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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by Doug Gladstone (archives)
October 12, 2011
Guest contributor Doug Gladstone presents his list of the 50 greatest songs from an animated film in Disney history.

Remember the first time you heard Julie Andrews sing �Spoonful of Sugar� in Mary Poppins? I do, �cause it was the first time my parents ever took me to the movies. (Hey, there wasn�t much to choose from back in 1964 as far as family fare went.) The song was relentlessly cheery and, just as important, hummable. To a precocious four-year-old, that�s important stuff. So suffice it to say, because �Spoonful of Sugar� resonated with me, I�ve always held it in high esteem.

You can say much the same thing about a lot of Disney songs. The vast majority of them are incredibly optimistic and upbeat numbers that, not surprisingly, always accentuate the positive. Friendship, love, teamwork, caring for others -- you want to know about the inherent goodness of human nature, just listen to a Disney tune.

Of course, not all Disney songs have that unifying theme running through their lyrics or melody. You might find this hard to believe, but some are just plain dark, while others just plain silly. And while the most famous ones are about aspirations, dreams and wish fulfillment, Disney songs don�t always try to send a message. In short, there�s a little something for every musical ear to appreciate.

According to the American Film Institute (AFI), songs set a tone or a specific mood. They can also define a character�s personality, advance the plot or express a movie�s theme. The best songs, AFI points out, stand the test of time because they stand in our collective memory of the film itself.

That�s certainly true with Disney songs. Since November 18, 1928 -- Mickey Mouse�s first film appearance in Steamboat Willie - Disney movies have received 37 prestigious Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song, and have taken home that gold statuette on 11 different occasions. The most recent win occurred this past February 27th, when Randy Newman copped the Oscar for Toy Story 3�s �We Belong Together.�

Though �We Belong Together� is a nice song, for my money, Disney�s �I See The Light�, from the movie Tangled, was the tune that should have won the award. That�s why award shows don�t mean a great deal to me. They�re the penultimate popularity contest. After all, just because your favorite didn�t win the prize doesn�t mean it�s still not a good song, right? 

Take �Chim Chim Cher-ee� for instance. A classic, right? Mary Poppins had a score to die for. Richard M. & Robert B. Sherman churned out 16 songs for that film, most of which are so ingrained in our consciousness that it�s a rare person who can�t name at least one song from that movie. Typically, however, that song is likely to be �Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious� and not �Chim Chim Cher-ee.� But what is even more surprising is that Walt Disney himself reportedly loved �Feed the Birds� more than any other song from that movie.

So what�s your favorite song from a Disney animated movie? Below is a list of mine, including tunes from live-action movies that feature animation, such as Mary Poppins, Song of the South, Pete�s Dragon and Bedknobs and Broomsticks. If you don�t find your particular Disney fave here, just remember, that doesn�t mean it�s not a good song. Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder (a message perhaps best summed up by the song I ranked #28), lists are entirely subjective:

#1. �When You Wish Upon A Star.� (Pinocchio) - Widely regarded as the Walt Disney Company�s official anthem, this iconic song also ranks as #7 in AFI�s own Greatest Movie Song list;

#2. �Be Our Guest.� (Beauty and the Beast) -- If �When You Wish Upon A Star� is the Disney Company�s official anthem, this showstopper and 1991 Oscar nominee is the unofficial motto of the company�s parks, stores and cruise ships;

#3. �Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah.� (Song of the South) -- The Academy Award winner from 1947 rates as #47 on AFI�s list of greatest songs. Along with the song �Everybody�s Got A Laughing Place,� it inspired the Splash Mountain theme park ride. Here�s hoping the Disney Company one day has the guts to reissue the movie, which most people have never even seen and is viewed by those who have as a hallmark in interracial relations;

#4. �Chim Chim Cher-ee.� (Mary Poppins) - Nowhere is there a more happier crew than when this 1965 Academy Award winner plays in our household;

#5. �Belle Notte.� (Lady and the Tramp) - A beautiful song made more special by the indelible image of a canine couple being serenaded by a human restaurateur and his cook -- who accompany themselves on an accordion and violin as the dogs nibble at the same strand of spaghetti;

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