86. Painting the Roses Red (Alice in Wonderland, 1951)



Sung by The Cards, Alice and the Queen of Hearts
Performed by The Mellomen, Kathryn Beaumont and Verna Felton
Music and Lyrics by Sammy Fain and Bob Hillard
Best Lyric: The Queen, she likes 'em red. And if she saw white instead she'd raise a fuss and each of us would quickly lose his head.

Fun fact #1: Alice in Wonderland has the most songs in it of any Disney film. Fun fact #2: It has the most forgotten songs of any Disney film. Really only "The Unbirthday Song" seems to remain popular in any way today. A real shame, because most of the songs in the film are great, especially lyrically. "Painting the Roses Red" is a very ridiculous song; roses are usually red, so it is quite unfortunate that they would even plant white roses in the first place. Their matter of fact solution (Paint them red!) is done in a way that should make the audience smile if not laugh out loud. And the song is even better when The Queen of Hearts comes out and sings her own verse. "Painting the Roses Red" definitely deserves a second look.

85. The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers (The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, 1977)



Sung by Tigger
Performed by Paul Winchell
Music by Richard M. Sherman Lyrics by Robert B. Sherman
Best Lyric: They're bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!

Winnie the Pooh is like The Muppets in that the characters' popularity has far transcended the popularity of any of their films. The songs have as well, and "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers" is really responsible for making an entire generation of children fall in love with this bouncy tiger. Really, it is impossible to experience Tigger without completely falling in love with him, because like the song says, he is "bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!" The music and lyrics in the song are simple but very effective, like many other songs in the Disney pantheon. It would be nice to see a return to this type of songwriting, instead of everything being a giant ballad or Broadway number.

84. Everybody Wants to Be a Cat (The Aristocats, 1970)



Sung by Scat Cat, Thomas O'Malley, Billy Boss, Marie, Duchess, Frou Frou, Uncle Waldo, Shun Gon (lines removed) and Scat's Gang
Performed by Scatman Crothers, Phil Harris, Thurl Ravenscroft, Liz English, Eva Gabor. Nancy Kulp, Bill Thompson, Paul Winchell and The Aristocats Cast
Music by Richard M. Sherman Lyrics by Robert B. Sherman
Best Lyric: Scat Cat: Everybody wants to be a cat, because a cat's the only cat who knows where it's at.

I've only seen The Aristocats once, but I vividly remembered this song. The film as a whole and its soundtrack are just okay, and very similar to 101 Dalmatians in structure. But this band of multicultural cats coming together to sing about how great it is to be a cat is infectious to say the least. I challenge anyone to listen to this song and not want to be a cat. The lyrics are very simple, and the melody is repetitive, but it makes you want to get up and dance with these crazy cats. If it weren't for this song, the film as a whole would likely be completely forgotten.

83. I Just Can't Wait to Be King (The Lion King, 1994)



Sung by Simba, Zazu, Nala and the Jungle animals
Performed by Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Rowan Atkinson, Laura Williams and The Lion King Cast
Music by Elton John Lyrics by Tim Rice
Best Lyric: Zazu: If this is where the monarchy is headed, count me out! Out of service, out of Africa, I wouldn't hang about!

I'm not nearly as big of a fan of The Lion King as most people seem to be, and that's mainly because I just don't love the music as much as I love the music to other Disney films. All the songs in it are good, they are just not ones I listen to frequently. But that does not mean that they are not good, and "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" certainly is very good. It is probably the most traditional Broadway type number in the film, an "I Want" song for Simba, which is my favorite genre, so I'm not quite sure why it isn't one of my favorites. It lacks the epic feel of a couple of other songs in the movie (Circle of Life "cough") and Simba comes off as a spoiled little jerk. But the animation sequence is stunning, and the number is a lot of fun, even if it is a comedown from other songs in the film.

I don't know very many of these songs. Hopefully the Frozen ones rate high

82. Human Again (Beauty and the Beast, 1991)



Sung by Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, the Wardrobe and the Household Objects
Performed by Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers, Angela Lansbury, Jo Anne Worley and Beauty and the Beast Cast
Music by Alan Menken Lyrics by Howard Ashman

Best Lyric: The Wardrobe: I'll wear lipstick and rouge, and I won't be so huge. Why I'll easily fit through that door.

When Disney began releasing its films to DVD in the early 2000's, they added several new numbers that had once been cut. Some greatly improved the movie (If I Never Knew You from Pocahontas), while some don't fit at all (The Morning Report from the Lion King). Human Again was added to Beauty and the Beast and I believe it fits into the former category. It is a really catchy, giant Broadway style number exactly like the other songs in the film, and it gives the household objects more character development. I've grown up with this song in the film, and I really can't imagine Beauty and the Beast without it. It is very funny as well thanks to the Wardrobe character.

