The Disney animated movie catalog is extensive and rich. With films like The Lion King, Alladin, Toy Story, Beauty and the Beast, and more, you could put on a marathon of movies and continue with smiles on your faces for days on end.
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But while the animation in the movies is always excellent and often groundbreaking, one of the most beloved aspects of the movies is their songs. But fans of those films and their glorious soundtracks may not know that some of the biggest names in music composed the tracks.
[RELATED: Top 10 Disney Songs]
Here below, we will dive into four of those songs, all of which were written by Grammy-winning artists. With their powers combined, they created some of the best songs in film.
1. “Can You Feel The Love Tonight,” Elton John
Written by Elton John, Tim Rice
“Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” from the 1994 movie The Lion King, was written by Elton John and Tim Rice. It’s a romantic ballad, as the title suggests, that became a hit, peaking at No. 14 in the U.K. and No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. It even earned Elton a Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
There’s a calm surrender
To the rush of day
When the heat of a rolling wind
Can be turned away
An enchanted moment
And it sees me through
It’s enough for this restless warrior
Just to be with you
2. “Nobody Like U,” Billie Eilish and FINNEAS
Written by Billie Eilish, FINNEAS
While “Nobody Like U” was performed in the Disney-Pixar movie Turning Red by the fictional band 4*Town, it was written by the sister-brother duo of Billie Eilish and FINNEAS. It also features the adorable lyric, I’ve never met nobody like you / Had friends, and I’ve had buddies, it’s true / But they don’t turn my tummy the way you do. It also earned Eilish and FINNEAS a Grammy nomination in the category of Best Song Written For Visual Media.
3. “How Far I’ll Go,” Lin-Manuel Miranda
Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda
“How Far I’ll Go,” which has garnered more than 1.2 billion streams on YouTube alone, was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda for the Disney-Pixar film Moana. Miranda, of course, is the mastermind behind Broadway hits like In The Heights and Hamilton, as well as songs for other films like “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” for Encanto. The 2016 song, however, remains one of his best, in the class of his other major works, too. It was nominated for an Oscar and won a Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
4. “You’ve Got A Friend In Me,” Randy Newman
Los Angeles-born songwriter Randy Newman is one of the 20th century’s best. Case in point: “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” which he wrote for the 1995 Disney-Pixar movie Toy Story. It’s just the perfect song sung with the perfect tone. So good that it was nominated for an Oscar.
You’ve got a friend in me
You’ve got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead
And you’re miles and miles
From your nice warm bed
You just remember what your old pal said
Boy, you’ve got a friend in me
Yeah, you’ve got a friend in me
Photo by Harry Durrant/Getty Images
