All 368 Songs From Disney Animated Films Ranked [Part Three]

(Welcome to The Disney Discourse, a recurring feature where Josh Spiegel discusses the latest in Disney news. He goes deep on everything from the animated classics to the theme parks to live-action franchises. In this edition: the final part in a series ranking all 368 songs featured in Disney animated films.)

Welcome to the third and final part of this series, where I set out to rank every single song to appear in an animated (or animation/live-action hybrid) film released by Disney. It's been a long, exhausting trip and you can read Part One and Part Two if you want the whole picture. Today, we're taking on the top 100 best Disney songs. Let's dive in.

That this is Tangled's best song by a country mile may seem controversial. But when you've got a snappy song performed to the hilt by Donna Murphy, it's gonna stand out.

Gael Garcia Bernal delivers a fine vocal performance in Coco, and gets to sing as well in "Everyone Knows Juanita," a comic number about a woman with...distinctive looks that's slowed down to sound more reflective.

This song is a mix of mirthful and mournful, as we watch Piglet struggle to escape the torrential downpour in the Hundred Acre Wood.

This lovely song, blending pathos and humor, spans a few years as we see how lonely Anna is when she's unable to bond with her super-powered sister, Elsa.

Angela Lansbury is a treasure. "The Age of Not Believing," which the charismatic actress sings to a trio of surrogate children, is boosted wonderfully by her performance.

Consider the coconut! The trunks and the leaves! That is all.

This is technically the weakest number in Pinocchio, a sweet number suggesting the conditional love that Geppetto has for his "son."

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs sets the template for future Disney films, and "Someday My Prince Will Come" does the same for "I Want" numbers.

After Snow White escapes the Queen's Huntsman in a terrifying setpiece, she arrives in a calmer part of the woods to sing this soothing number.

Few elements of Oliver and Company work, but Dodger's big song is the high point.

My son has watched Zootopia over and over and over, so I can attest: this is a really catchy piece of pop music.

Most songs in The Nightmare Before Christmas are fairly melancholic, like other collaborations between Danny Elfman and Tim Burton. "This is Halloween" matches the tone appropriately.

Like the other songs in Toy Story, this melancholic piece is sung over the action of a scene, this time a particularly pivotal one.

While there are 11 songs in Alice in Wonderland, most don't make an impact. "All in the Golden Afternoon," sung as Alice encounters a host of sentient flora and fauna, is the best the film offers.

"Les Poissons" could have been fairly tossed-off, depicting a stuffy French chef trying to use Sebastian as someone's dinner. But Howard Ashman's witty lyrics and Rene Auberjonois' over-the-top crooning make this better than it should be.

George Banks realizes in the somber and honest "A Man Has Dreams" that his legacy doesn't matter if there's no one to inherit it.

Melody Time is easily forgotten, but the "Pecos Bill" number, performed by Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers, is one of its high points.

Ken Page doesn't get to do much in The Nightmare Before Christmas except sing "Oogie Boogie's Song," which is a delightful, Cab Calloway-esque villain number.

Casting Vincent Price as the nefarious Ratigan in The Great Mouse Detective is the film's stroke of genius. "Goodbye, So Soon" is not the catchiest song in the Disney discography, but Price oozes with evil charm.

"Colors of the Wind" isn't Pocahontas' best song, and is more beautiful to look at than to hear, yet Judy Kuhn's multi-faceted voice gives it life.

Here, Simba sings with the voice of Joseph Williams. You know: the son of John Williams (yes, him) and the former lead singer of Toto. Anyway, this song is the film's weakest, an unexpectedly sultry depiction of two lions about to...y'know.

Most of The Hunchback of Notre Dame's songs are amazingly fun and complex. "Topsy Turvy" is primarily the former, a depiction of the raucous gypsy parade in Paris, in which Quasimodo finds himself crowned the King of Fools.

