Despite Disney’s popularity in the film and theme park industries, they’re also very well known in the music space. From the very first time Disney experimented with synchronized sound in Steamboat Willie (1928), to the orchestral masterpieces of Fantasia and other films, it was clear that music would continue to play a huge part in telling Disney stories. In the 1920s, the entertainment industry relied on vaudeville a lot of the time, and early cartoons would often pull inspiration for different bits, gags, and musicality from them. Walt encouraged his team of animators to study music, and they experimented with music through the Silly Symphony cartoons, like The Skeleton Dance. When it was time for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to be developed, Walt was very intentional about where he wanted the music to be placed and how it was used. It was not meant to be a film where characters break out into song randomly, but where it consciously flowed throughout the story and supplemented the narration. This would be the basis of how Disney films used music moving forward.

“We should set a new pattern – a new way to use music – weave it into the story so that somebody doesn’t just burst into song.”

— Walt Disney

disneyland records

Much like when Walt and Roy were pitching their cartoons to various distributors before forming their own company, they also released the soundtracks for their films through several different distributors, like RCA Records, Decca Records, Capitol Records, and more. It wasn’t until 1956 that Jimmy Johnson, working in one of Disney’s publishing units at the time, pitched the idea to Roy O. Disney that the company should prioritize owning and distributing their own music, as opposed to using third parties. Jimmy Johnson was also responsible for bringing Jimmie Dodd onto the team, who later became the host of The Mickey Mouse Club. The profits from the television show in 1955 were astronomical, and enforced the idea that Disney really was in need of their own record label. Jimmy introduced Tutti Camarata to the team, the founder of Sunset Sound Recorders, to take the lead on the creative process and bring in talent.

Disneyland Records was officially founded on February 4, 1956, with Jimmy Johnson as the President of that division. Walt personally recorded a record called “Walt Disney Takes You to Disneyland”, specially made for this new part of the company. It would be the very first record made and distributed by Disneyland Records. After this, they released 7 other soundtracks from previous Disney films at the time, such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Bambi and Cinderella. They experimented with recording music that were not related to the films, and ended up allocating Disneyland Records as the place for soundtracks and children’s music, while Buena Vista Records focused more on pop albums. This was the start of a long line of musical discoveries, from the surprising success of interpretations of music from the classic films, and the beginning of former Mousketeer Annette Funicello’s singing career.

walt disney records

In 1989, Disneyland Records was renamed to Walt Disney Records. This was the start of when the recording division of the company began to expand even more, to accommodate all of the styles and artists that were being taken on. Disney Audio Entertainment opened in 1990, Disney Sound in 2004, and Disney Pearl in 2008. The portfolio of these record labels included studio albums, film soundtracks, teen pop albums, country albums, Disney channel original soundtracks, and signed artists like Selena Gomez, Bridget Mendler, Miley Cyrus, Zendaya, and more. Walt Disney Records still operates today.

the top 5 most successful disney movie songs

Now that we know a bit of background into Disney’s venture into the music industry and the importance music holds on storytelling, let’s dive into the top 5 most successful and beloved Disney songs of all time. Unsurprisingly, all 5 are from Disney animated movies as opposed to live action films.

5. let it go (frozen)

Disney’s Revival era has been a time of rediscovery, more diverse storytelling, and technology advancement. One of the most popular, influential, and lasting films from the era is 2013’s Frozen. The film was inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen, published in 1844. It was a 7 section story about 2 neighbors named Kay and Gerda, whose lives get turned upside down when the Snow Queen freezes Kay’s heart. Frozen would become the highest grossing film of 2013, and would bring in almost $1.3 billion in revenue.

“Let It Go” comes into the film as Elsa’s signature “I want” song. The music and lyrics were done by husband and wife duo Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. Both Idina Menzel’s version and Demi Lovato’s version were instant smash hits. The song won Best Original Song at the Academy Awards, which was the first time in 14 years that Disney won that award, the last time being for Tarzan’s “You’ll Be in My Heart”. “Let It Go” also received the Best Song Written for Visual Media at the Grammy’s, and is critically acclaimed with Best Song from the Critic’s Choice Awards, Phoenix Film Critics Society, and Denver Film Critics Society. “Let It Go” peaked at #5 on the Billboard charts, and stayed in the top 10 for 13 weeks, which is the highest Idina Menzel has ever been.

