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Top 20 Disney Golden Songs

The Golden Age of Disney Animation is the second best period after the Renaissance when it comes to the music. Yes, most of these films feature killer, timeless soundtracks with only a couple of clunkers here and there. It features a plethora of different styles and genres. Because this period has so many amazing, classic musical numbers, I just had to extend the list from ten to twenty. So here we go.

20. The Unbirthday Song

Alice in Wonderland actually has the most songs not just from this period, but in the history of the studio. And even though most are just very short, not particularly impactful detours, The Unbirthday Song is definitely one of the best. It is the most purely comedic and fun part of the film along with being such an exuberant, character driven song.

19. Cruella de Ville

One Hundred and One Dalmatians unfortunately only has two musical numbers. Dalmatian Plantation is a lot of fun, but way too short. But Cruella de Ville is most definitely a classic. It is the greatest character moment for Roger, it’s a lot of fun, catchy and with very amusing lyrics. It is one of the finest Disney villain songs ever.

18. I Wan’na Be Like You

I Wan’na Be Like You is one of the most purely entertaining and fun songs ever from Disney. Although I would have personally liked it to have more singing in it, the singing that we get is terrific. It is a fantastic showcase of King Louie’s character and it features a great use of Baloo too. It’s a fun scene that goes from comedic to suspenseful and action oriented very well.

17. Coronel’s Hathi March

Yes, The Jungle Book gets another spot on my list because I just love its soundtrack which ranks among the studio’s most fun. This one is very short, but sweet, endearing and also genuinely comedic with a great, sophisticated kind of humor I love most. The titular character is so funny and amusing and I am so glad that he got a song for himself and a very underrated one at that.

16. A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes

This is a surprise for me, but it happened. I at first did not like A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes at all, but over time it grew and grew on me and now I can say that I genuinely like it. It’s a classic “I Wish” princess song for Cindy and in just its runtime we quickly get to know and care for her. The ballad is beautiful, very well written and it has a wonderful finale.

15. Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo

The best song from Cinderella is Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo which is almost a consensus by most. The film has a somewhat weaker soundtrack, but this fun number easily takes the cake as the most purely entertaining scene in the flick. It’s a great showcase of the Fairy Godmother’s magical abilities while being undeniably catchy and pleasingly silly in its lyrics.

14. I’m Wishing/One Song

Probably the most underrated song from the best soundtrack from this period is this two-parter. I included both of them as they go together in one beautiful scene at the beginning of Snow White. I’m Wishing is a sweet “I Wish” part which introduces us to Snow so charmingly, but One Song is the better number here as it’s gloriously sung by macho, simply incredibly sounding prince. And I just found its old-fashioned ballad style immensely fitting here.

13. Painting the Roses Red

The best song from Alice in Wonderland and one of the ultimate underrated gems of the Golden Age is this wonderful, original number. Painting the Roses Red led to a terrific introduction to the film’s crazy villain through those funny, scared out of their mind card minions. The song itself is very funny, amusing and irresistibly catchy. It ends with a particularly effective, wordless grand finale.

12. Give a Little Whistle

Pinocchio is not known for its soundtrack as the music is not the strongest suit of that masterpiece. However, it’s still a pretty good soundtrack with only five songs, but all are very good. Give a Little Whistle is a great moment for Jiminy Cricket who befriends the wooden boy here though this fun little, message driven song.

11. Bella Notte

Bella Notte is the only song from Lady and the Tramp that ended up on my list as this movie does not have the greatest soundtrack. Still, there is no denying that this is the film’s magnum opus both in the grandly sung, operatic, beautiful number and its classic, timeless spaghetti dinner scene. It wouldn’t be nearly as great of a scene that it is without this moving song.