Hercules isn't the only modern Disney film to employ a gospel-inspired song in one of their films, but "Zero to Hero," playing as Hercules gains a heroic status throughout Greece, is a true winner.

This bombastic, irresistible number belies the inherent sadness of Dumbo working in the circus.

This song, co-written by Coco co-director Adrian Molina, closes out the film on a rousing and heartwarming note. There's one better number that plays throughout, but "Proud Corazon" is a solid final song.

This enjoyably upbeat song, performed by elderly men joining the fight against the Germans in WWII, has everything to do with grounding Bedknobs and Broomsticks in the real world.

Few "I Want" numbers are as clear as this one. This driving, fast-paced song suggests that Simba's got a lot to learn if he wants to take over for his father.

The pairing of Angela Lansbury and David Tomlinson is one of the great charms of the muddled Bedknobs and Broomsticks. As in Mary Poppins, there's a blend of live-action and animation, especially during this sweet duet in an animated sea.

Bert's chimney-sweeping only takes up a portion of Mary Poppins. In the catchy, overlong "Step in Time," he's hopping atop the chimneys of London with a group of similarly sooty gentlemen.

Though it's not the best song in Lady and the Tramp, "He's a Tramp" is a delightfully jazzy number in a dark moment for the female title character.

Of the five songs in Pixar's latest film Coco, "Remember Me" plays the most frequently and is the most tender and emotional. It's not Pixar's most tear-jerking number, but it comes pretty close.

When you listen to "Whistle While You Work," you might be taken aback at Adriana Caselotti's high-pitched operatic voice, which seems at odds with the playful images accompanying this scene. The music is what makes the song so delightful.

There's not much subtext to "Hakuna Matata," about how living with no worries is the best way to live. But Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella, as Timon and Pumbaa, are such consummate pros that they sell the juvenile lyrics.

Arguably, this song works best when you're watching it. Listening is fine, but the hallucinatory imagery is what makes it pop.

There weren't always on-screen romantic duets in Disney films like "A Whole New World." Brad Kane and Lea Salonga bring so much life to the soppy lyrics that they transcend the sentimentality.

Although Peter Pan is a smug little pill, "You Can Fly!" is a joyous piece of musical and visual craftsmanship.

If only Howard Ashman completed his work on Aladdin. The fun "One Jump Ahead" is one of the film's songs on which Ashman didn't work; instead, lyricist Tim Rice stepped in, not able to fully match the previous writer's snappy lyrics.

"Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" is a great nonsense Disney phrase, used by Cinderella's fairy grandmother in this rousing waltz-like number as she turns our heroine into a beautiful princess.

This song is gleefully skeptical towards the idea of a flying elephant, but it's bouncy and fun. The unavoidable downside is that lead singer Cliff Edwards (the White actor who voiced Jiminy Cricket) is doing a faux Amos-'n'-Andy voice.

As a song of guidance from newly appointed conscience Jiminy Cricket to his charge Pinocchio, "Give a Little Whistle" is a suitably fast-moving piece of music.

As the python Kaa, Sterling Holloway delivers a hypnotic, dry performance in the slinky, seductive "Trust In Me," coming so close to getting Mowgli in his coiled clutches.

Pinocchio goes through such hardship during the 1940 film bearing his name. But his moments of joy, like "I've Got No Strings," are untoppable. As in the best Disney numbers of the era, there's plenty of humor occurring at the edges.

The celebrated sequel to Toy Story only has a couple new songs; the theme song to the "Howdy Doody"-style show Woody starred in during the 1950s, "Woody's Roundup" is a winner.

The ineffable quality of Billy Crystal and John Goodman riffing with each other is evident in "If I Didn't Have You," which closes Monsters, Inc. Though this song won Randy Newman his first Oscar, the actors make it work.

During this song, Belle and the Beast jointly realize they're starting to genuinely like each other. The live-action remake unfortunately sidestepped what makes this number special: witty gags. The song is made more delightful via clever humor as the Beast tries to be a nicer, gentler prince.

