I love my teenagers. I love the people they are becoming and the conversations we share. But you know what I miss about their younger days? I miss the animated movies always playing in the background. Frozen played non-stop for two years in our house and I felt like we’d never get out of that stage. But now, I miss the songs and simplicity of those movies. I miss the music and hearing their squeaky voices sing along with the characters.
Don’t get me wrong, we still love an animated flick, but now that they’re older we have so many other options so they are more rare to be playing in our house.
It got me thinking, I needed to have some of that energy in the house this summer even if the movies aren’t playing. We made a playlist of 11 songs that are certified bops that originate in some of our favorite animated films.
1. “When Will My Life Begin?” – Mandy Moore | Tangled
Disney knew what they were doing when they grabbed Mandy Moore for the title role in Tangled. Her voice is so gorgeous that this song was a no brainer for a mini-parody about our dog, Sunny.
2. “I2I” – Tevin Campbell | The Goofy Movie
This song combined the sweet tones of Michael Jackson and Prince to create a quintessential 90s song. Tevin Campbell’s Powerline doesn’t even miss a beat when Goofy and Max jump on stage.
3. “How Far I’ll Go” – Auliʻi Cravalho | Moana
I mean, let’s start with the obvious – this song was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, so it was already certified to be a banger. In order to express Moana’s struggle with the irresistible impulse to explore beyond the reef, Miranda apparently locked himself in his childhood bedroom for a few days to remember what it was like to be 16.
4. ”You’ll Be In My Heart” – Phil Collins | Tarzan
Genesis drummer, Phil Collins, was chosen to record the Tarzan soundtrack because Disney wanted “a strong jungle beat to accompany Tarzan’s adventures.” It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. I’d be remiss to not mention another banger off that soundtrack – “Strangers Like Me.”
5. “Peaches” – Jack Black | The Super Mario Bros. Movie
One of the biggest surprises to come out of The Super Mario Bros. Movie was Jack Black’s moving ballad in his role as Bowser. It got stuck in all of our heads so much that Penn put a mini-parody together all about the beach.
6. “I Won’t Say (I’m In Love) – Susan Egan | Hercules
I overall think Meg doesn’t get enough love in the Disney female hierarchy. Anyways, the Muses singing background on this song absolutely make it, which reminds me that “Zero to Hero” also deserves some love from this movie.
7. “Everything Is AWESOME!!!” – Tegan and Sara | The LEGO Movie
When you write a book called ADHD Is Awesome, get used to people singing this song to you constantly. This song is VERY repetitive but I promise you will have the hardest time getting it out of your head if you play it just once.
8. “Surface Pressure” – Jessica Darrow | Encanto
Originally I had “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” on this list but then I really dug into what a “bop” means and I think the “pressure like a drip, drip, drip” breakdown on this song really makes it one.
9. “Immortals” – Fall Out Boy | Big Hero 6
I actually had no idea this song was made for a movie because it totally rocks on it’s own.
10. “Accidentally In Love” – Counting Crows | Shrek
I hear this one on the radio a lot and it’s hard to separate it from the Shrek movies…but also, why would you want to?
11. “Nobody Like U” – 4*TOWN | Turning Red
I was checking out Spotify’s new DJ feature last week and this song came on. It was super catchy, reminding me of the ever-popular 90s boy bands. I looked down to realize the song was by…a fake band? 4*TOWN is the fictional boy band brought to life in the Disney/Pixar movie, Turning Red. Fictional or not…it’s a bop.
I challenge you to listen to some of these songs with your radio ears. Do you think they could do well without their connection to a movie?
