sleeping bag, cereal bowl, nightgown, and beach towel.  Anyway, here they are, in no particular order.

1.  The Muses, from Hercules.  This is one of the great opening numbers from any Disney movie, and is a recurring theme throughout the story.  I like how they kept that Greek story-telling element, and in Motown style nonetheless.

2.  Prince Ali, from Aladdin.  This one has the added bonus of Robin Williams’ genie and his creativity that knows no bounds.  Literally, he’s a genie, so anything he thinks of can happen.  In this scene, he becomes no less than nine different characters to narrate the song introducing Prince Ali to Agrabah.  Fabulous Harry, I love the feathers.

3.  Colors of the Wind, from Pocahontas.  Ahhh the going green song.  Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?  It makes bears want to play with you, deer run through the forest with you, otters swim next to you, and trees talk to you.  Fun fact, The Lion Kind was animated at the same time as this but even though that ended up being a bigger box-office hit, Pocahontas was looked at as the more prestigious project, with the animators wanting to work on it instead.

4.  Be a Man, from Mulan.  Have you ever had anybody tell you that you couldn’t do something, and then just because they said that, you have this explosive need to prove them wrong and then some?  Yea, Mulan had that too.

5.  Robin Hood and Little John, from Robin Hood.  This movie is really underrated when it comes to Disney movies.  This little folk song and the happy whistling opener set the lovely old-timey tone of the entire movie.  And Baloo's distant cousin (with his same voice) is Little John.

6.  Everybody Wants to Be a Cat, from Aristocats.  A swinging party anthem taking place in a French flat sung by alleycats, what could be better?  The best part is when they’re rocking so hard they fall through the floors, one by one, until they get to the bottom and just keep on parading down the cobblestone street, smashed guitars and all.  Baloo also graces the screen in this feature, in the form of rambling street cat, O'Malley.

7.  Under the Sea and Kiss the Girl, from The Little Mermaid.  This movie has such a great selection of songs and I couldn't pick between these two.  Under the Sea is a jazzy ode to the sea; this is my kind of song.  Sebastian, the lovable crustacean, sings this ditty to convince Ariel that life in the water is indeed much better than up on the shore.  Kiss the Girl is more visually creative, with Sebastian writing a hit and directing the animals that happen to be hanging out on the fly in order to set the mood.  Clearly, Sebastian is a musical genius.  Ursula's Poor Unfortunate Souls is a grand spectacle as well.

8.  Be Like You, from The Jungle Book.  King Louie is the King of the Swingers, The Jungle VIP, but he doesn’t have everything.  This is his way of asking for a little help from his friends.  Fun fact: the studio wanted the Beatles to voice the friendly vultures, but they refused.  We do, however, get the pleasure of seeing a monkey scat sing-off, which apparently was improvised, and it is glorious.

9.  Be Our Guest, from Beauty and the Beast.  Lumiere is a fantastic host, and it is on full display in this song.  He leads the kitchen dishes and utensils in a rousing number for Belle’s dinnertime entertainment, including a parade of French cuisine, champagne fountains, a chorusline of forks, and synchronized swimming spoons.  They are in France, after all.

10.  Cruella DeVil, from 101 Dalamtions.  Roger's description of the black and white wearing villian becomes his first big hit, and its easy to see why.  She’s like a spider waiting for the kill.  If she doesn’t scare you no evil thing will.  To see her is to take a sudden chill.  The world was such a wholesome place until Cruella, Cruella DeVil.  

(photos collected from swordsandals, fanpop, bplusmoviesblog, googleimages, villagedudes, oneirosa, telegraph, eddieonfilm, and listal)