Disney is one of my passions. My passion with Disney includes the music, because duh…how could it not? I have a Disney playlist on my Spotify account that has 40 songs on it (plus another eight from non-Disney animated movies), and I play it frequently. My coworkers often stop by my office and ask….is this Pocahontas?? Yes…yes it is. <3 I was listening to this playlist the other day and thought, “I should do a countdown post!” Then I attempted to narrow down my favorite Disney songs and found it near impossible, so I thought it’d be fun to just focus on those songs that open a movie. Not all Disney movies open with a song, but man, those that do usually make us remember the movie more and have a stronger pull to it. Here’s my favorite four Disney openers. Click on the name of the song to listen to it!
#4 – “Circle of Life,” The Lion King
To be completely honest, I wasn’t going to put this song on here. My favorite part about Disney openers is that it does such a good job of telling the story before the movie starts, and I don’t think this song accomplishes that. However, it is an absolutely essential and epic Disney song, that I couldn’t not include it in the list.
#3 – “The Gospel Truth,” Hercules
I love me some Hercules! It’s such a fun movie, and The Muses are one of of the best parts. They sing multiple songs or have a part in multiple songs of the movie, and act as the narrators. This song does such a good job of setting the tone of the film. You know exactly what you’re getting into when you listen to this opener.
#2 – “Belle,” Beauty & the Beast
Belle. My counterpart, my spirit animal, my girl! Love her, love this film, love this song. You go get yourself more than that provincial life, Belle.
I thought I would be able to just do four, but it was really hard and I couldn’t, so here are some honorable mentions:
“Frozen Heart,” Frozen
“Fathoms Below,” The Little Mermaid
“The Virginia Company,” Pocahontas
“There’s a Party in Agrabah,” Aladdin & the King of Thieves
And now, my number one pick….
#1 – “Bells of Notre Dame,” The Hunchback of Notre Dame
This song is absolutely incredible. Alan Menken truly outdid himself with this number. “The Bells of Notre Dame” just blows away any of these other songs…truly. I love all the songs on this list, but this was the easiest pick I’ve ever made. It’s got everything…it’s got the music and tells the story so well. I usually make it even a longer song just by rewinding some of the lyrics, like these:
“You never can run from nor hide what you’ve done from the eyes…the very eyes of Notre Dame.”
“Who is the monster and who is the man??”
W.O.W. So so good, every single time.
There you have it! What did I miss? What are your favorites?
great song choices! <3
Thank you & thanks for the read!