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The best 25 Disney songs, ranked.

Disney Music Group
Thanks to our brand partner, Disney Music Group

There is something special about Disney music.

Each song is this perfectly wrapped up gift of emotion, fun and nostalgia, which keep the entire family entertained long after you've left the cinema or turned off The Lion King on Disney+ for the 1000th time.

The company has created dozens of Disney classics over the years, which also means there are hundreds of songs that can transport you all right back to the moments you first hear them. 

The Disney Hub on Spotify lets you enjoy this feeling any time you please.

As the name suggests, it's all the Disney goodness you could want, in one handy, easy-to-find location.

In the hub you'll find a selection of playlists and soundtracks so you can immerse yourself into the worlds of everyone's favourite Disney characters, plus podcasts that let you dive deeper into behind-the-scenes secrets and interviews.

Yep. With the Disney Hub you can be swimming with Sebastian 'Under the Sea' one moment before soaring on a magic carpet ride with Aladdin and Jasmine the next.

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It's also a sure-fire way to keep the kids occupied for a while, with a bit more variety than watching that same movie... again.

All you need to do to find this magical place is search 'Disney' on Spotify and click on the Disney genre. Then you step on in to the musical world of Mickey and his pals.

Given how many hours I've spent enjoying the Disney Hub recently, I gladly accepted the challenge of ranking my favourite Disney tunes.

Before we begin, let me just tell you, this was HARD. There's just so many songs and precisely all of them give me feels. 

But I've done my very best to rank the 25 best Disney songs, ever. Here we go:

25. 'How Far I'll Go'.

Moana's lead tune is the Disney Princess power ballad that had to follow that other recent Disney Princess power ballad, 'Let It Go'. A tough gig, but 'How Far I'll Go' is the perfect follow-up.

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The way to song builds from Moana's trepidation into her excitement and sense of adventure is really clever, and you're lying if you say you don't belt out that final chorus as loud as you can.

24. 'I See The Light'.

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'I See The Light' is Tangled's highlight; a sweet revelatory song about Rapunzel finally feeling like she belongs, which turns into a beautiful love song as Eugene joins in singing. 

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23. 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious'.

I'll never be able to spell it, but I can definitely sing 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' without mistake. An enduring fave. 

22. 'Under the Sea'.

I've only got space for one Sebastian special on this list, and I've gone with 'Under the Sea' over 'Kiss the Girl', because of the wordplay and just how fun the entire fish orchestra number is.

Plus, Sebastian is warning Ariel about the perils of humanity with lyrics such as "the seaweed is always greener is somebody’s lake. You dream about going up there, but that is a big mistake," which is a metaphor for the ages.

21. 'Show Yourself'.

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The moment in Frozen II where Elsa finally figures out that she's the fifth spirit makes me cry every time. I put it down to 'Show Yourself', which portrays how desperately Elsa wanted to find where she belonged - and she finds it, plus a special connection to her mum. 

Oh, and now I'm crying again.

20. 'Love Is An Open Door'.

The way 'Love Is An Open Door' plays out - eyebrow raised, completely self-aware as Anna and Hans progress from... literally just meeting to being engaged - is genius. 

Plus, "Love is an open DoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOOOOOOr" is so enjoyable to sing.

19. 'You're Welcome'.

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I don't know if there will ever be a catchier hook than 'what can I saaaaaay except you're WELcome'. 

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson performs 'You're Welcome' with so much energy you can't help but jam. This has been exclusively how I respond to any 'thank you' for years now.

18. 'Hakuna Matata'.

Ah, what a wonderful phrase!

If you ever question the impact of 'Hakuna Matata', I'm a millennial who knows at least two people with the words tattooed on them. 'Hakuna Matata' became more than a song; it was a movement.

17. 'Almost There'.

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The Princess and the Frog is chock full of amazing jazz tunes, and 'Almost There' is the most infectious of them all. 

16. 'When You Wish Upon A Star'.

'When You Wish Upon A Star' is originally from Pinocchio, and it's now so legendary it's practically the Disney national anthem.

15. 'A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes'.

Cinderella's 'A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes' is as brilliant now as it was in 1950. A true Disney classic.

