10 Favorite Disney Songs

The start of Disney 100 features with iconic songs

Pinocchio, Disney

Over at the It’s the Pictures podcast, my cohost and I delved into some Disney magic joining Disney’s 100th celebration. We discussed some of our favorite movies from our childhood, what we believe are the best movies overall, and some of our favorite songs from Disney’s vast catalog. The original purpose of the It’s the Pictures newsletter was to expand upon the podcast offering more in-depth coverage and analysis. With that in mind, I’m going to be sending out newsletters covering Disney for a little bit. These will include samples for free subscribers and the whole kit and caboodle for paying subs.

Remember Free Subscribers get a ton of free posts, but Paid Subscribers get special posts and fully unlocked archives featuring the best of the It’s the Pictures newsletter.

This list will include only songs from Disney’s animated catalog. So that means Pixar songs like “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” won’t be included, as well as, anything from the live-action movies like Mary Poppins.

I don’t think I can talk about Disney music without mentioning composer Alan Menken, so thank you, Menken, your music is iconic.

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11. I See the Light - Tangled

So I lied. There was no way I was only going to be able to do ten of these. There are countless great Disney songs from more recent Disney titles that don’t show up in this top ten (Moana and Encanto being the most egregious), but I’ve always loved this number from Tangled. I can easily draw comparisons from this scene to The Little Mermaid’s ‘Kiss the Girl’ — the leads falling in love with each other and a spectacular background ties it all together. I’d argue that this one works better for me.

10. You'll Be in My Heart - Tarzan

This is one of those Disney songs that comes to define a movie and is also one of the handful to have won the Best Original Song Academy Award. Phil Collins contributes to this ballet and it’s one of those songs that works outside of Disney movies as pure pop enjoyment. While I’m not extremely fond of Tarzan as a movie, I think this number is top-notch Disney.

9. When You Wish Upon a Star - Pinocchio

Another song that I enjoy a whole lot more than the movie it originates from. I’ve never been a big fan of Disney’s Pinocchio and actually find myself enjoying Guillermo del Toro’s recent adaptation a whole lot more. That being said, there’s no denying “When You Wish Upon A Star.” It’s a song that has come to define the entire Disney brand. Even if you’ve never seen Pinocchio before you know this song. If you want to hear another arrangement of the song, Sara Bareilles recently recorded a new one for Disney.

8. Let it Go - Frozen

I’m so tired of this song, but I can’t deny how great it is. Even though “Let it Go” was eventually passed by “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” in terms of the highest-charting Disney song of the last two decades, I believe “Let it Go” is everything great about Disney ballads. Not only is it catchy as hell, but it’s also empowering as well. Whether it was Kristen Anderson-Lopez or Robert Lopez who wrote the line “My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around,” I don’t care because geez, that’s genius. Good, now I can stop thinking about this earworm again.

7. I Won't Say (I'm in Love) - Hercules

This one is a more recent addition to my favorite Disney songs. Hercules actually has a lot of great musical numbers, but this from the female protagonist Meg is reminiscent of the 1950s and Motown. In the song, she refuses to acknowledge that she’s falling in love with Hercules, while the fates are encouraging her to accept her feelings. A few years ago I heard a cover of the song from Ariana Grande that I really enjoyed and this one has really grown on me.

6. I'll Make a Man Out of You - Mulan

“I’ll Make a Man Out of You” is pure fun. The visuals are a mixture of goofy and thrilling as there isn’t much that can match Mulan finally getting to the top of the pole before all the other men in her legion. It shows her incredible growth in a dangerous situation. Bravo to singer Donny Osmond who absolutely nails this one. While Mulan has other great musical numbers, including “Reflection,” I tend to enjoy this one a little bit more.

Become a paid subscriber and see the top five, otherwise, download the It’s the Pictures podcast and listen to some of our top choices.