Top 10 list: Favorite Disney songs.

Foreward: I've postponed Fable Legends to next week, have a Top 10 list as a filler with another one next week

This is one of the few times I’m going to say something around these lines: If you haven’t seen a Disney movie in your life then not only do you have to get out from whatever mountain you’ve been under and you have no childhood. This topic is one of the easiest and most common Top Ten lists on the internet and for good reason. I was going to do this anyway but after hearing about what Disney is currently working on, I thought I’d do it now. This is actually two separate lists as I’m going to be doing a list for the villain songs. There is only one rule for this list: 1. No single movie can have two positions on this list. With that said, time to look at these pieces of music from the perspective of my personal enjoyment of the song and their role in the story.

10. Love is a Open Door and Beware the Frozen Heart (Frozen):

 Aside from the fact that I know someone who will never let me hear the end of it if I don't have a Frozen song on this list, the other reason why I put these here is because of their roles in Frozen ( in regards to Love is a Open Door). As I said in my review of Frozen, Let it go is still a good song but there are other songs in the film. For Love is a Open Door, using any form of judgement for music, its awful. The instrumental doesn't match the theme of the song, the singers aren't in sync, the lyrics are forgetful, and yet it has a more important role in the film then Let it go, but you wouldn't know it the first time you see the film until the reveal of the villain, Hans and its for that reason why I put it here.

As for Beware the Frozen Heart? Listen to this clip and see why I put it on this list.

Its the same type of song isn't it, the only difference is that you don't need to understand the world of Frozen to know what the people are saying in Beware the Frozen Heart, but the lyrics in Dragonborn are in the game's language, so to understand what they're saying (assuming you want to), you would have to play the game and understand the language (and that's assuming the song makes sense when you translate it). So yes, the whole reason why Beware the Frozen Heart is here is because it reminds me of Dragonborn (I still maintain that the scene where its in could be cut out of the movie but that's just me).

9. Tell Everybody I'm on my way (Brother Bear): 

I don't hear a lot of praise for Brother Bear and to be honest, I'm not sure why, its a fine movie (saying this as a general viewer, not a reviewer). The story is nice, the visuals are gorgeous and the characters are memorable. As for the song itself, while I'm not a fan of Koda's singing, when it cuts to Phil Collins portion of the song, I absolutely love it. Phil Collins does a lot of iconic Disney songs so don't be surprised if he appears more then once on this list. Like Beware the Frozen Heart, this is here because I enjoy it more so then its role in the film.

8. Under the Sea and Part of Their World (The Little Mermaid): 

These two are in a similar position to the two Frozen songs, in the way of I'd never hear the end of it if I don't include at least a song from The Little Mermaid. But Unlike Frozen, The Little Mermaid was going to be on the list because of Under the Sea in particular (Part of Their World came after). I like songs that cheer me up in some way, shape or form and Under the Sea does this beautifully... kinda. The reason why I put Under the Sea so low is because I don't love the original song, but a particular remix of it

 There isn't that much of a difference between the two of them, its just a slightly faster pace and a slightly higher vocal track that makes this version better then the original in my personal opinion. Now there isn't anything wrong with the original version, its just that the original track tends to show its age whereas this one is more of a update then a remix. The picture in this is also beautiful in my opinion and the animation is still great for the original film.

I also have the same problem with Part of Their world, The Little Mermaid is a old film and things like a Blu-Ray release show this off and make the film worse in comparison (it was released in 1989 so while it might not be as old as other films, it isn't exactly the newest film either). As for the song itself, people tend to think of this as the song that started the trend of the Disney Princesses wanting "more" but not knowing what more is. It was brought up in a video I watched that, realistically, this isn't the case because Ariel does know what she wants. Ariel is one of the smartest Disney Princesses because, when you think about it, she is, by the dictionary term, a scientist "a person who studies or practices any of the sciences or who uses scientific methods". She wants to know more about the human race, see what all the items she has found over the years actually do and what they're used for and I think its for that reason why she went along with Ursala's deal more so then Eric.