81. Love is An Open Door (Frozen, 2013)



Sung by Anna and Hans
Performed by Kristen Bell and Santino Fontana
Music and Lyrics by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez

Best Lyric: Our mental synchronization can have but one explanation.

I was not a huge fan of this sing when I first heard it, ut it has greatly grown on me. I thought it almost sounded like a song out of a High School Musical film, and did not fit with the style of the other songs at all. But I now see that is intentional; in the middle of several traditional Broadway style songs, we have this poppy style love song. The lyrics are very clever as well, and allude to Hans' reveal as this entire song is really about how his love with Anna is really an opportunity to take over the kingdom. It's also fun as hell sing this song karaoke.

80. The Bare Necessities (The Jungle Book, 1967)



Sung by Baloo and Mowgli
Performed by Phil Harris and Bruce Reitherman
Music and Lyrics by Terry Gilkyson
Nominated for the 1968 Best Original Song Oscar (Lost to Talk to the Animals from Doctor Dolittle

Best Lyric: Baloo: Now when you pick a paw-paw or a prickly pear and you prick a raw paw, next time beware! Don't pick the prickly pear by the paw; when you pick a pear, try to use the claw. But you don't need to use the claw when you pick a pear of the big paw-paw.

The Bare Necessities is widely considered one of the best Disney songs ever, and it deserves that distinction. The punny title (Bare, bear) and clever lyrics make it memorable before you even add the infectious beat. This truly is a sing along song that everyone will love. The Bare Necessities does lack a sense of purpose though; it does very little to propel what little narrative The Jungle Book has further, and it's a bit too happy go lucky. But it still deserves the status it has earned itself as the best song from The Jungle Book.

79. Following the Leader (Peter Pan, 1953)



Sung by Michael, John and the Lost boys
Performed by Paul Collins, Tommy Luske, Robert Ellis, Jeffrey Silver, Johnny McGovern, Stuffy Singer and Tony Butala
Music by Oliver Wallace Lyrics by Winston Hiler and Ted Sears


Best Lyric: We're out to fight the Injuns because he told us so.

Follow the Leader is a very popular childhood game that I'm sure existed long before 1953, but even if it did, this song from Peter Pan probably made it far more popular. This is another song from Disney that is super simple for kids to be able to sing right along. The bit about fighting the Indians may seem a little insensitive, but it does not take away from this song's irresistible tune. The song likely would have been better used to give the Lost Boys some more character development, but this song is so fun that we should not care.

78. Honor to Us All (Mulan, 1998)



Sung by Mulan, Grandmother Fa, Bathhouse Workers, Seamstresses, and Townspeople
Performed by Lea Salonga, Marni Nixon, Beth Fowler and Mulan Cast
Music by Matthew Wilder Lyrics by David Zippel

Best Lyric: Grandmother Fa: Add a cricket, just for luck, and even you can't blow it.

Honor To Us All is a very common number for Disney; a big operetta style number that establishes the films main conflict and many of its key players. At the end of Honor To Us All, the object is to have the audience thoroughly invested in Mulan's plight. We are invested, but the scene lacks tension due to the fact that it is easy to see from the way the scene is set up tht her meeting with the matchmaker has no chance of going well. Plus, the chorus is not as strong as that in say, Beauty and the Beast. Disney does deserve props for accurately portraying gender roles in what is now a very gender sensitive society.

I hope Zwacks is a closet muppet fan, because if We're doing a sequel is his favorite Muppet Song, that's just a weak choice. I mean that is just a knock off of Hey A Movie. I think it's still a decent muppet song (Around 16 for me)

It's my favorite Muppets Most Wanted song. And only it and The Muppets 2011 were released since Disney bought it.

I know. There are at least 4 better songs in that movie alone. What's your favorite non disney muppet song?

Rainbow Connection. Like of course.

Sure, that's classic. That would be 4 for me. Saying Goodbye is a killer.

Expecting something from Mary Poppins or Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Also no Aladdin yet. I'll be interested to see where it goes. Hopefully they top Let it Go. Also Toy Story's you got a friend I think will be high.

There is no Pixar. Several Mary Poppins songs and several Aladdin as well. No Bedknobs and Broomsticks, I considered the Age of Not Believing but it didn't make the cut.

I forgot to add Zip A Dee Doo Dah, actually. I'll have to add it in a few years when I do an update.

77. He Mele No Lilo (Lilo and Stitch, 2002)




Performed by Mark Kealiʻi Hoʻomalu and the Kamehameha Schools Children's Chorus
Music and Lyrics by Mark Kealiʻi Hoʻomalu and Alan Silvestri

Best Lyric: Malamalama I Wahine Kapu A Ka Luna O Uwekahuna I Ka Pali Kapu O Ka'auea Ea Mai Ke Ali'i Kia Manu (Translation: Atop Uwekahuna Is The Sacred Cliff Of Ka'auea. Raise Up The King Of Birdcatchers To Adorn Him In The Feathers Of The Mamo.)

