One of the hallmarks of the modern Disney era animation is the use of musical sequences at the end of the credits. These end credits always feature either an original pop song directly related to the film, or a cover version of the film’s main theme song performed by a well-known pop artist. Disney’s tradition of ending their films with a song officially began in 1991 when Celine Dion And Peabo Bryson duet version of “Beauty and the Beast” The beauty and the Beast hit the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100.
More than thirty years later, that same tradition of musical-narrative closure remains consistent throughout the Disney canon. A new Disney movie always promises a new ending credits sequence and thus another addition to the studio’s ever-expanding catalog of original songs. Below are ten of the best Disney songs in the end credits of all time, ranked according to their combination of cultural impact, historical significance, and pure enjoyment factor.
10 “Never Knew What I Wanted” - The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Not-yoThe pop-soul ballad “Never Knew I Needed” serenaded the audience back in 2009 when the credits moved to the Disney movie. The Princess and the Frog, jazzy and charming modern retelling of the classic fairy tale. No stranger to the vast world of Disney, Ne-yo recorded a version of “Friend Like Me” from Aladdin soundtrack to the 2015 Disney covers album titled We love Disney.
While the film score and lyrics were written by the legendary Oscar-winning composer Randy Newman, “Never Knew I Needed” is Ne-yo’s original. The inclusion of the song in the end credits gives the film a very specific and nostalgic feel to the time and place that it was in 2009.
9 “Lead the Way” - “Raya and the Last Dragon” (2021)
Jene Aiko “Lead the Way” is the perfect musical accompaniment for Raya and the last dragon. Her purifying lead vocal dances to a blissful instrumental that sonically recalls the film’s two central elements (air and water) that define the path of Rai and Sisu and define the spiritual essence of Kumandra land.
Aiko’s lyrics encapsulate the film’s defining message of the importance of unity, conservation of nature, and the true meaning of family. The artwork used in the closing credits is deeply infused with Southeast Asian culture and folklore and summarizes the film’s visual palette in a colorful closing collage.
8 “True to Your Heart” - “Mulan” (1998)
Song in the end credits for Disney Mulan“True to Your Heart” comes from an unlikely collaboration between 1990s boy band 98 Degrees and music’s most immortal idol. Stevie Wonder. Ironically, the song was originally written for another 90s pop sensation. Hansonbut the song was subsequently re-written to fit the pop soul musical pocket closer to Wonder’s classic sound.
The music video for “True to Your Heart” may be a hilariously outdated product of its time, but the song’s irresistibly sweet and festive vibe, its infectious chorus, and the instant credibility Wonder brings to any track he appears on makes it the end. - credits tunes of the cold Disney classics of the 90s.
7 “You will be in my heart” - “Tarzan” (1999)
Phil Collins won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 1999 Academy Awards for Disney’s You’ll Be in My Heart. Tarzan. Along with panic jams like “Two Worlds” and inspirational anthems of self-discovery like “Son of Man”, Collins’ music for Tarzan is used so often that it quite legitimately becomes one of the film’s main characters.
Singer-songwriter Genesis may have been hired to compose songs for this jungle adventure based on his background as a rock ‘n’ roll drummer, but the song that ended up winning him an Oscar was a heartfelt tearful song about parental love, tuned to a mostly subdued orchestral piece of music.
6 “How Far I’ll Go” - “Moana” (2016)
Not with frozenX “Let it Go” in 2013 allowed Disney to experience global success in the form of an original song, as it did with “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana. Canadian singer and songwriter Alessia Kara brought her talents to bear on this end credits sequence by performing a soaring, goosebump-inducing pop version of Moana’s signature power ballad.
In 2017, Kara and the voice of Moana herself, Aulii Cravalhobrought the whole house together by performing “How Far I’ll Go” live on stage Radio Disney Music Award. Lin-Manuel Miranda could lose the “Oscar” to the “City of Stars” from La La Landin 2017, but Kara’s version reached #56 in the rankings Billboard Hot 100and “How Far I’ll Go” won the same year a Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
5 “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” - The Lion King (1994)
Hans Zimmer triumphant score slips The Lion King to a joyful and cathartic ending. But as the credits roll, Zimmer’s score quickly disappears, making room for Elton Johnpiano version of the ballad “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” take center stage. The song won an Oscar for Best Original Song in 1995. Academy Awardsand that same night, John performed his version of the song live on his piano.
Crystal Merden the version may be slightly better known as it provides the soundtrack to Nala and Simba’s romantic evening scene in the film, but Rocketman’s performance of the song over the end credits contains a stronger sense of completion. This whole sequence of closing credits will evoke warm feelings that are deeply ingrained in the 90s at its core.
4 “Remember Me (Duo)” - “Coco” (2017)
Like it’s the end Coco not emotional enough, the end credits show the singers Miguel And Natalia Lafourcade creating a musical combination made in Mexico and creating a soothing duet version of the heartbreaking lullaby of love from the movie “Remember Me (Dúo)”. Beautiful hand-drawn images of colorful papier picado jewelry, accentuated by golden marigold petals fluttering in the evening breeze, created the perfect visual backdrop for both singers to melt the aching hearts of the film’s viewers.
Miguel and Laforcade performed their wonderful duet “Remember Me (Dúo)” live at the 2018 Oscars and the original song won. Robert Lopez And Kristin Anderson Lopez their second Oscar for Best Original Song. Both versions are incredibly emotional, but the inclusion of Laforcade’s native Spanish verses in “Remember Me (Dúo)” makes the end-credits version of the song surprisingly special.
3 “Let go” - “Frozen” (2013)
It is mind-boggling to consider the fact that Demi LovatoX the hit version of “Let It Go” has over 600 million views on Youtube, and yet it lags behind the original, Idina Menzel the theatrical version and the Disney UK singing version received several hundred million views each.
Lovato said that she deeply identified with the journey Elsa is embarking on in frozen, acknowledging her struggles with self-identity within the core inner conflict that motivates Elsa’s big musical number, becoming who she really is, and finally accepting her power instead of protecting her from the world. “Let It Go” predictably won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2014, and parents everywhere heard their kids sing along to it about five trillion times.
2 “A Whole New World” - “Aladdin” (1992)
Peabo Bryson And Regina Belleversion of “A Whole New World” (also known as “Aladdin’s Theme”) that plays over the end credits Aladdinspent a week at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1992, becoming the first song from a Disney animated film to do so.
The definition of the anthem “A Whole New World” has become such a ubiquitous element of pop culture that the song transcends the film’s legacy. The Bryson/Belle version is as dizzying and uplifting as the original, but elevated to an even higher degree of vocal power and emotional range. This quintessential ’90s Disney pop ballad will continue to serve as the soundtrack to countless karaoke sessions, night cruises and romantic first dances at weddings long after we’re all gone.
1 “Beauty and the Beast” - “Beauty and the Beast” (1991)
One song that started it all; in 1991 top vocalist Celine Dion and a stellar Disney musical Peabo Bryson combined their titanic vocal abilities and dramatic seriousness to create a Disney duo for the ages. Built on the transcendent harmony of the track’s two lead vocalists, “Beauty and the Beast” is the sonic equivalent of Belle’s iconic yellow ball gown: a shimmering, seething, cascading river of elegant golden light.
The song was a critical and commercial watershed for Disney, earning a Golden Globe, multiple Grammy Awards, and an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Dion and Bryson included the song on subsequent solo recordings and performed it live at the 1992 Academy Awards. Beauty and the Beast helped create a truly enduring cultural legacy for Disney animation. Not only did it become the template for all future Disney songs in the end credits, but it remains the most iconic and beloved of them all to this day.
Source: Collider
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