This is an exceptionally short song, and just as bouncy as the proud character who sings it. Brevity is the soul of wit, and of this number, too.

The original Pete's Dragon is mostly awful. But this ballad, sung by Helen Reddy, is a lovely piece of songwriting that aches with emotion. For a few minutes, Pete's Dragon comes alive.

It's a lullaby sung by Julie Andrews to encourage kids to go to sleep after a long day. To quote Barton Fink, whaddya need, a road map?

This song, playing over the opening credits of Bambi, is as ethereal, quavery and melodramatic as some of the events that will follow. Donald Novis (one of Disneyland's original Golden Horseshoe performers) lends the song a sad, sincere air foreshadowing the tragedy to follow.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is very low-key, but the carnival-like "Heffalumps and Woozles" is the exception. It's still laid-back considering that it's a depiction of Pooh's rain-soaked nightmare of being taken for a ride by mysterious creatures who want his prized honey.

Phil Collins' songs for Disney aren't world-beaters, but "You'll Be In My Heart" is as tender as the title suggests. Never mind that it's sung by a gorilla to a human; its softness coupled with Glenn Close's singing voice make it appropriately maternal.

This is easily Mulan's best song, in which her eventual love interest tells his troops (including a gender-disguised Mulan) how he'll get them ready for battle. However, it's inexcusable that Donny Osmond provides Li Shang's singing voice. Osmond's a fine singer, but so is B.D. Wong, who provides the character's speaking voice and is, y'know, Asian American.

"The Second Star to the Right" is the true standout of Peter Pan, removed from the story's racism and sexism. Playing over the credits, it doesn't quite portend the jaunty tale that follows, but the plaintive chorus and catchy tune make for an enjoyable opener.

Bambi is known for its naturalistic animation and haunting offscreen death. But the haunting "Little April Shower," with staccato lyrics meant to evoke a rainstorm that young Bambi watches, is one of the more underrated numbers from Disney's early years.

While the romance in Sleeping Beauty is as slight as that of Cinderella and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, "Once Upon a Dream" is a delightful duet between Princess Aurora and Prince Philip, who sweeps her off her feet instantly. Even without the stately and colorful animation, this number's eminently hummable.

Hercules is a little spikier than other Renaissance-era Disney films, as evidenced by its best song. In "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)," Megara, voiced by the deadpan Susan Egan, tries to refuse her passion for the title character, backed by the gospel-esque Muses.

The closest to a traditional villain in Moana is Tamatoa (Jemaine Clement), a massive crab who sings this ode to the glittery objects he hoards. "Shiny" is the film's true earworm, thanks to the glam-rock stylings evinced both by Clement and writer Lin-Manuel Miranda, who was inspired after David Bowie died.

Dick Van Dyke is one of the most impossibly ebullient performers to appear in a Disney movie. That said...his British accent is rough. But even in "Jolly Holiday," an ode to Mary Poppins, Van Dyke sells his besotted Bert so much that it's okay that his dialect is awful.

Pocahontas is Disney's most well-meaning problematic animated film. At least some of the songs are quite winning. The vibrant "Just Around the Riverbend," where Pocahontas expresses her desire to forge her own path, is the film's best.

This song makes three appearances in The Princess and the Frog. The main portion is performed slyly by Dr. John. It's a sanitized picture of 1920s New Orleans, but Randy Newman's jazzy tune is still a winner.

Maui, the comically confident demigod, may be the best character Dwayne Johnson will ever play. Though Johnson isn't thought of as a singer, the song he gets from writer Lin-Manuel Miranda, "You're Welcome," is a fitting humblebrag, replete with a hip-hop break.

Listen, "Chim Chim Cher-ee" is great. But it's not the best song in Mary Poppins, in spite of being the film's only Best Original Song nominee at the Oscars. While the film deserved the award, this song — as good as it is — doesn't top a couple others.

