All Mixed Up 04.06.09: Disney Music

Posted by Tom Santoro on 04.06.2009

Mickey Mouse is now a full fledged music mogul. He has owned you since birth and trust me he will own you again someday. Here is a look at what he has been up to. Plus my top 18 Disney Songs of all time. Yes, I am that lame!

When Walt Disney created his animated character Mickey Mouse in 1928, he never would have imagined that it would spark one of the largest multi-media conglomerates ever. The Walt Disney Company has its own cable channels, multiple theme parks on three different continents, and a movie division responsible for some of the most enduring animated classics of all time. Now they are starting to reach into recording an distributing their own pop music.



Last weekend I took my daughters to Walt Disney World, primarily the Magic Kingdom. While shelling out hundreds of dollars for tickets and Disney souvenirs, I noticed there were hundreds of kids wearing Hannah Montana t-shirts. They are raking in tons of money from the Hannah Montana franchise (and their music division in general).

Over the last month, their two biggest musical acts Hannah Montana and The Jonas Brothers each have scored high sales of the movie soundtracks they have just released. In order to make these acts successful, they market to children and tweens through all of their TV shows.



Since I have young children, I watch a lot of the Disney Channel. In each commercial break, they insert a music video for all of their musical acts. Last year for instance, they would play The Jonas Brothers "Burning Up" and Miley Cyrus' "7 Things" alternately once per hour. It is hard to beat that kind of promotion and since they market to kids under the companies clean cut image, parents are all too willing and eager to shell out the money for their kids to purchase their music. Thankfully, my kids are still too young for this stuff.

It appears they want to atone for the mistakes they made when they had the likes of Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera on their talent roster. They lost millions to guys like Lou Perlman by not exploiting the pop stars in their sweet saccharine prime. This is not a mistake Mickey will make again.



The music Disney offers is all too sugary and void of any controversy. The only problem they have is that their stars will out grow their demographic to pursue themes that are more adult. I call it the Menudo Paradigm. Once they are too old, Disney will boot them off for a younger model that they can mold just as the producers of Menudo did. They are already gearing up for life without Cyrus by featuring other actress/singers like Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato.

Disney's promotional reach is not limited to just teen pop, they also have served as distributors of children's music with bands like They Might Be Giants and Los Lobos. Both of these bands perform theme songs for their Play House Disney shows. They also had a brief tour featuring They Might Be Giants and Barenaked Ladies (which were quickly canceled due to Stephen Page's drug arrest).

Let's not forget that all of their animated films feature some classic songs on their soundtracks. They used to have studio musicians and vocalists sing their songs now they use established artists. Most recently, they had acts such as Peter Gabriel (Wall-E), Rascal Flatts (Cars) and the Barenaked Ladies (Chicken Little) perform their title songs. There is a high incentive for these performers to sing Disney material because they offer their music to a younger audience and they are often nominated for an Oscar for Best Song.

Whether you are a hard core metal head, an super indie geek or a hip hop junkie, chances are you grew up listening to Disney music. So I shed whatever cool factor I may have ever had by offering you my list of the Top Disney Movie Theme Songs.


1. "When You Wish Upon a Star" from Pinocchio



2. "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Da" from Song of the South




3. "A Whole New World" from Alladin



4. "Bear Necessities" from Jungle Book



5. "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" from Mary Poppins



6. "Kiss the Girl" from A Little Mermaid



7. "You've Got a Friend in Me" from "Toy Story"



8. "Someday My Prince Will Come" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves



9. "Can You Feel The Love Tonight?" from The Lion King



10. "Heigh Ho" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves



11. "Once Upon a Dream" from Sleeping Beauty




12. "You Can Fly" from Peter Pan




13. "Under The Sea" from The Little Mermaid




14. "The Unbirthday Song" from Alice in Wonderland





15. "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and the Beast




16. "You'll Be in My Heart" from Tarzan




17. "A Pirates Life For Me" from Pirates of the Caribbean




18. "If I Didn't Have You" from Monsters, Inc.