Mount Rushmore - Disney Songs

[Izulde]

I don't know if we've had this before or not, but I didn't see it when I searched.

So, choosing a Mount Rushmore (4 songs) for Disney is damned difficult to do, which is in the spirit of these things, in my opinion.

I think I'll use the following personal guidelines:

1) Only one song per movie. This is going to make it especially difficult for The Little Mermaid, which has three songs that are Rushmore-worthy in my opinion.

2) Try and get as broad a spectrum of subjects as possible. You could very easily make Rushmores just for Disney love songs or just for Disney ensemble songs, for example, so variety is important.

3) I have to personally enjoy the songs. That'll take out almost all of the pre-1990s songs, as I simply don't like the classic Disney songs all that much for the most part.

There's other limitations I could come up with, but that might be too restricting.

There's one song that I think certainly belongs in here.

"A Whole New World" - Aladdin


A phenomenal love song that sings of the promise of new love and epic in its movie scope. It was also the theme for a good number of high school semi-formal and formal dances in its day. But I think what ultimately pushes it up there is how well it translates into other languages. Granted, not all translations are good, but a fair number of them are, and it's fascinating to hear it in other languages, especially with English subtitles that sometimes put slightly different spins on the song.

"Part Of Your World" - The Little Mermaid


In my opinion, the best of what I categorize as the songs of longing. I love the singer's voice here and the lyrics, with their awareness of second-language acquisition, take it to another level, beyond the usual oh I wish I could be somewhere else or oh I wish a prince would come and rescue me setup.

Of course, in doing so, I have to shelve "Kiss The Girl", which is also a terrific love song, and "Under the Sea", which is one of the best ensemble songs. I hate doing that, but it is what it is.

Enchanted - "That's How You Know"


Okay, so I'm cheating a bit with the ensemble song by using Disney's parody of its own convention, but it's still extremely well done. It's also one of the best songs from a Disney live-action movie in my opinion, and live-action is a significant part of the Disney film canon.

Pocahontas - "Colors of the Wind"


Disclaimer: I haven't actually seen Pocahontas yet. But this one makes the final cut because of its theme of cultural awareness and tolerance, something Disney occasionally gets criticized for lacking in. Nature also plays a key role in a lot of Disney songs, including this one.

Notable Omissions
I *almost* went with "Circle of Life" from The Lion King for the final spot. It's one of the greatest openings in movie history, but the reason I left it off is because I don't know that it stands as well on its own, divorced from the movie, as these other entries do.

I could have just as easily gone with "Under the Sea" for The Little Mermaid for the ensemble category and chosen "Candle on the Water" from Pete's Dragon for its protective theme. Actually, "I Swear I Saw A Dragon" almost got in instead of "How Does She Know" to fill the pub song, ensemble, live, and classic movie slots, but I personally don't like how that drifts off into instrumental without ever coming back to the vocals.

And that's just off the top of my head. I'm sure there's a lot more other combinations I could come up with if I thought more about it.

So I'm curious to see what you guys come up with.

[CrimsonFox]

INteresting. And for some reason youtube embedding is no longer working for me. Meaning I don't even see the embed anymore on youtube pages. Anyone know why?

Anyway Here is my first stab at this:

1. Heigh -Ho - Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aURThUaRjCc

2. When I See An Elephant Fly - Dumbo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqITI...eature=related

3. Whistle-Stop/Ooo-de-Lolly - Robin Hood

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GouLP...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST9DU...eature=related

4. I Wanna Be Like You - The Jungle Book

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOcyYyxqN_g

5. Winnie the Pooh / The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTK9x...eature=related

I'll chisel around the back I guess.

[rowech]

1. A Spoonful of Sugar
2. A Whole New World
3. Can You Feel the Love Tonight
4. Beauty and the Beast

[Radii]

When you Wish Upon a Star - Pinnochio
Hieigh Ho - Snow White
The Bare Necessities - Jungle Book
Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah - Song of the South


The last three are debatable as there is so much to choose from. I chose to go with classics, though the Lion King especially has wonderful music imo.

In my mind When you Wish Upon a Star *is* Disney, it has to be there, not debatable.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Semi related, this band used to play Disneyland, therefore started covering Disney songs.

[tarcone]

Kiss the Girl -- Little Mermaid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMLhrDYJ5QM

Two worlds-- Tarzan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0sZ8xZ_dWY

Reflection-- Mulan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A_Rl8aQxII

Someday My Prince Will Come-- Snow White

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm9zF...eature=related

[Warhammer]

Be Our Guest - Beauty and the Beast
Heigh Ho - Snow White
A Whole New World - Aladdin
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious - Mary Poppins

[Mustang]

In no particular order...

Circle of Life
Zip A Dee Do Da
When You Wish Upon a Star
A Whole New World

[OldGiants]

1. When You Wish upon a Star

The violinist played this when I walked with my daughter down the aisle of green pinwheels at her wedding last year. Will always be #1 for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yy-IcfOafI

2. Under the Sea

Kids still love this, a rarity for an older song.

3. Be Our Guest

I still hum this when I'm happy.

4. Comic Song Category: A Friend Like Me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd07uvkTeKo

Tough call over 'Gaston' in this category, but the one per movie rule puts this one out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhG9hKiplfQ

Overall, I love the score from BEAUTY AND THE BEAST most.

[lighthousekeeper]

thread goes from touching to creepy when you realize izulde doesn't have any daughters yet.

[stevew]

Yeah, this is a sign of the FOFC apocalypse.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I'm actually surprised at how much traction this thread got in a short amount of time. Not bad at all.