Summary

• Disney’s animated movies are defined by their incredible soundtracks, featuring toe-tapping songs and heart-wrenching ballads written by some of the best composers.
• While some Disney soundtracks are better than others, some underrated gems deserve recognition.
• The Lion King takes the top spot as Disney’s best score, with iconic songs like “Circle of Life” and “Hakuna Matata” that capture the magic and joy of Disney movies.

Some of Disney‘s most iconic movies are their tune-filled animated features, and most of them include fantastical soundtracks. More than 100 years since the inception of the company, animated features have come to define the studio. Featuring music written by some of the best pop and theater composers of their respective eras, the best Disney animated movies include irresistibly toe-tapping songs and heart-wrenching ballads.

Disney’s earliest animated films, like their first full-length animated film 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and their next film Pinocchio three years later, were musicals. That tradition hasn’t stopped, with the company producing incredible animated movies jam-packed with songs beloved even up until this day. Whether these scores are nostalgic or not so famous, the best Disney soundtracks are a major part of the animated films’ successes.

15 Lilo & Stitch

Can’t Help Falling In Love

Lilo & Stitch’s soundtrack often goes forgotten by fans when discussing Disney songs, probably because they aren’t sung by the film’s characters in a typical musical style. Lilo’s love for Elvis “the King” Presley influences the movie’s soundtrack considerably with Swedish pop group the A*Teens even covering his music for the credits with their version of “Can’t Help Falling In Love.”

With a Lilo & Stich live-action remake, there’s hope these great numbers will be appreciated by a whole new generation.

Still, the movie’s soundtrack is incredible, especially the two original songs “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride” and “He Mele No Lilo” with their breezy and unique sounds perfectly setting the atmosphere for the film’s Hawaiian setting. With a Lilo & Stich live-action remake, there’s hope these great numbers will be appreciated by a whole new generation. However, due to its minimal number of songs, this excellent soundtrack can’t be ranked any higher.

14 Pinocchio

When You Wish Upon A Star

Pinocchio, Disney’s second foray into animated feature-length films, garnered two Academy Awards for its classic songs. One of the most memorable of them is “I’ve Got No Strings” a song whose plucky melody and witty lyrics are a perfect match for the main character and his quirky personality.

The most iconic song from the movie, however, is “When You Wish Upon A Star”, a song that is still in use today as Disney’s official anthem. The wishing star has even become a huge part of Disney lore, getting its own origin story of sorts in the 2023 movie Wish. These songs are cemented in Disney’s canon, but their relative simplicity compared to Disney’s more modern hooks keeps them low on the rankings of the best Disney movie soundtracks, despite their resonance and staying power.

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13 Cinderella

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo

The massive critical and commercial success of Cinderella in 1950 helped pull Disney from the verge of bankruptcy. The movie is best known for the song “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” a bumpy and joyous song that mostly consists of gibberish lyrics and is sung by the Fairy Godmother. There’s also “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes”, a gorgeous ballad about holding out hope that echoes the sentiments of “When You Wish Upon A Star.”

These songs with their lovely old-school Disney sound and orchestrations are solidly cemented in the Mouse’s canon and still as touching and fun as ever. They might be classics, but they pale in comparison to the more blood-pumping and complex songs of Disney’s later years. Many of Disney’s earliest animated movies have a distinct sound that is very dated today.

12 Encanto

We Don’t Talk About Bruno

After the massive cultural success of his musical “Hamilton”, no one was shocked that Lin-Manuel Miranda could churn out some real earworms. He did so for 2021’s Encanto, helping the film to become 2022’s most streamed movie. An instant classic and completely different from other Disney movies thanks to Miranda’s unique sound, the songs paint the film’s setting with their unique Colombian flare.

There’s the movie’s biggest hit, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” which has the bounce of salsa music, “Surface Pressure” a unique blend of pop and Miranda’s signature syncopated lyrics, not to mention “Dos Oroguitas” an incredibly moving Spanish-language song that sells the film’s heartwarming ending. Due to its recency, it is yet to be seen if this is a soundtrack that will stick with viewers like the movies of Disney’s 1990s renaissance, but with time, this score could easily move higher up the list.