He Mele No Lilo is the only song on this list not in English. But it is so beautiful, I just had to include it nonetheless. The combination of the visuals and the music totally make up for me not even being able to understand the lyrics. The song is actually about the Hawaiian King and Queen, Kalakaua and Kilauea, and it remarks on all the natural beauty they hold dominion over. Anyone who doesn't think they could appreciate a song written in Hawaiian is sure to be proven wrong by this song.

76. Can You Feel the Love Tonight? (The Lion King, 1994)



Sung by Timon, Pumbaa, Simba, Nala and Offscreen voice.
Performed by Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Matthew Broderick, Sally Dworsky and Kristie Edwards
Music by Elton John Lyrics by Tim Rice
Winner of the 1995 Best Original Song Oscar

Best Lyric: Nala: Why won't he be the king I know he is? The king I see inside!

Can You Feel the Love Tonight? outrageously won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1995 over Circle of Life. While this song is nowhere near as good as that song, it certainly is quite good. I'm really not a fan of when offscreen voices sing instead of the characters onscreen. Had this been a ballad between Simba and Nala as originally intended, it probably would have ranked higher. The parts the characters sing are just passionate and emotional enough; the parts sung by Edwards are syrupy sweet and melodramatic. Unfortunately, they bog it down.

First truly questionable placement. Deserved top 20 at minimum.

Come on! he has Under the Sea coming

Yeah, that is too soon into the countdown to be seeing "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?". And also "The Bare Necessities" at #80 and "Hakuna Matata" at #93. Geez.

I mean, I don't care because I don't like these songs anyway, but they are pretty big, widely-loved songs to be so low on the list.

Another thing I noticed is ... is this only animated movies? I've not seen any live-action Disney movies yet.

I've already included a Muppet song. More are coming.

75. Kiss the Girl (The Little Mermaid, 1989)



Sung by Sebastian and the Lagoon Animals
Performed by Samuel Wright and The Little Mermaid Cast
Music by Alan Menken Lyrics by Howard Ashman
Nominated for the 1990 Best Original Song Oscar (Lost to Under the Sea)

Best Lyric: Sebastian: Now’s your moment, floating in a blue lagoon. Boy, you better do it soon.
No time will be better.

The Little Mermaid was Disney's game changer when it was released. Its reception was unlike anything Disney had seen since the 1960's, and this was in large part due to a splendid score written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. Of the more popular songs in the film, this is my least favorite, but it still has its merits. The song has a very interesting island feel to it, and it is very successful in getting the audience invested in whether or not Eric kisses Ariel. I know I yell expletives whenever Flotsam and Jetsam flip their boat over. It's not really like any other Disney song, so I have to give it credit for that as well.

74. Oh Sing, Sweet Nightingale (Cinderella, 1950)



Sung by Drizella and Cinderella
Performed by Rhoda Williams and Ilene Woods
Music and Lyrics by Mack David, Jerry Livingston and Al Hoffman

Best Lyric: Cinderella: High above. Oh sing, sweet nightingale.

When discussing So This is Love?, I mentioned another song in the film was even more successful at conveying a whole lot with very little. This is that song. Today, this scene actually makes me very sympathetic for Drizella, as the scene seems to be alluding to the fact that since Drizella is plain looking and has a poor singing voice, all plain looking people with poor singing voices are vile and black of heart. But the way this song establishes Cinderella as the most beautiful kind and caring person with just one line of song sung over and over is amazing. This sequence really just puts me in a state of awe every time I watch it, and it's a real shame this song isn't as well remembered as it should be.

73. Man or Muppet (The Muppets, 2011)



Sung by Gary and Walter
Performed by Jason Segel, Peter Linz, Bill Barretta and Jim Parsons
Music and Lyrics by Bret McKenzie
Winner of the 2012 Best Original Song Oscar

Best Lyric: Gary: Am I a man? Or am I a Muppet? If I'm a man, that makes me a Muppet of a man.

"Man or Muppet" is a great song, and it is certainly better than the song from Rio that it won against. However, there is another better song in the film that should have been submitted, but oh well. The lyrics are particularly strong here, as they successfully show how each character is like a man or like a Muppet. "I'm a Muppet of a man" and "I'm a manly Muppet" evoke emotion just when you read them. The cameo by Jim Parsons as the human version of Waltr is also another nice touch. But this is really a great duet sung by two fairly interesting characters that deserves the Oscar as well as other recognition.