by Lucy Armstrong
BEWARE OF SPOILERS
Disney is known for their theme parks, characters, and most importantly, movies. Most of their movies include fun characters with cute storylines and awesome music. Here are some of Freedom High School’s students and my own personal top picks for Disney music.
“I Won’t Say I’m in Love”- This song is featured in the movie Hercules. The scene takes place in a garden just after Hercules(protagonist) leaves Meg(the damsel in distress) to help Phil(Hercules’s coach). Meg, played by Susan Egan, starts to sing this song along with the Muses, who are the women who tell prophecies in Greek Mythology. It touches on Meg’s relationship with Hercules and how she refuses to admit her love for him, believing that her feelings can only hurt her. It is a touching song with a lot of passion. (recommended by Heysha Garcia Melendez)
“Almost There”- This song takes place in the beginning of The Princess and The Frog, where the story introduces the protagonist, Tiana(Anika Noni Rose). Throughout the song you see her dreams come to life in an old abandoned building. As she starts to dance and sing with her mom, it uncovers her aspiration to build a restaurant and later it’s learned that this is in memory of her father. The song has a lot of pep and happiness to it and is really fun to listen to. (recommended by Heysha Garcia Melendez)
“Poor Unfortunate Souls”- The villain in most Disney movies has at least one song, and in The Little Mermaid, this is Ursula’s song. In hopes of being able to take Ariel’s voice, Ursula sings this song to show how “kind” she is because she is always “helping” people, and that she can help Ariel as well. This is what gets Ariel to sign a contract handing over her voice in exchange for legs. Ursula makes the song a fun listen and is highly recommended. (recommended by Heysha Garcia Melendez)
“Make a Man Out of You”- This song is featured in the film Mulan, and takes place in the middle of the movie. During this scene, Mulan(protagonist) and her fellow army mates are training for the war. Li(the general) is getting annoyed with their lack of experience, and is attempting to prepare them for war. He explains in the song that he is going to “make a man” out of them. In the beginning, it shows their failures and how they are not expected to make it far. However, near the end, all of the warriors prove themselves to be strong fighters and who will succeed. This song is a good motivator because of its strong lyrics, and also shows how cool Mulan is. (recommended by Meleena Mohammed)
“Prince Ali”- This song is featured in Aladdin, a bit after Aladdin(protagonist) finds the genie lamp. The song comes after a wish made by Aladdin to be a prince so that he can marry the beautiful princes, Jasmine(female lead). It shows how he is now a prince and adored by many. This is a fun listen and a great song, sung by the amazing and hilarious Robin Williams (recommended by Meleena Mohammed)
“Be Prepared”- This song takes place in The Lion King, featuring the main villain, Scar. While singing about taking down the king–Mufasa–Scar is organizing his troops of hyenas. The song depicts the nasty efforts made by Scar to take over the position as king, and just how far he’ll go. This is truly a devious but fun song. (recommended by Ms. Morley)
“Remember Me”- This song is featured in the movie Coco. It takes place multiple times in the movie as it is written by Hector(the protagonist’s grandfather), who wrote it for his daughter(Coco) when he left to play music publicly. The protagonist, Miguel, also sings this song to his great grandmother to help her bring back memories of her father. (anonymous recommendation)