My Disney Mix Tape (Featuring Film Music Central)

Hey, readers!

By a show of hands, how many people here remember cassette tapes? I certainly do.  And I remember making my own mixes that way I could listen to all my favorite songs at once.  I still enjoy making mixes today, although on CDs, especially for use in my car because sometimes the radio just doesn’t cut it.  This works well for songs not common on the radio, such as Disney music.  There is a subtle art to creating a mix tape that I think many people have forgotten about or didn’t realize was there, so it is always an adventure trying to create the “perfect mix tape.” I thought I would share what I have come up with for my Disney mix with all of you.  I didn’t want to have all the fun by myself, so I invited Bex (Becky) from Film Music Central to create her own mix as well. Bex posts reviews and about a variety of film related news and topics on her site, with a particular focus on music in film (hence the name!). She even is a co-host on the Talking Stars podcast that I was recently a guest on. Be sure to go give her site a look once you finish here. Now, onto our mixes! In proper gentlemanly fashion, ladies first.

I’m actually a little too young to remember when mix tapes were all the rage, but it is fun to imagine the mix tapes I could create. If iTunes didn’t exist, I would definitely create a mix tape consisting entirely of Disney songs. What would go on this tape? Well, in no particular order…

Side One

1. Frozen “Let it Go” (2013): For me this is the ultimate “Be yourself” song, and for a time I had this song eternally on repeat. Anytime I’m feeling upset, I put this song on and by the time it’s over I feel much better.
2. The Little Mermaid “Poor Unfortunate Souls” (1989): Yea, this is a villain song, but I love listening to this one, Pat Carroll’s voice makes this song an electrifying experience every time.
3. Moana “How Far I’ll Go” (2016): It’s true, every Disney film has a song exactly like this one, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a great song. I think we all have times when we feel confined by routine and we want to break out.
4. Tarzan “Son of Man” (1999): For some reason, listening to this song just motivates me.
5. The Jungle Book “I Wanna Be Like You” (1967): Louis Prima just makes me want to get up and dance every time I hear this song.
6. Beauty and the Beast “Belle” (1991): I listen to this song because how the villagers describe Belle is basically how I was viewed growing up (though less kind words were used). It just reminds me of me when I was a kid.
7. Beauty and the Beast “Tale as Old As Time” (1991): If I ever get married, this song will play at my wedding.
8. The Hunchback of Notre Dame “Out There” (1996): When I was younger, I was obsessed with wanting to be “normal”, and when I put on this song, I would imagine I was asking for one day “out there” to be “normal.”
9. Hercules “Zero to Hero” (1997): I just like this song to be honest 🙂
10. Hercules “I Won’t Say I’m in Love” (1997): It’s funny, the older I get, the more I feel like Meg in her initial views toward love (she’s over it). When I’m in a really cynical mood about life, this song goes on.

Side Two

1. James and the Giant Peach “Eating the Peach” (1996): Disney silly songs are some of my favorite songs, and this is no exception.
2. The Aristocats “Scales and Arpeggios” (1970): I’ve been involved with music in some way since the 4th grade, so this song basically describes my mindset as a child where music was concerned (I was the human version of Marie).
3. Mulan “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” (1998): No lie, this is a great song to listen to while you’re training (ANY kind of training).
4. Peter Pan “You Can Fly!” (1953): What kid didn’t dream of being able to fly? I love listening to this song and pretending I’m the one flying off to Neverland.
5. Star Wars “Main Theme” (1977): Since Disney owns Star Wars, that technically makes all Star Wars music “Disney music” so naturally I’m going to include this.
6. Tarzan “Strangers Like Me” (1999)
7. Sleeping Beauty “Once Upon A Dream” (1959)
8. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs “Whistle While You Work” (1937): Best Disney work song EVER.
9. The Jungle Book “The Bear Necessities” (1967)
10. Robin Hood “The Phony King of England (1973)

And that’s what my Disney mix tape would look like 🙂 Thanks to Drew for coming up with the idea for this cool post 🙂

You’re welcome Bex! Now here is my mix tape, in this particular order:

Side One

1. “I’ll Make A Man Out Of You” (Mulan) – Gotta start with a strong one. This is easily my favorite song from Mulan.  My sister and I have killed this as a duet.
2. “Under The Sea” (The Little Mermaid) – Whenever I hear this song, I can’t help but dance around. It has created some awkward situations…
3. “Be Our Guest” (Beauty and the Beast) – Another one of my top Disney songs.  I love the dip in the middle of the song before it builds up again.
4. “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King” (The Lion King) – I love the colorful animation that occurs during this song. I can always see it in my head whenever I hear it.
5. “You’re Welcome” (Moana) – I mentioned in my review of Moana that I didn’t thing the soundtrack was a strong as other Disney soundtracks but this stands out as my favorite song from it.
6. “Colors Of The Wind” (Pocahontas) – For a song just over three minutes long, it sends a powerful message about not judging others quickly and to look at something from multiple points of view.
7. “Bare Necessities” (The Jungle Book) – I had a sing-a-long that had this song on it. Ever since, it has been one of my favorite Disney tunes.
8. “Friends On The Other Side” (The Princess and the Frog) – The tape moves into the villainous song territory, starting with the voodoo witch doctor Fracilier. I like the bass line that plays throughout most of the song and the spirits that sing back-up. I’m a simple man.
9. “Poor Unfortunate Souls” (The Little Mermaid) – This might be the most underrated song from the Disney Renaissance.  Pat Carroll as Ursula is down right ghastly.
10. “Be Prepared” (The Lion King) – Easily one of the best villain song ever written. Jeremy Irons is menacing as Scar, even when he sings.

Side Two

1. “A Whole New World” (Aladdin) – My cousins would kill me if I made a Disney mix tape and didn’t include this song. It is such a classic and so easy to sing along with, especially if you’ve go company.
2. “I See The Light” (Tangled) – Another great duet tune.
3. “You’ll Be In My Heart” (Tarzan) – This song always gets me emotional, especially when thinking about the lyrics.
4. “How Far I’ll Go” (Moana) – I didn’t expect to have two songs from Moana on this mix but Auli’i Cravalho absolutely nails it.
5. “Let It Go” (Frozen) – This is the perfect song to transition from the more mellower songs that start this side of the tape to the quicker ones that follow. Not to mention it had to be on here because I have literally listened to this song for hours.
6. “Why Should I Worry” (Oliver and Company) – Billy Joel is one of my favorite singers so I absolutely had to include one of his songs on here.
7. “Zero To Hero” (Hercules) – This song makes me want to have a gospel choir follow me around like the Muses do Herc.
8. “Friend Like Me” (Aladdin) – Hands down my favorite song from Aladdin. Perfect penultimate song for the mix.
9. “You’ve Got a Friend In Me” (Toy Story) – Great mellow tune to conclude with. I like to close my eyes, lean my head back, and relax when I listen to this song.

And that’s it! It was hard to narrow it down to enough to fit on a tape. Those that (barely) didn’t make the cut include “Cruella de Vil” (101 Dalmations), “Everybody Wants To Be A Cat” (Aristocats) “Prince Ali” (Aladdin), “Hakuna Matata” (The Lion King), “Won’t Say I’m In Love” (Hercules), “Reflection” (Mulan), “Perfect World” (The Emperor’s New Groove), and “I’ve Got A Dream” (Tangled).

Thank you Bex for joining me in this project! I had a lot of fun putting this together and I hope you did, too. 🙂

What songs wold be on your Disney mix tape?

Until next time, cheers!

If you are interested in participating in the Ultimate 90s Blogathon, hosted by Kim from Tranquil Dreams and myself, you can find all the information here.