There are only 18 types of songs in Disney cartoons

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

No variety!

Justin McElroy, a reporter for CBC Vancouver, has sorted all the songs from Disney cartoons into 18 categories. He described the features of each type and prepared a gluing of short fragments of songs related to them.

1. "This is (the name of the cartoon)!"

This Is The Movie (26 entries):

- It summarizes the theme of the film or says its title several times

- It is at the beginning of the film (exception: Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas)

• Occurs 26 times.
• Tells what the cartoon is about, or mentions the name several times.
• Usually at the beginning of a movie (exception: Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas).
• The choir, a minor character, or someone we see for the first time starts singing (exception: Pocahontas).

2. "I want"

I Want (26 entries):

- It is sung by the main character (exception: the Frozens, Ralph Breaks the Internet)

• Occurs 26 times.
• The main character sings (exception: "Frozen", "Ralph against the Internet").
• This is a monologue: the hero or heroine sings alone (or addressing the animals), talking about her dream.

3. "I'm a villain"

I'm The Villain (18 entries):

- It’s sung by the villain (exception: Cruella De Vil)

- It always comes after the I Want songs

• Occurs 18 times.
• The villain sings (exception: Cruella De Ville).
• It always comes after the song "I want."
• Usually talks about the desires of the villain, but sometimes it is a mockery of the main character.

4. "We / They are made for each other"

We Should Bone (17 entries):

- Never happens in the first-third of the movie (exception: One Song, Love is an Open Door)

- Can be a duet, monologue, montage, OR a separate character egging things on

• Occurs 17 times.
• Does not appear in the first third of the film (exception: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Frozen).
• It can be a duet, monologue, gluing, or a third-party character that encourages the heroes to come together.
• If a man sings, then this is either a duet, or he teases the girl.

5. "Don't hang your nose!"

Cheer Up, Kid! (17 entries):

- It's always sung by a supporting character who likes the protagonist

- The theme is always positive

• Occurs 17 times.
• A secondary character who likes the main character / heroine always sings.
• The attitude is always positive.
• Usually turns into large-scale dances and dances.

These are five key categories of songs in good Disney cartoons, but there are 5 more important types.

6. "This is who I am"

Here’s My Deal (21 entries):

- It expresses a character’s their joie de vivre, often in a bragging way

- While the I Want song is about inner desires, this expresses outward joy

• Occurs 21 times.
• Expresses the character's cheerfulness, often in a boastful manner.
• If "I want" talks about the character's inner dreams, then songs of this type express outward joy.
• Either the protagonist or his / her important companion sings shortly after the viewer meets him.

7. "This is who we are"

Here’s Our Deal (18 entries):

- It expresses the MO of a group of characters and their motivations within the movie

- It is usually very early on the film

• Occurs 18 times.
• Expresses the motivation of a group of characters.
• Usually sounds at the beginning of a movie.
• During the song, the characters are usually busy with work, or talk about some kind of desire or dream.

8. "This is who they are"

Here’s Their Deal (13 entries):

- A character or two best friends is being described by another person or group

- Usually sung shortly after we meet the character (or Aladdin’s case, reinvention of the character)

• Occurs 13 times.
• The character or best friends are described by other heroes.
• Usually sounds shortly after we saw the hero (or heroes). In the case of "Aladdin", the song sounds after the changes in the character's image.
• Glues are often used, and a previously unfamiliar character sings.

9. "Everything will be fine"

Things Will Be Okay (17 entries):

- The downbeat counter to "Cheer Up, Kid!"

- The song expresses hope, but can indicate doubt

- The tone is warm, quieter, or downbeat. No dancing happens

• Occurs 17 times.
• A sadder version of "Don't hang your nose!"
• The song expresses hope, but it can also convey doubts.
• The hero sings softly, softly or sadly. No dancing.
• Usually a secondary character sings, who helps the main character.

10. "Time to dance!"