The very nature of The Little Mermaid makes it so Ariel and her true love Eric can't sing a duet. Instead, we get this lively number where Sebastian croons to Eric, as forcefully as he can, to get on with the true-love's-kissing so Ariel can get her voice back. Like the best Ashman/Menken numbers, this one inspires goosebumps.

There's a lot of deliberately nonsensical phrases in Mary Poppins; this is the most memorable. The British music-hall number is a rousing bit of live-action/animated tomfoolery. As always, it's hard to beat something sung by Julie Andrews.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is one of Disney's most challenging films, exemplified by the opening number. The six-minute "The Bells of Notre Dame" establishes the horrific backstory of Quasimodo, the cathedral's mysterious bell-ringer. If the entire film was at this song's complex level, The Hunchback of Notre Dame would be the true underrated hero of the Disney Renaissance.

Robin Williams got two show-stopping musical numbers in "Aladdin," and while this is lower on the list, it's still very good. With Howard Ashman's lyrics of can-you-top-this? braggadocio and fanciful items the fake prince purports to own, the song is as clever as it is catchy.

The haze of love at first sight is captured perfectly in "So This Is Love," sung as Cinderella and Prince Charming meet at the ball and dance away from the partygoers. It's not very lengthy, but the mix of music and animation, suggesting a true fantasy, is ethereally beautiful.

Getting Lin-Manuel Miranda to co-compose the songs in Moana was a stroke of brilliance. "How Far I'll Go" is in the vein of other "I Want" numbers from the Disney discography. Aul'i Cravalho, with the right mix of vulnerability and daring, sells the song as well as the visuals do, making Moana's journey even more exciting.

"Be Prepared" is one of the finest Disney villain songs, with one miscue. As Scar, Jeremy Irons delivers a great voice performance, and is deliciously snide in this song. Until the final verse, when Jim Cummings steps in, apparently because Irons was ill. That's a shame, because this song is basically perfect until that vocal change.

Nothing can convince Ariel to stop spending time with humans, not even the dazzling "Under the Sea." The lyrics, as with many Howard Ashman compositions, are almost infuriatingly perfect—"When the sardines/begin the beguine/it's music to me" is just so clever.

Let this song's placement be an important reminder: a lot of songs in the Disney discography are great. "Be Our Guest" is the quintessential show-stopper, where Jerry Orbach's Chevalier-esque Lumiere details how wonderful it is for the enchanted objects in the Beast's castle to serve once more. "Be Our Guest" is a wonderful feat of animation and music, and one of the film's many peaks.

Quasimodo, in Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, tells us what he wants in "Out There," delicately sung by Tom Hulce, whose hunchbacked lead just wants to explore the world at its floor. This film is schizophrenic, but songs like this burst with emotion.

Ah, Mary Poppins, the original "workaholic dad has to understand that his family is more important than his job" movie. The final song, led by David Tomlinson, puts a nice bow on that story. "Let's Go Fly A Kite" isn't the best closing number, but it's one of the better pieces of music in a film with lots of great options.

The Princess and the Frog is Disney's most underrated film in the last 20 years. Nowhere is it more colorful than in "Friends on the Other Side." Character actor Keith David gets a hell of a Randy Newman song, as his evil Dr. Facilier lures an unsuspecting prince into a voodoo spell. As visualized by tribal masks and Facilier's loose-limbed dancing, "Friends on the Other Side" is a dizzying, psychedelic sequence.

Ursula, voiced by the throaty Pat Carroll, is a great modern Disney villain, and her big number doesn't disappoint. The caustic "Poor Unfortunate Souls" emphasizes how Ursula disdains those who utilize her witchcraft. As horrific as Ariel's choice to give up her voice to gain sea legs is, "Poor Unfortunate Souls" marks the beginning of some great villain songs in Disney films throughout the Renaissance.