14. 'Bare Necessities'.

'Bare Necessities' is a warm, fuzzy hug wrapped up in song form.

13. 'Belle'.

Beauty and the Beast's opening number sets up the character of Belle perfectly. She's beautiful and she likes to read - which she continues to do as she walks through her small French village, without so much as tripping over a baguette.

12. 'Be Our Guest'.

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There are a few ways to create a magnificent Disney song. Often it involves pulling on our emotional heart strings, but at other times, it involves a large-scale Broadway-inspired musical number performed by a chorus of enchanted objects. 

11. 'Gaston'.

Why yes, this is the third Beauty and the Beast song in a row. Because 'Gaston' is the greatest Disney villain song ever (huge sorry to Ursula and Scar).

It's perhaps the most over-the-top song in the Disney catalogue, which says a lot considering it is in the same movie as 'Be Our Guest'. 

Not only is 'Gaston' catchy as anything, the ridiculously narcissistic lyrics and the way the entire pub join in makes it seriously hilarious. 

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"I use antlers in all of my DEEEECORATING" will never not make me laugh.

10. 'I Won't Say (I'm In Love)'.

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Hercules' soundtrack is criminally underrated in my opinion - every single song is a banger - but the very best Hercules musical moment comes in Meg's anti-love love song, 'I Won't Say (I'm In Love)'.

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9. 'Colours of the Wind'.

Pocahontas' 'Colours of the Wind' is a beautiful power ballad with an important message about respecting the earth and embracing diversity.

8. 'I'll Make a Man Out of You'.

As 'I'll Make a Man Out of You' explores hyper-masculine stereotypes, Mulan beats all the men around her with intelligence and quick-thinking. Heck yeah.

It's also an absolute earworm. The "BE A MAN!" of the chorus circles around my mind very frequently.

7. 'Reflection'.

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It doesn't matter than not many of us can relate to the experience of going undercover to war against a ruthless emperor, because 'Reflection' can be applied to pretty much any time you've felt lost.

"Why is my reflection someone I don't know?" - Yup. Right in the feels.

6. 'You'll Be In My Heart'.

As the meme goes, Phil Collins did not have to go that hard on the Tarzan soundtrack. But he did. And he did that for us.

'You'll Be In My Heart' is the peak, and it has the Oscar and Golden Globe to show for it.

5. 'Beauty and the Beast'.

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It's a taaaale as old as time, but this Disney love song is a delight. 

4. 'Let It Go'.

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There's a reason you've heard 'Let It Go' 900,000 times in your life, and that's because it's a spectacular song.

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Frozen was only released in 2013, but 'Let It Go' was an instant classic.

3. 'A Whole New World'.

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'A Whole New World' is the best Disney duet, taking us all on a magic carpet ride as Aladdin shows Jasmine beyond the kingdom.

The Zayn Malik and Zhavia Ward version from 2019's live action Aladdin soundtrack is also *chef's kiss*. 

2. 'Circle of Life'.

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Is there a more iconic film opening than the 'Circle of Life'? We're all in our feels from the very first note, and this continues throughout the entire song. 

In a movie full of songs that have cemented themselves in pop culture, 'Circle of Life' is number one - and it's because of that opening.

1. 'Part Of Your World'.

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This is the greatest 'I want' song in existence. Ariel wants more whozits and whatzits, and her yearning is unmatched.

'Part Of Your World' is number one because it's everything a Disney song should be, rolled into a song sung by an angsty mermaid. 

It's touching, funny and relatable, it progresses a storyline and tells us a lot about our heroine and most importantly, it's an earworm the whole family will be singing along to for hours (and years) afterwards.

Feature image: Disney.

Disney Music Group
Ever wondered if you'd be able to find your favourite music from Disney classics, all in one place? You can stream Disney Hits to hear top songs from the biggest Disney and Pixar films, playlists full of everything from “The Little Mermaid” to modern favorites like “Frozen,” to Star Wars instrumentals, and even Marvel movie soundtracks in the Disney Hub on Spotify. Check out your favourite playlists, soundtracks, podcasts and so much more in the Disney Hub now.