It's Dancing Time! (11 entries):

- Sort of self-explanatory

- The protagonist never instigates the dancing, and if they’re in the scene, the dancing sort of happens around them

• Occurs 11 times.
• The name speaks for itself.
• The dances are not arranged by the hero: if he is in the frame, at some point it just starts happening around him.
• Usually this is a kind of intermission between parts of the film.

These are the top ten types of songs that work best for plot and are often memorable. But there are 8 more types that appear in different pictures from time to time.

11. Gluing

Montage (13 entries):

- It's a montage. You know what a montage is.

- There are no great montage songs, only acceptable ones

- There were no montages before Hercules

• Occurs 13 times.
• As the name suggests, this is a gluing. There are no outstanding songs among these songs.
• The glues were first used in "Hercules".
• Phil Collins wrote half of this kind of songs for Tarzan and Brother Bear, and it wasn't a good idea.

12. Songs from "batch" cartoons

Package Movie Shorts (13 entries):

- Hey, remember Melody Time and Make Mine Music?

- No? Well they were Disney movies that were just a bunch of shorts jammed together

- Lots of those shorts had songs

- Nobody cares about those songs

• They meet 13 times.
• Remember Melody Time and Play My Music?
• No? In general, these were films collected from a bunch of short films.
• Many of these shorts had songs.
• Absolutely nobody cares about these songs.
• But we take into account ALL types, so we mention this one too.

13. "We won!"

We Won! (8 entries):

- Is about celebrating that something good has just happened, or is about to happen

- Typically happens at the end of the movie

- Is never sung by the main character, but they’re often around

• Occurs 8 times.
• The heroes are celebrating something good that has already happened or is about to happen.
• Usually sounds at the end of the movie.
• It is never sung by the main character, but he is often in the frame.
• Three of these songs are from Winnie the Pooh!

14. Songs about nature

It's Nature Time (8 entries):

- Is a song where the focus is on the place or the weather

- Is never about a person

- Is often a short song setting up a scene

• They meet 8 times.
• Usually about some place or weather phenomenon, and never about a person.
• It is often a short song that is sung at the beginning of a new scene.
• If this description seemed uninteresting to you, then you are absolutely right.

15. "Here's a one-off character"

Here's A One Note Character (7 entries)

- Is sung by or a minor character who usually only appears once (exception: the harp in Fun and Fancy Free)

- Is essentially a short “I Want” or “Here’s My Deal” song by someone you don’t care about

• Occurs 7 times.
• Usually a minor character sings, who appears in just one scene (exception: harp in "Merry and Carefree").
• This is often a shortened version of "I Want" or "This is Who I Am," about a character you don't give a damn about.
• We heard three such songs in Alice in Wonderland.

16. Psychedelic songs

The Drug Song (7 entries)

- Trippy as heck, maybe nightmare inducing?

- More an excuse for animators to be creative than advance the plot

- Supernatural powers displayed by characters in song are never explained

• They meet 7 times.
• They can give you nightmares.
• This is often more of an opportunity for animators to show how creative they are than something important to the story.
• No one explains the supernatural powers that appear in the characters during such songs.
• You could bet all of the songs from Alice in Wonderland belong here.

17. "Time to teach life!"

Life Lesson Time! (6 entries)

- Advice on how to live one’s best life is given

- It is always directed to the main character (exception: Scales and Arpeggios)

- I’ll Make A Man Out Of You is here

• Occurs 6 times.
• Advice on how to live your life better.
• Always addressed to the protagonist.
• "I will make a man out of you."
• There are no good songs in this category.

18. Troubled songs

Problematic (6 entries)

- The only category filled with songs that used to be part of other categories

- Has not aged well!

• They meet 6 times.
• A category that contains songs that do not fit into other categories.
• They have not stood the test of time.
• No, I will not explain in more detail - for, hopefully, obvious reasons.

What is your favorite song from the cartoons of this studio? Let us know in the comments!