“There’s a terrific power to music,” Walt Disney once said. “You can run any of these pictures and they’d be dragging and boring, but the minute you put music behind them, they have life and vitality they don’t get any other way.”
Videos by American Songwriter
The Disney company has stayed true to that idea for going on 100 years now. Their animated features are always accompanied by a top-notch soundtrack, written and performed by some of the most iconic artists of the day.
Compiling a list of the “top” Disney songs is a hard task. Everyone has their opinions and, with narrowing the list down to just 10, it’s impossible to not leave a few hits out of the mix. Nevertheless, we’ve chosen a few songs that stand as some of the most well-performing songs in the studio’s history. Find our list below.
10. “The Second Star to the Right” (Peter Pan)
While Disney has managed to keep its luster intact for nearly a century, the classic movies made back in Walt’s day have a rarified air about them. It doesn’t get much more classic than “Peter Pan.”
To help Disney-fy the story, Disney tapped Sammy Cahn and Sammy Fain to compose sweeping, orchestral songs for the soundtrack. The main title song, “The Second Star to the Right,” immediately lulls the listener into a dream-like state where they too can feel like they are floating on a pixie-dust-laden pirate ship, heading to a land where time stands still.
The second star to the right shines in the night for you / To tell you that the dreams you plan really can come true / If it’s Never Land you need / It’s light will lead you there
9. “Reflection” (Mulan)
Broadway staple Lea Salonga’s voice cuts through like a knife in “Reflection.” The song appears in the movie Mulan as the title character reckons with her place in the world. The song, written and produced by Matthew Wilder (also the writer for the TikTok-approved hit “Break My Stride”), is one of the most poignant ballads in Disney history.
The song is also notable for its single version recorded by Christina Aguilera. The song acted as her debut single when she was just 17 years old.
Every day
It’s as if I play a part
Now I see
If I wear a mask
I can fool the world
But I cannot fool my heart
8. “God Help the Outcasts” (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
Though most Disney movies are universally loved, there are a few that draw mixed opinions. The Hunchback of Notre Dame is one such movie. Those that hate it, feel the plot is too weighty for a kid’s movie. Others see it as an expertly crafted example of what sets Disney leagues above its peers: never shying away from hard truths while still making the film digestible for a younger generation.
In “God Help the Outcasts,” Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz filter prejudice and religious persecution through the lens of a Broadway-esque ballad. It’s not one of Disney’s more ciphered allegories but, who else could tackle those topics head-on in a children’s movie than Disney?
The poor and down trod
I thought we all were the children of God
God help the outcasts
Children of God
7. “Remember Me” (Coco)
Few musical pursuits hold as much emotional weight as Disney songs do. The highs are stratospheric. The lows are instant tearjerkers. One such low comes from the 2012 movie, Coco. “Remember Me” pops up a number of times throughout the story but, it’s at its most affecting at the end of the movie when the main character Miquel sings it along with his grandmother Coco.
Though she suffers from dementia, the familiar tune gives her a moment of clarity and reunites her with her family. It’s near impossible to weather this moment with a dry eye.
Remember me, for I will soon be gone / Remember me and let the love we have live on and know that I’m with you the only way that I can be / Until you’re in my arms again, remember me
6. “Let it Go” (Frozen)
Frozen arguably jumpstarted an entirely new generation of Disney lovers. Frozen, released in 2013, was the first princess-helmed Disney movie to be released since Tangled in 2010 (save the Pixar-produced Brave). Upon the film’s release, Anna and Elsa flew lightyears past their predecessors and they are still a cultural force to this day. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t had to experience a Frozen-themed birthday party or two.
Moreover, the song “Let it Go” was nearly inescapable back in 2013. Idina Menzel’s stunning vocals helped Disney secure their first Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 since “Colors of the Wind” in 1995. The last decade of Disney movies likely have Frozen and “Let It Go” to thank for paving a way forward.
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the door
I don’t care what they’re going to say
Let the storm rage on
The cold never bothered me anyway
5. “A Whole New World” (Aladdin)
Disney has no shortage of iconic duets but, “A Whole New World” seems to come up time and time again when thinking of the top tier Disney songs. The song earned the studio an Academy Award for Best Original Song and has had several well-performing single versions from popular artists.
Salonga also lent her voice to Jasmine for Aladdin, making her a princess twice over. Her singular vocals are just as affecting here as there are in “Reflection.”
A whole new world
A new fantastic point of view
No one to tell us “No”, or where to go
Or say we’re only dreaming
4. “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” (The Lion King)
When you get Elton John involved in your project it’s impossible to not end up with something stellar. The sequence was originally designed by filmmakers to be a comic relief from the romance budding between Simba and Nala. John, however, wanted the song to live in the spirit of Disney classics like “Someday My Prince Will Come” or “A Dream Is A Wish Your Hearts Makes.”
In the end, the song landed somewhere in the middle. Cut-up characters Timon and Pumba take on the song’s introduction, adding a flare of humor to the moment before vocalists came in to shape the song into something far more sentimental. Though the song doesn’t have quite the same feel as John’s points of reference, it is certainly a classic in the Disney catalog.
Can you feel the love tonight?
It is where we are
It’s enough for this wide-eyed wanderer
That we got this far
3. “Colors of the Wind” (Pocahontas)
“Colors of the Wind” received widespread critical acclaim in 1995. The rich song about native American culture earned the studio an Academy Award, a Grammy, a Golden Globe and a Top 10 song on Billboard‘s Hot 100. Actress Judy Kuhn’s voice bolsters the weight of the stirring ballad.
The song has since been covered by a number of pop artists including Ashanti and Brian Wilson. As far as the charts are concerned, “Colors of the Wind” is one of the most well-performing Disney songs.
You think you own whatever land you land on
The Earth is just a dead thing you can claim
But I know every rock and tree and creature
Has a life, has a spirit, has a name
2. “You’ll Be In My Heart” (Tarzan)
Phil Collins didn’t pull any punches while making the Tarzan soundtrack. Tarzan is one of the few Disney movies that doesn’t have the characters singing the songs themselves. Given that, Collins was tasked with writing character pieces that represented their emotions from a third-person perspective. The end result of that pursuit is an album that could hit just as hard without the movie to provide context.
Though anyone song from the soundtrack could end up on this list, “You’ll Be In My Heart” is undoubtedly the standout among standouts. This ode from a mother to her son is sure to bring a tear to the eye.
‘Cause you’ll be in my heart
Yes, you’ll be in my heart
From this day on
Now and forever more
1. “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” (Cinderella)
Disney has such a vast catalog, it’s hard to pick one to top them all. For a safe bet, we’ve gone with “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” from Cinderella. Though Disney has put out splashier offerings since, this song has stood the test of time, becoming a theme song of sorts for the whole studio.
“A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” encapsulates the entire Disney mythos in just a few minutes: No matter how your heart is grieving / If you keep on believing / The dream that you wish will come true.
A dream is a wish your heart makes
When you’re fast asleep
In dreams you will lose your heartaches
Whatever you wish for, you keep
(Photo By Alejandro Martinez Velez/Europa Press via Getty Images)
