There may be no singular pop culture archetype as universally known as the Disney Princess. The magical entertainment template has been in place for 85 years now, dating back to Snow White gracing the big screen back in 1937. It's been an unremovable part of the cultural fabric for generations upon generations — from timeless hand-drawn animation to modern CGI wonders. And whether looked at through the lens of childhood wonder or adult reexaminations of some of the thornier elements of the trope, one aspect of Disney Princess-dom remains unimpeachable: the music.
That musical spirit comes to life in Disney Princess: The Concert, a touring production where a cast of Broadway veterans sing tunes in front of imagery from the beloved animated features. Before the tour stops at First Interstate Center for the Arts on Saturday, March 5, we figured it'd be the perfect time to rank the best songs from the 14 official Disney Princesses (Brave's Merida being both the lone Pixar and non-singing exception).
13. "Reflection" — Mulan
A strong argument can be made that Mulan is the best Disney Princess movie, but it doesn't give it's titular heroine much to do song-wise. "Reflection" is a relatively standard and forgettable searching-for-identity song, tied around the overdone "I don't know who I am when looking into the mirror" theme.But while we're here, Mulan offers a great chance to discuss two key elements of Disney Princesses. First off, despite what our foggy collective memories might think, many of the Princess movies don't actually give the best songs to the heroines. While there may be starker cases to come on the list, the firecracker-propulsive Captain Li Shang-led training montage perfection of "I'll Make a Man Outta You" blows the rest of Mulan's songs outta the water.
Secondly, Disney's Princess designations are very strange and somewhat arbitrary! Mulan is an "Official Disney Princess" (a corporately dictated designation thought up by Disney executive Andy Mooney in 2000) despite not being royalty in any way. She's not from a royal family and doesn't marry a prince. She's not even a daughter of a chieftain, a bending of the royalty designation in Moana and Pocahontas (which could grant official designation for Raya someday). Peter Pan's Tinkerbell and The Hunchback of Notre Dame's Esmerelda were once Official Princesses, but have since been booted from the ranks. Does The Lion King's Nala not count because she's a kitty? That's specist! Will Encanto's Mirabel follow in Mulan's nonroyal footsteps because that movie's music is chart-topping? Also, despite their wild popularity and royal blood, Disney somehow hasn't made Frozen's Anna and Elsa official Princesses (though they are listed on the offical Princess website). It's weird that there are such arbitrary rules for made-up stuff!
12. "Almost There" — Tiana (The Princess and the Frog)
Coming out almost a decade and a half after Disney's mid-'90s animation renaissance period and well into the Pixar-driven CGI animation era, the hand-drawn The Princess and the Frog gets lost in the shuffle and is undoubtedly the least-seen Disney Princess movie. That said, its Bayou setting lends it a unique musical identity rooted in New Orleans jazz. This Oscar-nominated Randy Newman tune doesn't rank among the songwriter's best, but it's a lighthearted dreamer ode that goes down smooth thanks to Anika Nori Rose giving the vocals her all.
11. "Belle" — Belle (Beauty and the Beast)
Beauty and the Beast gives its stone-cold classic songs to... (checks notes)... a teapot and a candlestick. The namesake beauty's musical high point comes via the film's scene-setting opening operetta, which weaves together Belle's bookish narrative and the bemused perspectives of her French village neighbors for a playful little romp that establishes her character.
10. "Colors of the Wind" — Pocahontas
It turns out turning a historical figure into a Disney Princess can be problematic and rife with historical inaccuracies. Who could've possibly guessed? Most people remember Pocahontas for "Colors of the Wind," and while it's a moving tribute to the communal beauty of untouched nature, it asks its soaring chorus to do the majority of the heavy lifting.
9. "I See the Light" — Rapunzel (Tangled)
Boosted greatly in the film by a fantastic visual sequence of floating lanterns over water, the tune morphs from Rapunzel finally realizing her post-tower dreams to a romantic duet with Flynn pretty effortlessly. It's not world-changing, but it's incredibly solid folk pop.
8. "The Next Right Thing" — Anna (Frozen II)
By far the darkest song in the princess oeuvre, "The Next Right Thing" catches Anna at her lowest point, as she wrestles with moving past hopelessness, depression and grief in the wake of a co-dependent loss. It's frankly shocking (and refreshing) for a kiddie movie to go this deep into sadness.
7. "Whistle While You Work" — Snow White
Tricking kids into thinking cleaning up can be funsince 1937.
6. "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" — Cinderella
Outside of "When You Wish Upon a Star," this barely-over-a-minute ditty is the archetypal Disney dreamer song, and Illene Woods' original soft vocal warmth is enough to melt even the coldest of hearts.
5. "Part of Your World" — Ariel (The Little Mermaid)
It turns out that when you literally take away the voice of your princess, she doesn't get many chances to sing. Thankfully, Ariel knocks her lone song out of the park. The signature Disney Princess "I Want" song, the delicate yearning of Jodi Benson's vocal performance and its spoken asides build toward an emotional crescendo. It's no wonder that the fish-stuck-in-water number has become an anthem for marginalized communities (LGBTQ+, disabled, etc.).
4. "How Far I'll Go" — Moana
A mere 27 years after The Little Mermaid, Lin-Manuel Miranda delivered the inverse "Part of Your World" (girl on land desperately wants to get to the water). The propulsive lyrical rhythm Miranda provides (and the Broadway-esque way its theme is repeated in the movie) sets the song apart from its princess peers, and Auli'i Cravalho delivers a vocal performance that glistens like sun rays on the ocean's undulations.
3. "Let It Go" — Elsa (Frozen)
Want to know why this song became so wildly popular when it was released in 2013? Because it's a musical child-friendly version of throwing up the double birds. Kids don't often get songs for them where the message is screw what everybody else thinks, I'm gonna be me. "Let It Go" is Rage Against the Machine for preteens. Idina Menzel's powerhouse pipes fully deliver, as the song slowly builds the indignation until it reaches a full cathartic release. (And any song that seamlessly works "frozen fractals" into its lyrics gets major bonus points.)
2. "Once Upon a Dream" — Aurora (Sleeping Beauty)
No song captures the essence of classic Disney dreaminess quite like "Once Upon a Dream." An adaptation of "The Garland Waltz" melody from Tchaikovsky's landmark The Sleeping Beauty ballet, the waltz just feels like distilled romantic fantasy. It's elegant simplicity remains utterly timeless.
1. "A Whole New World" — Jasmine (Aladdin)
Jasmine doesn't even get her own song in Aladdin (no, I'm not counting the forced one — "Speechless" — in the recent live-action version), but to make up for it, she gets Disney's most breathtaking duet. Considering how much of the Disney Princess lore is tied up in dreamy romance, nothing can top being swept away on a perspective-altering magic carpet ride. Lea Salonga's choral chemistry with Brad Kane is off the charts, resulting in the song remaining a thrilling chase, a wondrous place no matter how many times you revisit it. ♦Disney Princess: The Concert • Sat, March 5 at 7:30 pm • $40-$246 • First Interstate Center for the Arts • 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. • firstinterstatecenter.org • 509-279-7000