10. When You Wish Upon a Star

Yes, I know this is a travesty, but I honestly find this song overrated. Its still very high placement here is in the biggest part thanks to its position as the logo of the entire studio as I much prefer that wordless, wonderful version. The movie version is the weaker one, but still it’s so well sung and definitely in line with both Geppetto’s dream and the overall intent of the Disney studio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pguMUFyJ3_U

9. Baby Mine

Dumbo has such a shamefully underappreciated soundtrack among which one of the standouts is Baby Mine – a truly moving, simply heartbreaking song fueled by indescribably touching lyrics and so resonantly sung too. It accompanies perfectly the scene where Dumbo meets his mother from whom he got separated, leading to one of the saddest Disney scenes ever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=calHOKucYMw

8. I’ve Got No Strings

This is by far the best song from Pinocchio. The scene itself is the last fun, childlike sequence in the film which quickly turned incredibly dark. I’ve Got No Strings is a particularly great, again underrated, number because it ends with such a fantastic, upbeat, irresistibly catchy finale filled with a couple of very amusing foreign accents.

7. Silly Song

The only reason why Silly Song isn’t in the top five is because it isn’t a song per say, but more of a musical piece and theme as it only has a couple of lyrics here and there. Those are very funny and endearing, but the highlight here is the music itself which is quite possibly the catchiest ever composition from Disney. It’s a fittingly German yodeling song for this German fairy tale based film and it’s so charming watching Snow dance and have fun with the dwarfs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXJCQQEiNYo

6. Someday My Prince Will Come

The first true Disney Ballad, Someday My Prince Will Come is also the first iconic Disney Princess number. It is well sung, though somewhat too high pitched and dated, by Adriana Caselotti. It’s short and the music itself is admittedly better, but the lyrics are still wonderful and the scene itself has a lot of heart and tenderness to it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45r2t1pGGyQ

5. When I See an Elephant Fly

The best, most entertaining song from Dumbo, When I See an Elephant Fly is horribly viewed today as being racist when in fact the crows are rather positive portrayals of black people in my honest opinion. It’s such a funny song with hilarious lyrics and it’s also stupendously sung. This is one of the most different sounding Disney songs and it needs to be respected for that.

4. Whistle While You Work

Whistle While You Work also doesn’t have enough singing in it, but the music itself is simply wonderful. It features one of the catchiest finales from this period while being accompanied by such a cute, lovely sequence in the film. It’s honestly such a perfect song to listen to while cleaning the house and if more of us listened to Snow, we’d be much happier during boring chores.

3. The Bare Necessities

I simply adore The Bare Necessities! It’s no wonder that this scene is the most iconic from this consistently memorable flick. It’s the quintessential look into Baloo’s great relationship with Mowgli and his fun, positive outlook on life. The song itself is quite a fine 60s time capsule and very much a hippie number filled with great lyrics and a classic beat.

2. Heigh-Ho

And yes, Heigh-Ho is the musical pinnacle of Snow White which says a lot as this movie simply has an amazing soundtrack. It perfectly introduces us those wonderful dwarfs through their mining job and then going back home through the forest. The imagery is iconic, the lyrics are fun and the song is an undeniably catchy, hugely entertaining and simply timeless piece of music.

1. Once Upon a Dream

This is it. The very best Golden Age Disney song and in my opinion the second best of all time after The Little Mermaid’s Part of That World. It’s an iconic, admirably romantic and dreamlike scene in the film and the mixing of Tchaikovsky’s timeless music with beautifully written words led to such a transcendent, honestly perfect ballad and duet. It’s pleasantly old-fashioned and traditional. I do wish that all fairy tale films followed this example.

Honorable Mentions:

All in the Golden Afternoon – Another Alice in Wonderland number gets an honorable mention because it’s very catchy, amusing and grandly sung.

Pink Elephants on Parade – This weird sequence in the film is very famous for its risqué imagery, but the song itself is also quite memorable and atmospheric.

Following the Leader – This is overly short, but still very much the musical highlight of otherwise weakly scored Peter Pan. It’s undeniably catchy and a lot of childlike fun.

He’s a Tramp – This risqué, very sexually suggestive in words Lady and the Tramp number is also so well sung and one of the film’s most memorable moments.

In a World of My Own – This Alice in Wonderland first act song grew on me as I initially didn’t care for it, but now I find it sweet, very well written and moving, relatable in its end lyrics.