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."

Disney Fan Project: Carl Barks: The Duck Man

The name Carl Barks doesn't quite ring a bell to the average person, but the impact he had on many Disney fans' lives were tremendous. From his work as an anonymous artist working for Walt Disney in the early days of the studio. Carl was one of the few people who developed Donald Duck and his nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie.
Fans of the DuckTales series definitely have a lot to thank Mr. Barks for. Carl was behind creating the entire city of Duckburg, with the show's main character Scrooge McDuck, the Beagle Boys, Gyro Gearloose, Gladstone Glander and many more.

Disney fan and filmmaker Geoffroy Koeberle hopes to capture and pay tribute to the life and works of Carl Banks, who worked to create some of the most beloved characters and stories of the twentieth century. Geoffroy Koeberle worked as an assistant director on several major Hollywood films, including some recent films like Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Midnight in Paris andThree Days to Kill. 

"Carl Barks: The Duck Man is a film that will look to the readers and fans of duck stories and Carl Barks artwork to tell the story of the strip and its creator." It's offical Indiegogo page says. "As we explore the art and impact of Carl Barks through this unique perspective, the undying appreciation and love of duck and the man behind it will be evident in the anecdotes, stories, and memories shared by readers of the strip and friends and colleagues of Carl Barks." The film is also to be narrated by John Goodman.

You can check out more details on this project through this link to their campaign page. If you are a fan of Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, or of DuckTales and would like to see Carl get the honor and recognition due to him, be sure to pledge your donation to the project in order to see this get accomplished!

You can watch the main campaign video right here. Be sure to check out their page for even more videos from the film.




NOTE: This project is not affiliated with The Mickey Mindset. For further questions, be sure to contact the team at carlbarkstheduckman@gmail.com.

Top Ten Donald Duck Shorts

Today's article is written by our good friend and frequent contributer Michael Wermuth. Be sure to also check out Michael's article on The Top Ten Mickey Mouse Shorts.

Michael Wermuth- Donald Duck is one of everybody’s favorite Disney characters. While Mickey Mouse is the face of The Walt Disney Company, Donald is allowed to have more personality, making him a stronger character. He’s starred in many movies and TV shows, and now, here is a list of my top ten favorite Donald Duck cartoons.

10. The Dognapper

One of the few black and white cartoons featuring Donald, this short finds Donald and Mickey as police officers after Peg-Leg Pete, who has stolen Minnie’s dog, Fifi. There’s a lot of funny visual gags, including the saw mill.

9. The New Spirit

In this cartoon, Donald listens to a news report on what he can do to support America in World War II. He’s all enthusiastic over what the radio says he can do, even though he won’t get a medal for it, but initially gets disappointed to learn that this important thing is paying his income tax on time, but perks up when he learns that although it doesn’t seem important, it still is important, and paying taxes on time allows for the army to spend the money on material to defeat the enemies, “taxes to defeat the axis!” This is a good cartoon to promote patriotism. In fact, I’ve read that this short caused more people to pay their taxes on time.

8. The Wise Little Hen

This was the first Donald Duck cartoon, and probably his only appearance in a Silly Symphony. In this one, Donald Duck and Peter Pig both get out of helping a hen with making muffins, claiming to have bellyaches as their excuse. And when it’s time to eat, they both expect a good treat, but instead get a good, funny payoff. It’s a shame that Peter Pig didn’t return, he seemed like a great character, with his grunting when he talks (much like Donald’s quacking when he talks).

7. Working for Peanuts

This is one of only two classic Disney animated shorts that were made in 3D, though that’s not why this is on the list. This short finds Donald as a zoo keeper who, with the help of Deloris the Elephant, keeps Chip and Dale away from Delore’s peanuts. But eventually, Chip and Dale paint themselves white and trick Donald into thinking they are albino chipmunks. And when Dale gets halfway into a pool, washing off half the paint, he comes up with a funny way to convince Donald that it’s not what it seems (leading to a funnier punchline at the end).