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11 Moana

How Far I’ll Go

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first collaboration writing music and lyrics for Disney came in the form of Moana, a Polynesian-set story of an adventurous teenager who sets sail to try to save her people. Miranda perfectly mixes the sounds of the South Pacific setting with his musical theater background thanks to the movie’s commitment to researching Polynesian cultures. Songs like “How Far I’ll Go” and “You’re Welcome” are as unique as they are endlessly hummable, Miranda’s ingenious music matched with his skill for clever wordplay.

Not every song on the soundtrack is a standout through. While the background instrumentals are perfect, not all of the songs. Some of the songs, like “Shiny” are more grating on the ears, keeping this lower on the list when it comes to ranking some of the best Disney soundtracks.

10 Hercules

Go The Distance

Disney legend Alan Menken, the composer of several other scores on this list, collaborated with Broadway lyricist David Zippel on the soundtrack for Hercules, with the titular character’s ballad “Go the Distance” earning the pair an Oscar nomination. While that’s a gorgeous song, it isn’t always the best-remembered by fans.

The soundtrack definitely gives the movie a more modern appeal for audiences.

The soundtrack is endlessly repeatable, filled with songs like the doo-wop styled “I Won’t Say I’m in Love” to the brassy gospel-inspired group number “Zero to Hero”. The Muses who backed most of the songs in addition to having their own are what really make the numbers stand out. They were stacked with talent like Broadway veterans Lillias White and Cheryl Freeman. It’s one of Disney’s most fun scores, but it doesn’t always seem to match the Ancient Greek setting of the movie. The soundtrack definitely gives the movie a more modern appeal for audiences.

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9 Tarzan

Son Of Man

English pop singer Phil Collins wrote and sang several rock songs for this film. As Collins also sings these songs instead of the characters, it isn’t a typical musical, though his lyrics perfectly reflect the character’s thoughts and feelings in each moment that they’re used. Songs like “Son of Man”, “Strangers Like Me”, and “You’ll Be in My Heart” with their heart-pumping rhythms and beats perfectly reflect the jungle setting, and are easy to rock out to.

Still, despite being some of Disney’s most jam-worthy songs, they lack the emotional weight of some of the studio’s best scores. As much as the music fits the movie, the fact that there’s a pop singer adding it to the soundtrack instead of it coming from the characters directly can take the audience out of the story a bit.

8 The Princess and the Frog

Almost There

Famous film composer Randy Newman, who wrote “You’ve Got A Friend in Me” for the Pixar film Toy Story, composed the jazz and blues-inspired music that brought The Princess and the Frog‘s 1920s New Orleans setting to life on the screen. It’s one of Disney’s most underrated movies as it debuted during a time when Disney was making the transition from traditional 2-D animation for its big screen projects to the 3-D animation of CGI.

Equally underrated are the score and songs, with catchy songs like “Dig a Little Deeper” and the deliciously eerie villain song “Friends On the Other Side”. The Princess and the Frog‘s best song, however, and arguably one of Disney’s very best, is main character Tiana’s solo number “Almost There”, sung gorgeously by lead actress and Broadway veteran Anika Noni Rose.

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7 Oliver and Company

Why Should I Worry?

Another forgotten Disney animated gem is Oliver and Company, a modern retelling of Charles Dicken’s famous novel Oliver Twist. Instead of orphaned children, however, it features stray cats and dogs in a story that definitely tugs on the heartstrings of kids and adults alike. It features Disney’s single-handedly most underrated song “Why Should I Worry?”, a poppy joyous number imbued with all the swagger of the suave ‘Dodger’ who sings it – pop singer Billy Joel in his only film role to date.

The score also features “Streets of Gold” and “Once Upon a Time in New York City”, both of which mix clever lyrics with an unquantifiable ‘New York’ sound. This forgotten Disney film deserves a second chance, and hopefully, a reappraisal will bring these incredible and endlessly replayable songs back to the audience’s minds. It’s hard to imagine being able to top Billy Joel on a Disney soundtrack, but it’s possible.

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6 Mulan

Reflection

The unforgettable songs of Mulan bring the audience right into the Imperial China setting of the film. The magic of Mulan’s music is that it perfectly matches the emotions of the characters for the audience. There’s the beloved training montage song “I’ll Make A Man Out of You”, which matches poignant and hilarious lyrics with an anthem reminiscent of a militarized rendition of “Eye of the Tiger”.

