There’s nothing more iconic than Disney music
Let’s get down to business and talk about some songs
Whether it's soundtracks from Beauty and the Beast or The Lion King, every Disney movie has an iconic song you can't help but sing along to. (Claudia Culley)
Everybody has seen a Disney movie. Those Mickey Mouse ears are iconic worldwide, and what is Disney without its catchy tunes? I guess they still make pretty good movies, but we all get upset when they try to make a live action version of a classic movie without any of the iconic, nostalgic songs.
So, let me show you the world of Disney music.
A good Disney villain is fun, literally cartoonishly evil, and has at least one killer song. There’s Frollo’s “Hellfire” from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the “Poor Unfortunate Souls” by Ursula from The Little Mermaid sings about, and of course, the winner of the “no Belle” prize, Gaston with “Gaston” in Beauty and the Beast.
Yet chief among villain songs, the king of them all is “Be Prepared” from The Lion King. Who would’ve thought the pump-up song for the murder of a cartoon lion that traumatized tons of kids would be so catchy? Scar telling the hyenas to just shut up and do what he says while they chant “We’ll have food, lots of food,” in the background is an absolute mood.
As great as they are, the best songs don’t come from the villains. They come from the side characters. “Hakuna Matata” from The Lion King, “Friend like me” from Aladdin, and “You’re Welcome” from Moana, are all legendary hits. But nothing can match Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast.
Opinions about Disney’s live-action adaptations of classic movies range from “Zero to Hero,” but the first big one and the only one that I feel is an improvement from the classic animated version is Beauty and the Beast. It’s especially perfect if you’re a nerd because Star Wars’ Obi-Wan Kenobi, Harry Potter’s Hermoine Granger, and The Lord of the Rings’ Gandalf are all in it.
“Be Our Guest” is “magnifique.” If you ignore how unsettling this number should have been for Belle, given that she was trapped in a castle while a bunch of anthropomorphic furniture fixated on her, the song is just good vibes. Lumiere is so excited about being able to do a little song and dance, it always puts me in a good mood.
Sure there’s other iconic songs, like the one the world got weirdly obsessed with, “Let it go” from Frozen. But no really, we should let that one go, it’s just an okay song.
“The Bare Necessities” of any Disney song is they’re catchy and they tell a story in some way. Your favourite Disney hit probably comes from your dearest Disney movie, and that’s very much true for me.
Mulan has two songs that are peak Disney, “A girl worth fighting for” and “I’ll make a man out of you.” I watched Mulan on repeat as a kid, and those two songs are the ones I still listen to. Like the rest of the songs I’ve talked about, they’re iconic to me, not necessarily because of some deep meaning, but because they’re fun to listen to. They also have little moments for Yao, Chien-Po, and Ling who are some of the most fun Disney sidekicks.
At the end of the day, most songs in Disney movies are pretty dang good. Whether your best-loved is the same as one of mine or even “Let it go,” your favourite Disney hit is valid.