6. Sleepytime Donald

In this short, Donald Duck sleepwalks (a plotline previously used with Popeye and Olive Oyl in “A Dream Walking”, and later used by Tom and Jerry in “Jerry, Jerry, Quite Contrary” and by Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales in “Skyscraper Caper”), with Daisy making sure he doesn’t get in trouble while sleepwalking. Spoiler: He does get into trouble.

5. The Spirit of ‘43

A follow-up to “The New Spirit”, this short finds Donald battling over how to use his money on payday – put it towards his taxes and help the army, or spend it on entertainment? Donald has a good and bad conscience, though not in the forms of an angel and devil – instead, the good conscience is a thrifty Scottish duck (with some resemblance to Scrooge McDuck, though I don’t think Scrooge had been around at that point), and the bad a frivolous-spending duck.

4. Derr Fuhers Face

The one Donald Duck cartoon that won an Oscar, and deservedly so. This short finds Donald in the army as a Nazi officer, eating very small amounts of food, having to salute every PICTURE of Adolf Hitler, and having to make bullet shells of different sizes. Thankfully for Donald, it all ends up being a dream.
To avoid any controversy over the short's propagandist nature of the film, not to mention the depiction of Donald Duck as a Nazi officer, and the Nazi symbol scattered throughout the short, Disney kept it out of circulation until 2004 where it was released on the Walt Disney Treasures set.

3. Duck Pimples

This is perhaps one of the weirdest Disney shorts. Donald reads a scary story, and various people from the book come out of the book, including a cop who accuses Donald of a crime, an attractive dame, a gorilla, and even the author of the book. And this is one of the few Donald cartoons to feature human characters, making it stand out more (of course, Quack Pack was also full of human characters).

2. Donald’s Happy Birthday

In this short, Huey, Dewy, and Louie want to buy Donald a box of cigars for his birthday, but after making enough money, Donald makes them save the money, not allowing them to spend it. So it’s a struggle to get the money away from Donald, and after they do, Donald catches them buying cigars (without knowing why) and decides to punish them by making them smoke all the cigars. The ending is a very funny ending, one that likely wouldn’t be in a Disney cartoon today (I’m surprised I even saw it on The Disney Channel in 1998, though it was a late-night Vault Disney showing), and I guess this also shows that society has changed, since the nephews, who are obviously children, were actually able to go into a store to buy the cigars. Just try to send a young child into a store today to buy you cigars, with no I.D., and be believed by a shopkeeper that the cigars are not for the child.

1.   Donald’s Dilemma

Most of my favorite Disney shorts are ones that are somehow historically important or well-known successes. This is among the few “average” Disney shorts that I really like. It finds Daisy telling a psychologist about Donald getting hit on the head, giving him a golden singing voice (singing the classic “When You Wish Upon a Star”) but also getting amnesia, forgetting about and having no interest in Daisy. There’s some great scenes with Daisy going somewhat crazy (as she says, “I didn’t want to eat. I didn’t want to sleep. I didn’t want to live”), and when she learns of a cure for Donald, it’s funny to see how she reacts when realizing she has to choose between what she wants or the world getting to appreciate Donald’s singing voice.

The Mickey Mindset: mickeymindset@gmail.com

Why Darkwing Duck is Such a Great Show

Michael Wermuth- Darkwing Duck is one of Disney’s greatest animated shows. It’s one of my favorites from the Disney Afternoon (and the only one I’ve bothered to get the DVDs of). I watched it during it’s run on The Disney Afternoon, and occasionally caught the ABC episodes. I even had all of the action figures (not sure whether I still have them all). But why is the show so good? Because it is! 

The characters are great. I can identify with Darkwing Duck, wanting to be in the spotlight, though he does a better job at it. Launchpad McQuack, who debuted on DuckTales, is a funny sidekick to Darkwing. Darkwing’s adopted daughter, Gosylyn, is a good character for him to have adopted. And her brainy best friend, Honker, is a good character, one of my favorites when I was younger (though watching it now he does seem a little weak). I also like Darkwing’s girlfriend, Morgana, a lot better now than when I was a kid.

