Guest Column: 50 Greatest Songs from Disney Animated Films - Oct 12, 2011

50 Greatest Songs from Disney Animated Films: Guest Column
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#6. �Baby Mine.� (Dumbo) -- The quintessential double hankie song. Film critic Leonard Maltin writes that, �for decades, people have been crying during�this lullaby.� Unless you�re an unfeeling lout, you�ll no doubt agree that you�ll need a few box of Kleenex to get through this classic number;

#7. �Part of Your World.� (The Little Mermaid) - The Howard Ashman - Alan J. Menken Broadway-like ballad that should have received an Oscar nomination but didn�t;

#8. �You�ll Be in My Heart.� (Tarzan) - Phil Collins� 1999 Oscar winner for Best Original Song bested a field that included #17 on this list, thereby proving that, when it comes to Disney music, it really is a jungle out there;

#9. �Who�s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?� (The Three Little Pigs) -- Generally considered the anti-Depression anthem of the movie-going public of the early 1930�s, people are still humming its unforgettable chorus 78 years after its introduction�.and, given the sad state of the U.S. and global economy these days, maybe it�ll help to lift the spirits of a whole new generation;

#10. �Colors of the Wind.� (Pocahontas) -- The 1995 Oscar winner, you know a song is really special when it, and it alone, is used as the trailer for the film it appears in;

#11. �You�ve Got A Friend in Me.� (Toy Story) -- the ultimate feel-good buddy song, the only reason it had no chance at winning at the 1995 Academy Awards was because it had the misfortune to be nominated in the same year as #10 on this list;

#12. �Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo.� (Cinderella) -- It�s lyrics are ridiculous, but nobody can dispute the wide grins it puts on peoples� faces;

#13. �Circle of Life.� (The Lion King) -- The life cycle, as expressed by Elton John, Tim Rice and Hans Zimmer. A masterful opening for the film that beat out 1994 Best Picture winner Forrest Gump at the box office, grossing a reported $300 million in the U.S. and Canada alone;

#14. �Some Day My Prince Will Come.� (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) -- AFI voted this the 19th greatest song in film history, and you�d be hard pressed to disagree�..even if feminists are conflicted about its underlying message!

#15. �A Friend Like Me.� (Aladdin) -- Disney on amphetamines, courtesy of the manic, but brilliant, song stylings of Robin Williams;

#16. �A Whole New World.� (Aladdin) -- Talk about falling for someone! The �boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl and takes a breathtaking, soaring carpet ride over the clouds� concept proves irresistible to audiences. The 1992 Oscar winner for Best Original Song is about as romantic as they come;

#17. �When She Loved Me.� (Toy Story 2) -- Sarah McLachlan�s emotional, heart-wrenching recording of this Randy Newman classic was only defeated at the �99 Oscars because it was nominated in the same year as �You�ll Be In My Heart�;

#18. �Cruella De Vil� (101 Dalmatians) -- The first great Disney villain song, it has a bouncy, jazzy melody and hysterical lyrics by composer Mel Leven;

#19. �I Wan�na Be Like You.� ( The Jungle Book) -- A rollicking whirlwind of a song, I cannot even imagine anyone else but the late, great Louis Prima voicing King Louie the orangutan;

#20. �Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious� (Mary Poppins) -- You know, you can say it backwards, but Suoicodilaipxecitsiligarfilacrepus just isn�t as funny. The AFI must have thought so too, since this is #36 on its list of great songs;

#21. �A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes.� (Cinderella) -- Cross �When You Wish Upon A Star� with �Over the Rainbow� and what do you get? Mack David, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston�s all time classic convinced us all that, if you �have faith in your dreams�.someday your rainbow will come smiling thru�;

#22. �Once Upon A Dream.� (Sleeping Beauty) -- When it was released in 1956 the film was known as the most expensive animated cartoon of its time, reportedly costing $6 million to make. Finances aside, Sammy Fain and Jack Lawrence�s sleeper hit was worth whatever the price of admission theater owners charged to see the picture;

#23. �When I See An Elephant Fly� (Dumbo) -- Featuring four crows singing one of the wittiest numbers in Disney movie history (Sample puns include the following: �I�ve seen a peanut stand, I�ve seen a rubber band�� AND �I�ve heard a fireside chat, I�ve seen a baseball bat..�), this song is arguably the funniest part of what is an otherwise slow-moving film;

#24. �I Just Can�t Wait To Be King.� (The Lion King) -- Recall #32 on this list whenever you see how this song ends? While you might say Disney is ripping off Disney, it is nonetheless a fast-moving, visually colorful and lively number that never fails to make us roar our approval;

#25. �If I Didn�t Have You.� (Monsters, Inc.) -- In 2002, seven years after #15 on this list came out, Newman followed up with yet another buddy-buddy song that earned him his first Oscar for Best Original Song. The vocal pairing of Billy Crystal and John Goodman was sensational;