Disney's Best Movies for Songs

This is an article which sums up the results of the three Disney related songs countdowns. Each countdown was for a different "era". Here are the timezones of each era:

"Walt's Era"- 1937-1967 (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs-The Jungle Book)
"Pre-Renaissance Era"- 1970-1988 (The Aristocats-Oliver and Company)
"Renaissance Era"- 1989-1999 (The Little Mermaid-Tarzan)

Thanks to 0BleuFever0, aiemerryserius, allis143, anubis210, becca85, BKG201, ClonedPickle, cromulanfav, daralekshaw, dollyrox, DreamyGal, dustfinger, fhghu, FlightofFantasy, jinxenmoonday, KataraLover, kiraragirl200, lauutje, LisaForde, Lisiii, Mongoose09, NCISLuverjk93, nevermind606, Okami_Amaterasu, princess829, princesslullaby, sheepprncss3, sugarcane15, VGfan30, and yorkshire_rose for all commenting on my picks. You all really helped me write my article.

I would also like to see people's input on what they would think the ranks should be and post their opinions of the countdown. So without any ado, here are the results of the three countdowns I posted, and the rank of the best Disney songs of each of these eras. This is for the Classical Era/Walt's Era.

Classical Era Background

Disney’s earliest songs came from a variety of movies, but they evolved as time went on. Many of Disney’s earliest songs, like “Love Is a Song”, “Whistle While You Work”, “When You Wish Upon A Star”, and “Someday My Prince Will Come” are often hailed as very classic pieces. These early pieces were generally very soft toned and had a luscious tone to them that is quite unique. This soft tone continued throughout the 1950’s with songs such as “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes”, “Golden Afternoon”, “Bella Notte”, and “Once Upon a Dream”. However, in the 1950’s, there were also more energetic songs to go along with the soft pieces, such as “He’s A Tramp”, “A Very Merry Unbirthday”, “Skumps”, and “The Siamese Cat Song”. After Sleeping Beauty, the softer songs decreased a bit and ushered in more of the energetic songs like “Cruella De Vil” and “The Bare Necessities” which led to the Pre-Renaissance Era.

12. Dumbo



Songs: (7)

Baby Mine
Casey Junior
Look out for Mr. Stork
Pink Elephants on Parade
Song of the Roustabouts
The Clown Song
When I See An Elephant Fly


The first to go on the Classic Countdown was Dumbo, which had a variety of songs, from sad “Baby Mine” to creepy “Pink Elephants on Parade” to rhythmic “When I See an Elephant Fly”. These moods could also explain why some fans voted against Dumbo, mostly because of “Pink Elephants on Parade” and “Baby Mine” had very strong and could possibly be somewhat uncomfortable situations going on.

11. The Sword in the Stone



Songs: (6)

A Most Befuddling Thing
Blue Oak Tree
Higitus Figitus
Mad Madame Mim
That’s What Makes The World Go Round
The Sword in the Stone

Even though it was the second song to go on the Classic Countdown, most people like the songs from The Sword in the Stone a lot, but the songs from this movie are generally less acclaimed than many other very well-liked songs from this era.

10. Bambi



Songs: (4)

I Bring You A Song
Let’s Sing a Gay Little Spring Song
Little April Shower
Love Is a Song

A movie with very softly toned songs in a quiet, refined manner, Bambi is generally considered to have very beautiful songs. However, beauty is not the only thing needed in songs according to most songs- some excitement and energy is needed too. Bambi has a lot of very beautiful songs, but it doesn’t have too much energy in its songs.

9. Sleeping Beauty



Songs: (5)

Hail to the Princess Aurora
I Wonder
Once Upon A Dream
Skumps
The Gifts of Beauty and Song

Sleeping Beauty has a lot of songs, but most of them are generally not very well known, apart from the short and sweet “Once Upon A Dream”. “Once Upon A Dream” is also the only one of these songs with consistent singing of words throughout. The songs here are generally considered to be really beautiful like Bambi’s, but the lack some energy and there aren’t that many songs in the movie that are not interrupted with dialog.

8. Pinocchio



Songs: (5)

Give A Little Whistle
Hi Diddle-Dee Dee
I’ve Got No Strings
Little Wooden Head
When You Wish Upon A Star

Pinocchio’s songs are generally very sweet and happy, nearly all of them are quite perky representing the title character well. Probably the most well known this is the famous and beautiful “When You Wish Upon A Star”. Most people liked Pinocchio’s songs, but just not as much as the other ones.