7. One Jump Ahead (Aladdin):  

You ain't getting this song out of your head for a while, while this isn't as catchy as Ducktales (dammit, now I have that stuck in my head again...) it still has a theme to it that won't leave. Its a great number in Aladdin as it establishes the character perfectly. The animation for it is also hilarious to watch and is perfectly in sync with the instrumental for the song. I think that the vocal track could be a bit louder (at least in this version, I don't know where this comes from (in terms of which version of the film)) but apart from that, you just have to stay one jump ahead.

6. Two Worlds (Tarzan): 

Another great way to open up a film as it's a great example of showing, not telling. Again. love Phil Collin's work in Disney and combining it with this from Tarzan, it establishes why the character is the way he is without a single line of dialogue from the characters. The way it shifts between the human family and the gorilla family is beautiful to watch and as a result, its hard to say why exactly but if you watch the clip above, you'll see why.

5. God Help the Outcasts (Hunchback of Notre Dame): 

 
Not only would I say that this song still holds relevance to this day and possibly for several years to come, but I'll also go so far to say that this is probably the darkest song Disney has put out when you take into consideration the rest of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Its a glimmer of hope and light in a story that only gets darker and more depressing up until the very end. It's a type of dark writing that's very rarely seen in any form of writing in this day and age because of how hard it is to get right, and if you have seen Hunchback of Notre Dame, then you'll know that they get this done perfectly. The vocals are absolutely beautiful with a beautiful instrumental to back it. I actually get a bit teary when I see and hear this song and I'm not religious by any stretch of the imagination, its that good at telling its message.

4. I've Got a Dream (Tangled):

Time for a mood swing, because I need something to cheer me up after number 5. I'm going to say right now: No, I haven't seen Tangled at the time of writing this. Like Frozen, it didn't catch my interest when it was first teased. I do intend to give it a look now after seeing this song. We've all seen the "merry band of misfits" gag before (just look at Shrek for a example) and yet this one seems to be the best, to me at least (not including the rest of the story) because it seems to be done with pure intentions instead of for the joke in Shrek. Rapunzel is adorable in this song and the song itself is just funny to watch, especially when (for this clip) it gets to, who I want to say is, Flynn Rider's part. Pause the video at 2:15, you should see him surrounded by swords, its at that moment when he realizes that he's in a Disney movie. Its just funny to watch and has made me want to see Tangled now, just to find out if the rest of the film does this style of humor as well.

3. This is Halloween (The Nightmare Before Christmas): 

From depressing, to hilarious, to creepy mindf&^%... I swear this wasn't intentional... Like Tangled, I haven't seen Nightmare Before Christmas, but I have a better excuse for finding this then finding a random Youtube video. I'm a fan of Kingdom Hearts and the main theme for the Nightmare Before Christmas's world is a instrumental of This is Halloween...Then it was a random Nightcore of the song before the original. The particular Nightcore is this one here, though it doesn't achieve the same effect as original.

As for the song itself, if your noticing a pattern with some of these songs its because I think the opening number for a musical must always be one of your best as its how you get your audience's attention, thats why there are a few opening numbers here. This is Halloween is a perfect showcase of the theme of the world the story revolves around and its for that reason why i like it, aside from the good, while creepy visuals. Don't let the bed bugs bite...

2. I'll Make a Man out of You (Mulan): (mention Honour to us all)

Another case of "its catchy, thats it". I love the instrumental track, the vocals work perfectly, it matches whats happening on the screen perfectly. Its just a great song in general. People sometimes combine I'll Make a Man out of You and Honour to us all as one point on their lists as they are very similar. Honour to us all focuses on the role of women in Feudal China while I'll Make a Man out of You focuses on the role of men in Feudal China and while I will agree with this view, I'll Make a Man out of You, to me at least, is just a bit better as I like its instrumental more then Honour to us all. Its the same issue that I have with Lesson Number One in the film's sequel, which I why I didn't include either of them here. A instrumental can make a song or break it for me.

1. I Just Can't Wait to be King (The Lion King): 

Do I need to explain this one? HAVE YOU NOT SEEN THE LION KING? If you look at this song and compare it to the rest of the list, you'll see why I've put it at number 1.

That's it for my list, any that you agree with, any that you hate or loath the decision? Let me know. The next Top 10 list, time to give the villain's their role in the spotlight.