The middle section of The Jungle Book packs a punch: first, Mowgli meets Baloo and hears about "The Bare Necessities." Then, Mowgli's swept away by King Louie and his monkeys, where they sing the zippy and irresistible "I Wan'na Be Like You."

Disney's greatest animated film is Pinocchio, and this is its most underrated song. Honest John the fox lures Pinocchio to stay with him, so he can be sold to the evil circus owner Stromboli. The bouncy number, coupled with the at-the-time-groundbreaking animation, is nearly the film's best.

"Gaston" is one of Disney's great villain songs, in part because it doesn't sound like a villain song. Just as Gaston is a perversion of the traditional Disney male hero, so too is his "triumphant" song a twist on the heroics documented in other animated films.

Pixar movies are guaranteed to make you cry. That tradition started in Toy Story when Buzz Lightyear realized he isn't a spaceman. But the champion is Toy Story 2, when Woody learns the tragic tale of Jessie the yodeling cowgirl (Joan Cusack). The flashback is set to this song, performed by Sarah MacLachlan, whose voice modulates the hope inherent in Jessie's struggle and the ensuing heartbreak exceptionally well.

The best scene in The Princess and the Frog comes early, as Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) tells her mother (Oprah Winfrey) how close she is to opening a restaurant. "Almost There" is memorable enough for the gorgeously Art Deco-styled hand-drawn images, but Rose has such a powerful voice — listen to how long she holds that last note! — that is impossible to deny.

Disney's adaptation of Victor Hugo's tragic novel is (predictably) not very faithful. But there are daring moments like the "Hellfire" sequence, in which the cruel Judge Frollo (Tony Jay) sings of his lustful desire for a gypsy, and how it will lead him down a path of further horror. If only the rest of the film could match the complexity of "Hellfire."

This song's lyrics are generic — it's a self-esteem booster that feels weirdly un-specific — so its success is proof of Idina Menzel's singing prowess. Her Queen Elsa is desperate to hide her icy superpowers until this number. Her joyous acceptance, as she builds a massive castle in a wintry wonderland, along with Menzel's talent, makes "Let It Go" worthy of the ensuing phenomenon.

Few Disney songs explain the studio's ethos better than this. "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" is the hopeful mission statement Cinderella sings to herself, as well as to the woodland animals who visit her daily. Ilene Woods' lovely voice imbues the song with the right amount of desire without sounding pathetic.

"We Know The Way" features Moana co-composer Lin-Manuel Miranda as one of the lead vocalists (along with Opetaia Foa'i), and its effect is profoundly spine-tingling in the best possible way. The fusion of image and uplifting music is one of the most rousing moments in the film.

The legendary Angela Lansbury sang "Beauty and the Beast" on the first take and made it warm and wonderful. Howard Ashman's lyrics carefully sum up the entire film's conflict, Alan Menken's score makes it all sound lush and tender, and the visuals are among the finest Disney's animators have ever crafted. What a song.

Die-hard fans know "Feed the Birds" was Walt Disney's favorite song. It's very close to Mary Poppins' best song, a somber ballad sung by Julie Andrews about a kind homeless lady who wants to make sure the pigeons are well kept for. Andrews sells the melodrama of the Sherman Brothers' song without becoming too sappy or saccharine; instead, "Feed the Birds" is a tender, heartbreaking number.

Of the many songs in Disney's first animated feature, "Heigh-Ho" is the tops. Yes, Snow White has a handful of numbers, but "Heigh-Ho" ably introduces her septet of friends. The song's pacing shifts midway through, as the dwarves escape the drudgery of the mine to head home, where they'll soon meet a strange young woman. The reliance on whistling suggests that Disney and the songwriters knew what a toe-tapper they had.

Instead of a series of clips, the first teaser for The Lion King was very simple: it was the "Circle of Life" number. This very wise marketing move was a testament to the song's uplifting power. As performed by Carmen Twillie, "Circle of Life" establishes the film's themes in thrilling fashion, without being too serious or ridiculous. It's just rousing enough.