And of course there’s the villains. My favorite villains from the show are Megavolt, Quackerjack, and Steelbeak. Megavolt and Quackerjack are both funny and colorful characters, and it’s a shame he wasn’t in the action figure line-up (but Tuskernini was, and he was only in five episodes. Fun fact: The Tuskernini figure was the first one I had gotten, and I hadn’t even seen any episodes with him. And I chose that one over the others that were in the store that day, can’t remember who else was there but I know the ones I wanted most weren’t).  Steelbeak is also a great villain, kinda the leader type though he’s not really a leader, just a top agent at F.O.W.L ,  the type who could be the big bad of the show, if he did lead the other villains (although the video games and other merchandise imply otherwise, the other major villains weren’t part of F.O.W.L.). And he’s perhaps the shows most notable villain to not be part of The Fearsome Five, which consists of Negaduck (the leader, and another character who could have been the main villain), Quackerjack, Megavolt, Bushroot, and The Liquidator. There’s also some great villains who didn’t appear in many episodes, including the theatrical Tuskernini, hillbilly Jumbalaya Jake, and a group of hat-shaped aliens who take over the bodies of whose who wear them.

Some of my favorite episodes include: “Comic Book Capers”, where Darkwing tries to write a Darkwing Duck comic book but other characters (including Megavolt) manage to add their own creative input. “Twitching Channels”, where Darkwing and Megavolt get zapped into the TV and land in the real world, with humans who are fans of the show (wouldn’t it have been great if this episode could have mixed live action with animation?). “Clash Reunion”, which reveals Darkwing and Megavolt’s back stories (well, one of at least four back stories that reveal how Drake Mallard became Darkwing Duck). “Batttle of the Brain Teasers”and its sequel, “Return of the Battle of the Brain Teasers, Too!”, which feature the hat-shaped aliens and Honker becoming a hero. The two-part “Just Us Justice Ducks”, featuring the debut of The Fearsome Five as a team (and it really is the debut of Negaduck, and due to the episodes airing out of order, Liquidator’s first episode). “Trading Faces”, where the main characters switch bodies. And “Water Way to Go”, in which Darkwing agrees to let Launchpad be the hero for once. And there’s a lot more episodes I’d like to list but won’t here.

I would also like to acknowledge the voice cast, especially Jim Cummings, who voiced Darkwing as well as many other characters on the show. It seems to me like Cummings was the only voice actor on this show to do multiple voices, even though some of the other voice actors did multiple voices on other shows. Other voice actors included Rob Paulsen (Steelbeak), Dan Castlenetta (Megavolt), Michael Bell (Quackerjack), Tito Insano (Bushroot), Terry McGovern (Launchpad), Christina Cavanaugh (Gosylyn), Katie Leigh (Honker), and many other wonderful voice actors.

So Darkwing Duck had a lot going for it. It had great characters (especially villains), a great voice cast, great episodes, I didn’t mention the comic book series from Boom! Because I’ve only seen the first story arc but that was a great comic. At 78 episodes, it’s one of the few Disney Afternoon shows to have more than 65 episodes (though DuckTales has it beat by 100). 

Disney Fan Artwork Showcase: Debbie Perry

We're really excited to share some fantastic artwork from the talented Disney fan artist Debbie writes into the blog with some of her latest Disney fan art. Thanks Debbie! Her other work can be found at http://fluffyandmervin.com/

This one was made in honor of Annette Funicello: 

Thank you to Debbie for the fabulous artwork! 

Disney Fan Art Showcase: Kevin Arsenault

Today we're thrilled and really, really proud to present a dozen pieces of original, amazing fan art from our friend Kevin Arsenault. Kevin's art style is one of my favorites and I really can't get enough of it. Be sure to visit Kevin's EeyorbStudios Deviant Art page for even more outstanding artwork!

"It's the World According to Goofy"

"Foul-Feathered Friend"

"Croissant de Triomphe"

"Panchito Pistoles"

"Have You Been to Bahia?"

"We're Just a Couple of Crazy Rascals!"

"Huey, Dewey, and Louie"

"Bless Me Bagpipes!"

"Olaf"

"Roger Rabbit"

"We Love You, Uncle Donald"

"Battle of the Mallets"

Huge thanks to Kevin Arsenault for letting us share his amazing work!

The Mickey Mindset, mickeymindset@gmail.com