“Let it Go” from Frozen. Image from: https://www.ft.com/content/636ab7e0-2036-11e7-b7d3-163f5a7f229c

4. colors of the wind (pocahontas)

Following the tragic death of Howard Ashman, a genius lyricist and playwright who often worked alongside Alan Menken, Disney needed another lyricist to work with Menken to bring the music together for their upcoming animated feature film, Pocahontas. Stephen Schwartz was brought on to do the work and the duo conjured up a beautiful song telling Pocahontas’s viewpoint on nature, and respecting and embracing the world as it is. “Colors of the Wind” quickly became the song the movie was most well known for, and rose to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1995. The song, performed by Judy Kuhn, won Best Original Song at the 1995 Oscars and 1995 Golden Globes, and Best Song Written for a Movie at the 1996 Grammy’s. The rendition of the song done by Vanessa Williams also garnered major attention, reaching the #2 spot on the US Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks Billboard chart.

“Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas. Image from: https://disney.com.br/novidades/cores-do-vento-3-curiosidades-sobre-a-cancao-de-pocahontas

3. can you feel the love tonight (the lion king)

The Lion King’s soundtrack is one of the most beloved of all time, with “Hakuna Matata” even being a part of AFI’s 100 Years … 100 Songs list. The soundtrack was written by Elton John and Tim Rice, and the scores were composed by Hans Zimmer. Not only was The Lion King the highest grossing animated film of 1994 (and currently sits at #55 overall), but the soundtrack album was also the best selling at its time, with over $7 million copies sold. The general fame of the film was not predicted, as The Lion King was actually Disney’s “plan B” film at the time. They banked on the success of Pocahontas as they worked on both films at the same time, and this incredible result came rather unexpectedly.

“Can You Feel the Love Tonight” was the first song Elton John wrote for the film, and he had to convince the producers to keep it as a part of the film, and not use it in a total comedic fashion by having Timon and Pumbaa sing it instead, which was the original intent. The pop ballad won Best Original Song at the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes, and was even nominated for Song of the Year in 1995. Despite not winning that award, Elton John took home the Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the song. It peaked at #4 on the US Billboard charts, tying with “Colors of the Wind”.

“Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from The Lion King. Image from: https://disney.com.br/novidades/cores-do-vento-3-curiosidades-sobre-a-cancao-de-pocahontas

2. a whole new world (aladdin)

While the 1992 animated film Aladdin was in development, Alan Menken was partnered with Tim Rice, who had worked on The Lion King the year before. They worked through putting together a song that would supplement the magic flying carpet scene between Aladdin and Jasmine, and it was originally titled “The World At Your Feet”. Once the song continued to evolve, it was changed to “A Whole New World”, and it became a magical, fantastical hit that is nostalgic with Disney fans today.

“A Whole New World” won Best Original Song at the Academy Awards, won Most Performed Song from a Film at the ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards and BMI Film & TV Awards, at the Golden Globes it took home Best Original Song and is the only Disney song to ever win Song of the Year at the Grammy’s. “A Whole New World” reached the #1 spot on the charts for one week in 1993.

“A Whole New World” from Aladdin. Image from: https://disney.com.br/novidades/cores-do-vento-3-curiosidades-sobre-a-cancao-de-pocahontas

1. we don’t talk about bruno (encanto)

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s genius is reflected in his lyrics and composition of the Encanto soundtrack. Encanto was released in November 2021 and its bright colours, magical story, cultural significance and catchy songs helped it rise to the top as the highest grossing animated film of 2021, despite Disney also releasing Raya and the Last Dragon that same year. Although almost all of the songs of the film began to trend amongst social media, like “Surface Pressure” and “The Family Madrigal”, nothing compared to the attention that “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” received. It went viral on TikTok, became a staple in hundreds of families homes, and Lin-Manuel has even said that it was an “unlikely success”.

At the 2023 Grammy Awards, the song won Best Song Written for Visual Media, and was nominated for Best Song and the MTV Movie Awards. “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” was the first song since “A Whole New World” to reach the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. In just 10 days, the song went from #50 to #4, surpassing “Let it Go”. Then, another week later, it reached the #2 spot, passing “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” and “Colors of the Wind”. It hit #1 on February 12, 2022, and stayed at the top for 5 weeks, which is the longest a Disney song has ever stayed at the very top spot.