The first great display of romance in Disney animation came during Lady and the Tramp in "Bella Notte." The two title characters enjoy an impromptu dinner behind an Italian restaurant, as the chefs sing. The dogs share spaghetti, building to Tramp offering Lady his meatball and inadvertently embracing while sharing a strand of pasta. The swooning song then shifts to a chorus for the second half, allowing the number to float on by.

Most Pixar movies have at least one or two songs, though few are as memorable as the opener to their first film, Toy Story. Randy Newman's "You've Got a Friend in Me" is one of the sweetest, plainest songs in Disney history. The song manages to establish both the premise for Toy Story and the buddy-comedy-style stories Pixar has been telling for decades.

"Friend Like Me" is a rare moment in Disney animation where everyone has their cake and eats it too. The final moment is a neon sign appearing above the Genie, reading "APPLAUSE." It's a sly gag that tweaks other films' show-stopping songs, arriving at the end of another genuinely great number. Robin Williams wasn't a great singer, but his irrepressible energy makes this number deserving of that neon sign.

The shorts comprising The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh boast many not-very-long, memorable songs. But the number playing over the opening credits, first as soft as a lullaby before bouncing itself awake, is extremely comforting. The stories of Winnie the Pooh and his friends appeal strongly to toddlers, precisely because of songs like this.

One Hundred and One Dalmatians isn't Disney's best, but it features the best Disney villain song. Roger, a jingle writer with a trusty pooch, thinks of the song when his wife Anita warns him that her old friend from college is stopping by. The song is as hip as the modern story. Though the rest of the movie eschews songs, this one's all you need.

Here's a scorching hot take: Julie Andrews is a global treasure. Thank goodness Disney cast her as Mary Poppins, because the film works so well due to Andrews' radiant charm, exuded perfectly in "A Spoonful of Sugar." Though the number is overlong, its iconography lays with Andrews' wonderful, singular work.

Of all the "I Want" numbers in the Disney discography, "Part of Your World" is the purest, most direct, and most heartfelt. Jodi Benson's performance coupled with Howard Ashman's tender lyrics has made this song stand out for nearly 30 years.

It's hard to emphasize how valuable Alan Menken and Howard Ashman were to Disney animation. The gorgeous tableaux and character design in Beauty and the Beast wouldn't work as well if it wasn't for songs like "Belle." The lengthy opening number establishes much about the eponymous character, and the small town that stifles her. Ashman's Sondheim-esque lyrics are complemented by Menken's soaring score. Beauty and the Beast is a masterpiece and the songs don't get better than "Belle."

There is no more heartbreaking Disney song than "Baby Mine," which accompanies images of circus animals cuddling their children, interspersed with little Dumbo being rocked by his mother, locked up for protecting him earlier. (I am literally getting teary-eyed thinking about this number as I type.) "Baby Mine" lays the emotion on thick, but boy, does it work.

Here's the all-time challenging Disney song. Song of the South hasn't been released officially on home media because of its racist story, following the kindly black man Uncle Remus and the rich little White boy who relies on him for guidance. But "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" is one of Disney's most recognizable musical numbers, for good reason. As performed by James Baskett, the number is both delightful and catchy without being obnoxious, and saddled with a very messy context.

The other songs in The Jungle Book, courtesy of the Sherman Brothers, are mostly quite good. But none is as toe-tapping as "The Bare Necessities," where Baloo the bear delivers his mantra of living to the wide-eyed and eager Mowgli. Phil Harris gives voice to the number, which is the best of all show-stopping Disney songs.

1. When You Wish Upon a Star

"When You Wish Upon a Star" is largely considered the best Disney song ever, because...well, it is. There's a reason why this song has been the soundtrack to the Walt Disney Pictures logo for decades. The song's haunting melody, Cliff Edwards' vocals, the hopeful lyrics: all combine for a singular piece of music that has held up to the test of time for nearly 80 years.