Our Top 5 Favorite Disney Musical Numbers

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We really enjoyed 2013’s “Frozen,” and looking forward to its release this month. In honor of “Frozen,” and the Oscar win the excellent Idina Menzel song for the movie received at the Oscars this year, we’re listing our top five Disney Musical Numbers of All time! We grew up with Disney movies like a lot of other children, and I fondly remember seeing films like “Aladdin,” “The Lion King,” and “Toy Story” in the theaters, including a slew of other films, and Disney of course plays best in the wide theaters with amazing sound. Here’s our list, what are your favorites?

5. One Jump Ahead
Aladdin (1992)
One of the better moments in “Aladdin” is the establishing song of Aladdin himself, who is considered a “Street Rat” and lives life on the edge in an effort just to feed himself and his pet Abu. “One Jump Ahead” is an urgent and up beat anthem by Aladdin who shows how much he fights to survive on his own and as a pauper, especially in the face of others that decry him as a thief, criminal, and freeloader. That’s all broken when Aladdin steals a loaf of bread to eat for the night, and chooses instead to starve when he gives it to a hungry little boy and girl, also looking for food on the streets. It’s a catchy and wonderful song that defines our charming hero.

4. Bare Necessities
The Jungle Book
(1967)
I’ve always been a fan of Baloo, from the Jungle Book iteration to “Talespin,” and his declaration of living life in the fullest on only the bare minimum it can offer. It’s a fun and easily memorable song from a very entertaining movie. I almost included “Hakuna Matata” in this spot, but let’s face it, much fun as that song is, it’s really just a rehash of the original “Bare Necessities” song with irresponsible characters teaching younger characters to be lazy and have fun. In the end, Baloo perfected laziness, pure and simple.


3. Hakuna Matata
The Lion King
(1994)
Hakuna Matata is Timone and Puumba’s ode to irresponsibility and carelessness, a credo that Simba would adhere to for many years until he came back to re-claim his kingdom. It’s a great way to tell the back story of the supporting characters of “The Lion King” and damn catchy, too. This song didn’t just establish the mind set of Simba, who’d escaped his responsibilities and let his kingdom fall after the death of Mufasa, but it also gave us a firm introduction to our two comedic underdog heroes, both of whom find themselves fighting for good by the end of the movie, whether they realize it or not.


2. Let It Go
Frozen (2013)

Yes, it’s very recent, but Idina Menzel’s performance as the ice princess Elsa is incredible, and her performance of “Let It Go” is the final straw of the character deciding that she really doesn’t need anyone to make her happy but herself. Coming from Disney, a company that’s created a slew of movies about princesses looking for a husband, it’s refreshing. Elsa figures out that the only way she can really be herself is if she’s all alone, and she’s okay with that. If she can’t find anyone willing to take her for everything, including her faults, then being alone isn’t bad at all. It’s a striking and beautiful ode to independence. Demi Lovato’s version is pretty good, too.


1. Part of Your World
The Little Mermaid
(1989)
Many years later Jodi Benson’s powerful chords still come through with an amazing resonance as she conveys sadness and the urge for so much more than her small world. Ariel is used to her world of royalty and monotony in her kingdom, but continues finding treasures that signal she’s missing out on another world entirely, and may eventually miss it if she doesn’t act quick. From the fluid incredible animation, Ariel’s inherent longing, and the way it defines the movie as a whole, it’s the best Disney song of all time, and it’s one that never loses its ability to be replayed over and over. It’s not a sing along like “Under the Sea,” but it’s still a brilliant song nonetheless.