111 Awesome Disney Songs, Part 3

Ryan Dosier - Hello again, Disney music lovers! Apologies for the week off, but I'm back again with 11 more Awesome Disney Songs! Here we go!

23.)   "It's a Small World" from Disneyland
You have to give props to a song that can get stuck in your head this easily. The chorus of this Sherman Brothers tune is perhaps the most catchy and ear-wormy ever written. Not only that, but the song is a beautiful message of hope for the entire world. "It's a Small World" reminds us that deep down, we're all living on this one small world together, so we must treat each other right. It's wonderful. Favorite Lyrics: "It's a world of laughter, a world of tears/It's a world of hope, and a world of fears/There's so much that we share/That it's time we're aware/It's a small world after all."

24.)   "Mine, Mine, Mine" from Pocahontas
One of the things that Disney does best in its animated films is villain songs, and this one from Pocahontas is fantastic. Not inherently evil on the surface, but mine through the lyrics and you realize how horribly awful Governor Ratcliffe really is. However, the song is bouncy and the lyrics are incredibly fun and David Ogden Stiers has a magnificent voice. Pocahontas is one of the weaker films in the Disney renaissance era, but the music is fantastic. Favorite Lyrics: "My rivals back home/It's not that I'm bitter/But think how they'll squirm/When they see how I glitter!/The ladies at court/Will be all a-twitter/The king will reward me/He'll knight me... no, lord me!"

25.)   "Little Wonders" from Meet the Robinsons
Meet the Robinsons is a beautiful and hugely underrated Disney animated feature. This song, "Little Wonders," was performed by Rob Thomas in the stirring final sequence of the film. The lyrics to "Little Wonders" are uplifting, haunting, and gorgeous. This is one of the finest examples of a song used in a non-musical Disney animated feature. It's a joy. Favorite Lyrics: "Let it slide/Let your troubles fall behind you/Let it shine/Until you feel it all around you/And I don't mind/If it's me you need to turn to/We'll get by/It's the heart that really matters in the end."

26.)   "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" from The Lion King
Probably my favorite song of my childhood, and one of the defining movie moments of my whole life, "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" is a swinging, joyful, and hugely fun song. Watching the colors and completely warped art style during this sequence is riveting. The performances of Simba, Nala, and Zazu in this song are delightful. Adding Zazu in turns this anthem of youth into more of a fighting duet and it works so beautifully. Favorite Lyrics: "I think it's time that you and I/Arranged a heart to heart." "Kings don't need advice/From little hornbills for a start." "If this is where the monarchy is headed/Count me out!/Out of service, out of Africa/I wouldn't hang about!"


27.)   "A Whole New World" from Aladdin

The most beautiful Disney ballad ever written? Perhaps. Of course it comes from Alan Menken! Aladdin's defining moment is "A Whole New World," and it really should be. It's soaring, tumbling, freewheeling (sorry), and completely incredible. The music flies and twists and turns, the lyrics capture that magic of truly falling in love for the first time. It's breathtaking. Favorite Lyrics: "I can show you the world/Shining, shimmering, splendid/Tell me princess, now when did you/Last let your heart decide?/I can open your eyes/Take you wonder by wonder/Over, sideways, and under/On a magic carpet ride."

28.)   "Heaven's Light/Hellfire" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Yet another song from Hunchback! This is the fourth one in three installments. Blame iTunes shuffle... Anyway! This might just be my favorite song from the film. First the chillingly beautiful intro from Quasimodo, and then Frollo's terrifying "Hellfire" comes in and blows it away. Absolutely the scariest Disney villain song ever, "Hellfire" is vicious, evil, and hits close to home--much like Frollo himself. Tony Jay's vocals here are incredible as well. Favorite Lyrics: "I feel her, I see her/The sun caught in raven hair/Is blazing in me out of all control!"

29.)   "You Can Fly! You Can Fly! You Can Fly!" from Peter Pan
Peter Pan is one of the Disney animated features that feels like it has more songs than it does, but there really aren't that many--at least not that many memorable ones. But this flying song comes at a pivotal point of the film, when Peter teaches the Darling children to fly. It starts of slow, and builds and builds until the children--and the song--are soaring. It's absolutely the highlight of the film for me. Favorite Lyrics: "Think of the happiest things/It's the same as having wings/Take the path that moonbeams make/If the moon is still awake/You'll see him wink his eye/You can fly, you can fly!/You can fly!"

30.)   "Cruella De Vil" from 101 Dalmatians
Another delightful villain song, albeit one not performed by the villain, but about her. Cruella De Vil is one of those unredeemable Disney villains, whose actions have no real redeeming value. Roger's song about her, then, is incredibly fitting, calling her out for the witch she is. But what a fun, catchy song! You can't help but love it. Favorite Lyrics: "This vampire bat/This inhuman beast/She oughta be locked up/And never released/The world was such a wholesome place until/Cruella, Cruella De Vil."

31.)   "Duck Tales Theme" from DuckTales
DuckTales was the original Disney Afternoon cartoon, and it remains one of the best. The theme song starts everything and provides a rollicking, wonderful fun time. As any good cartoon theme song does, it captures the idea that the show can take you on adventures and through fun worlds with great characters. Favorite Lyrics: "Life is like a hurricane here in Duckburg/Race cars, lasers, aeroplanes, it's a duck-blur!/Might solve a mystery/Or rewrite history!/DuckTales! Woo-oo!"

32.)   "Friends On the Other Side" from The Princess and the Frog
Boy, this week is jam-packed with villain songs. I love it! One of the more recent Disney musical classics is The Princess and the Frog, and Randy Newman's soundtrack is fantastic. My favorite of the bunch, is this song performed by Dr. Facilier (Keith David). The soaring, spiraling colors, the wonderful lyrics, the haunting tune... everything in this song is so good. Favorite Lyrics: "I got voodoo/I got who-do/I got things I ain't even tried/And I got friends on the other side."

33.)   "Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas
What a wonderful song to end the list this week. Another Alan Menken Oscar-winner, "Colors of the Wind" is my favorite part of Pocahontas by far. The gorgeous lyrics and music are some of Menken's best, and when coupled with the astounding visuals of Pocahontas teaching John Smith, it becomes a masterpiece. Pocahontas as a whole may be fairly weak, but "Colors of the Wind" is amazing. Favorite Lyrics: "You think the only people who are people/Are the people who look and think like you/But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger/You'll learn things you never knew you never knew."