Absolutely agree with this. “Hellfire” is amazing. Also, I still don’t understand how they managed to get away with it (!!) I marvel at the guts it took to put something like that in a (technically) “kid’s movie”.
Heh. I grew up with Gordon Goodwin, who won a Grammy in 2006 for his arrangement of “Incredits”. He does a lot of musical scoring for popular films, including* National Treasure, Armageddon,* and Star Trek: Nemesis, not to mention the classic cult film Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.
I would say some individual songs may be better, but from top to bottom Lion King has it.
Agreed on “Hellfire”, but I’d extend that to the whole of the Hunchback soundtrack.
Say what you will about Hunchback (and I’m willing to give the ending a pass; after all, the Charles Laughton version changed the ending too–and so did Victor Hugo himself when he wrote the libretto for an opera version), but that score is AMAZING.
(I’m ashamed to admit it as a practicing Catholic, but before I bought that CD I was unfamiliar with the Dies Irae, in Latin or otherwise. They thoughtfully included a translation in the CD booklet. I wish they’d done the same with the Swahili words and phrases for The Lion King.)
Beauty and the Beast and Little Mermaid are givens, of course. And I think The Princess and the Frog is a sleeper pick. Everyone makes fun of Randy Newman for some reason, but I think that the score of this was better than the one for Tangled, whose songs were totally blah. I’m sad to say it, but after a rebound with Enchanted, I think Alan Menken has run out of steam.
Yeah, I’m saying Lion King, then The Princess and the Frog, with a whole bunch jockeying for third.
I like Hercules. I love the Greek Gods meets Gospel soundtrack.
You cannot praise Aladdin and Lion King without acknowledging the lyrics of Tim Rice.
I’m also a fan of Court of Miracles. Another vote for Hunchback of Notre Dame, with The Little Mermaid being a close second (Poor Unfortunate Souls is so very fun to sing).
Don’t forget Howard Ashman! (who did Arabian Nights, Friend Like Me, and Prince Ali)
The Black Cauldron.
Kiddin’, kiddin’. The Little Mermaid and Lion King are probably at the top of my list. Though Robin Hood deserves an honorable mention.
(And we’re not counting “just distributed by Disney” animated films, right?)
Wow, I’ve never seen Hunchback, but that clip (in addition to being good music) is a very nice bit of character study.
Hunchback is very good, and very bad. Frollo is a wonderful villain, and the gargoyles are hideous. And I’m not talking about their looks, either.
Hermione:
Them’s fighting’ words - the “Dreams” song is one of my favorite Disney-movie songs ever.
Heh, I spent my whole childhood listening to Disney soundtracks in the tape deck while going on cross-country trips with my family. I keep meaning to sit down and make a “best of” mix tape.
My two cents for my two favorite movies (not necessarily the two best soundtracks, mind). I’m only going to concentrate on the vocal songs, not instrumentals.
Mulan: Not great. While “I’ll Make a Man Out Of You” is possibly the greatest Disney song ever, the rest aren’t that great. “Reflections” is good but also kinda sad, so not necessarily great for constant listening. “Honor to Us All” is decent enough for in-movie but is so specific it doesn’t really work outside. “A Girl Worth Fighting For”… ugh, just ugh. And “True to Your Heart” barely counts since it’s pretty much just the credits song.
As an aside, I recently gained an appreciation for how Mulan has all 4 of its songs in the first half of the movie, leaving the second half to just be the awesome fights against the “Huns” in the snow and the city.
Hunchback of Notre Dame: “Hellfire” is amazing. “The Bells of Notre Dame” is haunting. “Out There” is underrated. “God Help the Outcasts” is pretty good. “Topsy Turvy” and “The Court of Miracles” are the “silly” songs but work pretty well despite that. “A Guy Like You”… well, no soundtrack is perfect. Still, pound for pound, this selection of songs is pretty dang strong.
…
“I’ll make a man out of you” - My personal favorite animated Disney song ever. Very close to being “the best” (as objectively as one can say that).
“Heaven’s light/Hellfire” - Best animated Disney song ever. Not quite my personal favorite but close. I agree with everyone here who says this is the best, objectively.
The Lion King - Best overall animated Disney soundtrack, including the instrumental stuff from Hans Zimmer. Brilliant, BRILLIANT all around, every song, every background instrumental… just perfect overall.
YMMV, I guess…I’m afraid they just didn’t leave all that much of an impression on me. The background score was exquisite, however.
Songs alone, Tarzan doesn’t even crack the top 30. “You’ll Be In My Heart,” the only song, is at best a blah-y generic pop song that has nothing specifically to do with the movie. It could be dropped into any movie at all and been equally ok-ish in that background as well. The score doesn’t make up for the song.
I like Beauty and the Beast best from its era (“Gaston” and “Kill the Beast” are excellent songs, along with the other more overplayed ones) and the score is lovely. As mentioned above, Hunchback’s music was not its problem. From the older films, they made great use of some pretty music written by that Tchaikovsky guy.
I’m voting for Hellfire. I watched the movie when it first came out. I think I was ten? Either way, I rewatched it later in life. I did not understand that scene the first time around. When I saw it again I couldn’t help but think, “Man, that guy needs Jesus.”
Only one vote so far for Hercules? Say it isn’t so! The songs were great.
Aw, this is what I was going to bring up. I personally think the soundtrack has more to do with why people still think of the movie as being amazingly good instead of just decent.
I also do not know a single song from the soundtrack that I don’t like. Heck, I still know all the words from childhood. (Save for "Be Prepared, which was too scary for me back then.) It even still bugs the crap out of me that everyone does Elton’s words to the last one, too.
The music and style were great and fun to listen to. The lyrics are forgettable.