The score’s other standout song, Mulan‘s main ballad “Reflection” is one of Disney’s most heart-wrenching songs, a lyrically complex song where Mulan struggles with who she really is versus who her family wants her to be. Broadway star Lea Salonga, who also provided the singing voice for Jasmine in Aladdin, nails the emotional nuance of the number. It also got a beautiful pop rendition by Christina Aguilera for the movie’s release.

5 Pocahontas

Colors Of The Wind

The songs really help to further the plot and give deep insights into the characters.

This is one Disney animated movie that is often remembered for its problematic whitewashed retelling of the true story it’s based on in addition to some glaring historical inaccuracies in general. Pocahontas, however, features some of Disney’s most complex songs. The songs really help to further the plot and give deep insights into the characters. Best are the scores of two soaring ballads, “Colors of the Wind” and “Just Around the Riverbend”, written by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz, which are as affecting and emotional as their melodies are gorgeous.

While it’s hard to rank the best Disney movie soundtracks, this might be higher in the rankings if the film it came from wasn’t one of the company’s lesser-praised works. The movie, unfortunately, comes with too much criticism and too many problematic elements attached to it.

4 Frozen

Do You Want To Build A Snowman?

There are many reasons Disney hasn’t beaten Frozen in terms of quality and impact since its release ten years ago, one being the cultural influence of its many memorable songs. The songs were written by husband-and-wife team Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, the same composers behind Pixar’s Coco.Beyond the obvious cultural juggernaut that is “Let It Go”, the score features several toe-tapping hits.

Most impressive, though, is how the lyrics balance the film’s heartfelt and hilarious tones, such as in the soft-shoe number “In Summer”. Lopez’s ability to tell a story through song is unparalleled, like in the opening, where much of the film’s exposition is delivered in the sweet but sad song “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” There are several other great songs like “Fixer Upper” and “Love is An Open Door” and were it not for a slew of gorgeous classic Disney scores, this may have just been their best.​​​​​​​

3 Beauty and the Beast

Gaston

From the wonderful opening song “Belle” which swiftly introduces the audience to the majority of the film’s main characters, to the theatrical and endlessly entertaining “Be Our Guest”, not to mention the hilarious “Gaston”, Beauty and the Beast is one of Disney’s most exciting, varied and memorable scores. One of the best aspects of those particular songs, however, is that they appear in visually stunning sequences in the animated movie. They are large ensemble pieces that required intricate work on the part of the animation team.

That goes without even mentioning the film’s title song, a waltz-like melody with some of the House of Mouse’s most affecting lyrics. The gorgeous melody is where the movie is able to slow down and simmer in its feelings. Still, its great ballads and group numbers don’t demand replays the way the scores of the last two films on this list do.

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2 The Little Mermaid

Under The Sea

Another of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman’s Disney collaborations (which includes the film above, as well as Aladdin), The Little Mermaid‘s score is one of Disney’s most lasting and influential. The Little Mermaid changed Disney forever, becoming their first animated hit in over a decade and inspiring Disney to hire more Broadway composers, which led to their 1990s renaissance.

The film’s score is filled with a cacophony of unique influences, from the Caribbean-inspired “Under the Sea” filled with its aquatic wordplay to villainous Ursula’s vampy and campy “Poor Unfortunate Souls”. That is leaving out Ariel’s stirring and achingly hopefully Broadway-style power ballad “Part of Your World.” Even the live-action version of The Little Mermaid only improved on the music, giving the songs new life for a whole new generation of kids in the audience.

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1 The Lion King

Circle Of Life

For the iconic first chords of “Circle of Life” alone this movie’s soundtrack takes first place, but all five songs the two wrote together are absolutely iconic, ear-catching, and emotionally affecting.

Elton John with his unique pop sound, and Tim Rice with his humor and ability to craft lyrics unique to each character’s voice, together crafted the songs to The Lion King, Disney’s undefeated best score. For the iconic first chords of “Circle of Life” alone this movie’s soundtrack takes first place, but all five songs the two wrote together are absolutely iconic, ear-catching, and emotionally affecting. There’s “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” an endlessly replayable number that perfectly captures Simba’s playfulness and adolescent ignorance.

“Can You Feel the Love Tonight” starts with a hysterical refrain for Pumba and Timon before becoming one of Disney’s most gorgeous and ethereal love songs. It’s “Hakuna Matata”, however, the often referenced song, that really sells this as Disney’s best score. The song is both hilarious and a celebration of living each day as it comes, perfectly encapsulating what makes Disney animated movies, and the studio as a whole, so magical for so many.