Disney Songs #32: A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes to #28: Can You Feel the Love Tonight

#32: A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

To Listen: Click Here

The Facts:

• Writers: Mack David, Al Hoffman, Jerry Livingston
• Year: 1950
• Key:  E♭ Major

Heard In: 
Cinderella

Background / Personal Connection:

A classic song from a classic movie.  I haven't yet seen the remake from this year, but the trailer is really good and uses this song to perfection, so I'll give it a shot at some point. 

#31: When You Wish Upon a Star

To Listen: Click Here

The Facts:

• Writers: Leigh Harline (music), Paul J. Smith (lyrics)
• Year: 1940
• Key:  E Major

Heard In: 

Pinocchio

Background / Personal Connection:

The most timeless Disney song of them all, and the one that more than any other has come to symbolize the Disney company. Just a flat-out masterpiece, and it's impossible not to get goosebumps at the chord progression right before Jiminy Cricket starts singing.  I remember watching Pinocchio a lot as a kid, and though there are some fun moments, it's incredibly intense (as Disney animated movies often are) -- especially the scenes where Pinocchio's friend turns into a donkey and when the whale swallows Pinocchio and then Jiminy finds him face down in the ocean -- and it's not something that I'd recommend that very young kids watch. On a lighter note, Jiminy recently made an unexpected appearance in what has become one of my favorite sound bites of the year when a crazed Philadelphia Eagles fan (aren't they all, and I include myself in this group) compared an Eagles' victory to Muhammad Ali and Jiminy Cricket.

   

#30: It's a Small World

To Listen: Click Here

The Facts:

• Writers: Richard and Robert Sherman
• Year: 1964
• Key:  G Major

Heard In: 

It's a Small World

Background / Personal Connection:

This is probably the one song that could rival "When You Wish Upon a Star" for its sheer classic-ness.  From its debut in the 1964 World's Fair, it has gone on to worldwide super-stardom as one of the most played songs ever and has become a song that everyone knows -- a "household song," if you will.  The Small World boat ride (aka "The Happiest Cruise That Ever Sailed") appears in every place where Disney has theme parks (California, Florida, Paris, Tokyo, and Hong Kong) and is playing in at least one of those parks at every second of the day.

I remember once hearing an interview with Richard Sherman where he described the song by saying "People either want to kiss us or kill us," especially considering that the song plays in every single room of the ride (albeit in different languages and musical styles).  My parents can relate -- they tell a story about when my oldest sister was a toddler and she asked to go on the ride 10 times in a row, Despite the potential for the song to slowly drive one insane, I'm a big fan of it and of the boat ride due to its feel-good quality.  And as for the different styles, I have to call out the Polynesian section and the Swiss alpine yodeler as among my favorites.

#29: I See the Light

To Listen: Click Here

The Facts:

• Writers: Alan Menken (music), Glenn Slater (lyrics)
• Performers: Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi
• Year: 2010
• Key:  C Major

Heard In: 

Tangled

Background / Personal Connection:

Beautiful song, and I like the movie also (which has become a bit underrated in this "Frozen" age that we now live in). 

#28: Can You Feel the Love Tonight

To Listen: Click Here

The Facts:

• Writers: Elton John (music), Tim Rice (lyrics)
• Year: 1994
• Key:  F Major / G Major

Heard In: 

The Lion King

Background / Personal Connection:

The Lion King shows no sign of slowing down on the countdown (this is song #4), and this one's a great one.  Elton John has his own version also, though I prefer the original from the movie.