Disney100: Top 10 Best Disney Soundtracks — from classics like Pinocchio, to newer Disney films like Moana, we list the best of the best.
Disney100: Top 10 Best Disney Soundtracks
For better or worse, music and Disney are forever entwined. They are one.
Of the 61 feature animations released by the studio to date, over two-thirds have been a musical in some form. Put simply, Walt Disney would not be the animation juggernaut it is today without the music and the songs to back it all up.
In fact, it wasn’t until 1985’s much maligned The Black Cauldron that a feature-length Disney animation failed to include a song of any sort, but while the studio has somewhat shifted away from musicals over the years, they’re clearly aware that music remains at their very core.
As such, what better way to help celebrate 100 years of Disney than with a run-down of the legendary studio’s finest soundtracks ever.
10. The Princess and the Frog (2009)
While the story mechanics are certainly familiar, The Princess and the Frog’s energy is unlike anything else Disney have ever done, as it thoroughly sinks itself into its buzzing New Orleans setting and comes up with a soundtrack that feels both comfortingly classical and strikingly unique.
Blending jazz, blues, zydeco, and gospel sounds with a collection of belting pop numbers, The Princess and the Frog thoroughly reignited Disney’s musical passion at a time when it looked to have hit an all-time low.
9. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Where it all began. With Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Disney really did start as they meant to go on with a soundtrack that, even after all this time, remains one of their most instantly recognisable.
From “Heigh-Ho” to “Whistle While You Work”, Snow White covers a lot of stylistic ground with relatively few songs, swiftly becoming the very blueprint for what animated Disney features would sound like going forward.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkbUCHEVPpI
8. Frozen (2013)
Of course, a single song does not a great soundtrack make, but then there are few songs quite like “Let It Go”.
By the time Frozen arrived, it’d been a minute since Disney had produced a proper smash hit, but boy did “Let It Go” hit. Yes, there are plenty of other decent songs on Frozen’s soundtrack (“Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” being a particular highlight), but let’s face it, the film just wouldn’t have been the colossal success it was without “Let It Go” there to help warm it to audiences worldwide.
7. Pinocchio (1940)
Clocking in at just seven tracks, Pinocchio’s soundtrack manages to do so much with relatively little, proving itself one of Disney’s most endearing and enduring song collections ever.
When you open with “When You Wish Upon a Star” – the song that would become the de facto Disney anthem – you know you’re onto a winner but throw in a stone-cold classic like “I’ve Got No Strings” and you’ve got yourself an absolute all-timer. And with only your second animated feature, no less. Impressive.
6. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
While initially conceived as a non-musical, following the runaway success of The Little Mermaid, Disney made the wise choice of rehiring Alan Menken and Howard Ashman (who sadly passed away before the film’s release) to transform Beauty and the Beast into a full-blown musical. And the rest, as they say, is a tale as old as time.
From the classic Broadway-inspired opener, “Belle”, to the huge Angela Lansbury-performed ballad, “Beauty and the Beast”, this is a soundtrack not to be taken lightly, and one that proved Disney’s magical musical touch was well and truly back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gzKRGcmnFs
5. The Jungle Book (1967)
By 1967, Disney had already dropped their fair share of banger soundtracks, yet they somehow managed to take things up a notch with The Jungle Book.
Plugging directly into the swinging 60s, the film’s soundtrack – rewritten by the legendary Sherman Brothers – is as catchy and infinitely danceable as anything Disney have ever offered.
Go put on “The Bare Necessities” or “I Wan’na Be Like You” now and try not to bop along. It’s physically impossible!
4. The Little Mermaid (1989)
While they were far from a lost cause, the 70s and 80s were a difficult period for Disney, not least musically. There were hits, for sure, but nowhere near the studio’s heyday. Then along came The Little Mermaid.
Penned by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, The Little Mermaid’s soundtrack was an instant hit, transforming Disney’s fortunes overnight and helping to herald a shiny new era for the studio that would last for the next decade.
3. Moana (2016)
Arriving just three years after Frozen, it’s such a shame Moana got overshadowed to the extent it did by its musical predecessor.
Blending traditional South Pacific culture with pop and Broadway sensibilities, Moana’s sound is a heady mix of styles that provide a far fuller and richer experience than Frozen ever did, and while the film’s big number “How Far I’ll Go” was never quite as popular as “Let It Go”, it’s every bit as enthralling.
Beautifully performed by Auliʻi Cravalho (and Dwayne Johnson), and with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s fingerprints all over it, Moana’s soundtrack is a modern classic and one of the most well-rounded in Disney history, and while it feels forever in Frozen’s cold shadow, it manages to go far harder and further.
2. Aladdin (1992)
To say Disney were on a roll by the time Aladdin arrived would be something of an understatement. With the gigantic successes of The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast under their belt, the studio had well and truly found their groove with Aladdin.
Winning multiple awards, before going on to become one of the best-selling albums to an animated film of all time, Aladdin’s soundtrack really is hit after hit, opening up a whole new world, not only for Disney, but for every child of the 90s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx91ff77yzM
1. The Lion King (1994)
So, after the heady heights of Aladdin, how exactly do you improve on musical perfection? Well, you hire Elton John, of course.
Arriving just two years after Aladdin, The Lion King once again changed the musical game for Disney. Drafting in someone of Sir Elton’s stature is one hell of a call, but then to pair him with the Midas touch of Tim Rice, before dropping in the legendary Hans Zimmer, and you’ve got yourself bona fide soundtrack gold.
From the moment “Circle of Life” proudly announces itself to us, you just know you’re in for a treat, and with bangers “Hakuna Matata” and “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” to follow, the rest of the soundtrack delivers, perfectly encapsulating the film’s spirit, heart, and irresistible energy.