7. Alice in Wonderland



Songs: (15)

A-E-I-O-U
Alice in Wonderland
A Very Merry Unbirthday
A World of My Own
Caucus Race
Golden Afternoon
How Do You Do and Shake Hands
I’m Late
Painting the Roses Red
The Sailor’s Hornpipe
The Walrus and the Carpenter
Twas Brillig
Very Good Advice
We’ll Smoke the Blighter Out
Who’s Been Painting My Roses Red

This movie is known for having multiple songs, more than Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King’s total of songs combined. The songs in this movie are always there, popping up, although many just last for a matter of seconds. Many find that lots of these songs are very perky and fun, and reflecting the nature of the movie, many are quite insane. However, many find these songs just too weird and out of place. The movie undeniably has a lot of songs.

6. 101 Dalmatians



Songs: (2)

Cruella De Vil
Dalmatian Plantation

In contrast to Alice in Wonderland’s plethora of songs, 101 Dalmatians has just two songs- overall, the song length in this movie adds up to the length of a longer song like “Belle” or “Hakuna Matata”. However, these songs are jazzy, cool, and fun according to many. The only problem some have is the complete lack of songs in comparison to the others.

5. Peter Pan



Songs: (7)

A Pirate’s Life
Following the Leader
The Elegant Captain Hook
The Second Star to the Right
What Makes the Red Man Red
You Can Fly
Your Mother and Mine

With generally bright, funny songs, the songs in Peter Pan were generally liked. The songs here are very cheery and reflect the cheerful youthfulness of the movie. “You Can Fly”, probably the most well known tune from the movie, in particular, shows the generally light-hearted feel. Interestingly, two of the songs, “What Makes the Red Man Red” and “Following the Leader” both could be interpreted as racist toward Indians. Fortunately, Disney has made up for this with their movie Pocahontas fourty years later.

4. Lady and the Tramp



Songs: (6)

Bella Notte
He’s A Tramp
La La Lu
Peace on Earth
The Siamese Cat Song
What is a Baby

This movie is notable for its two main songs, “Bella Notte” and “He’s A Tramp” being very opposite in tone. Bella Notte is a quiet, sweet love song reminiscent of the songs in the earliest of classics. He’s A Tramp is a jazzy, cool song that is somewhat of a forerunner of Disney’s songs in the next couple of decades. Fans generally liked one of the songs especially in this movie, and the other one not quite as much, due to the very different tones of these songs.

3. The Jungle Book



Songs: (6)

Colonel Hathi’s March
I Wanna Be Like You
My Own Home
That’s What Friends are For
The Bare Necessities
Trust in Me

With jazzy, swingy lyrics and catchy tunes that could easily get stuck in your head, The Jungle Book offers one of Disney’s biggest soundtracks from the early era. “The Bare Necessities” in particular is very well known for being one of Disney’s peppy songs and is usually regarded as one of Disney’s happiest songs. While some think these songs are a bit boring, the soundtrack in this movie is usually very much loved.

2. Cinderella



Songs: (6)

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes
Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo
Cinderella
Oh, Sing Sweet Nightingale
So This is Love
The Work Song

With generally very sweet songs and iconic tunes like “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes”, and “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo”, Cinderella has unquestionably a strong presence of songs in it. The songs here are very dreamy, soft, and pleasant usually. They are usually optimistic and relaxed too. Cinderella herself sings at least part of three of the songs in the movie, an amount quite high for a princess to sing. Fans love the fact that Cinderella has very sweet and pleasant songs, but sometimes they could almost be too pleasant and not perky enough. Still, having a #2 rank is very good.

1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs



Songs: (8)

Bluddle-Uddle-Um-Dum
Heigh Ho
I’m Wishing
One Song
Someday My Prince Will Come
The Silly Song
Whistle While You Work
With a Smile and a Song

Having a host of happy, perky, sweet songs, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has one of Disney’s most optimistic soundtracks. “Someday My Prince Will Come”, “Heigh Ho”, and “Whistle While You Work” are all very famous songs in particular. The songs here are all very bright and famous, and there are rather a lot of songs in this movie. Fans like the perk of the songs in these movies, but a lot of flack was taken because of Snow White’s voice. Still, that was not enough, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is determined as being the movie with the best songs from the Classic Era.