Disney Princess Article: MaidofOrlean's Favorite Disney Princess Soundtracks List!

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MaidofOrlean's Favorite Disney Princess Soundtracks List!

posted by MaidofOrleans

Hello everybody! I got to thinking about the soundtracks to the DP films the other day and decided to write up a list of my favorites. Music has been a big part of my life, and as a result I have a big soft spot for the DP scores and songs. I find that how good a movie's soundtrack is often has a bigger influence on how much I like the film than it would for most other people. There are definitely some noticeable similarities between my favorite DP soundtracks list and favorite DP movies list, although they aren't exactly the same.

11. Tangled
6th on favorite DP films list

With a five space difference in comparison to my favorite DP films list, Tangled is one of the few films that doesn't follow my trend of enjoying films with good soundtracks. While it's a really fun movie, the soundtrack just doesn't stand out to me. I only really like two of the songs, and I only love one of the scores. It certainly doesn't help that I'm not a fan of Mandy Moore's singing voice. Overall, this soundtrack doesn't do much for the film in my opinion.
Favorite song: Mother Knows Best (reprise)
Favorite score: Kingdom Dance

10. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
8th on favorite DP films list

Unfortunately, I find this soundtrack to be very dated, and the fact that the sound isn't as crisp and clear as the more recent soundtracks doesn't do it any favors. I do enjoy Adriana Caselotti's voice, but I prefer some of the other princesses' voices, and while the dwarfs are funny they aren't the best singers. This soundtrack was wonderful in its time, but its time has now passed.
Favorite song: Some Day My Prince Will Come
Favorite score: I've Been Tricked

9. Cinderella
11th on favorite DP films list

Like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, this soundtrack is a little dated in my eyes. It has held up better, but it's still not as good as some of the more recent soundtracks. I adore Ilene Woods' voice, but the mice are horrendous and really drag this soundtrack down. I enjoy almost all of the songs though, so that boosts it a little higher than the previous two soundtracks.
Favorite song: So This Is Love
Favorite score: Where Did I Put That Thing?

8. Aladdin
10th on favorite DP films list

Aladdin has a plethora of really fun and enjoyable songs, but the score is more mediocre. I don't find it particularly memorable. I'm also not a huge fan of Lea Salonga's voice (I think she's much better in Mulan), but she only has one song so it doesn't affect my opinion of the overall soundtrack much.
Favorite song: Prince Ali
Favorite score: Marketplace

7. Pocahontas
9th on favorite DP films list

Pocahontas is often lauded for having an underappreciated soundtrack, and while I agree I just prefer the other DP soundtracks more. It has some of my favorite songs of any DP movie, and Judy Kuhn is phenomenal as Pocahontas, but the score is more lacking. It also has a couple songs that I'm really not a fan of, like Mine, Mine, Mine.
Favorite song: Colors of the Wind
Favorite score: Farewell

6. The Little Mermaid
4th on favorite DP films list

This soundtrack definitely deserved the Oscars it won. It's pretty amazing - the songs are fun, the soundtrack fits very well with the tone of the movie, and Jodi Benson plays Ariel quite nicely. Unfortunately, her voice is one of my least favorites of the Disney Princesses, which drags this soundtrack down. This soundtrack also doesn't give me chills the way my top five do.
Favorite song: Part of Your World
Favorite score: Tour of the Kingdom

5. Mulan
5th on favorite DP films list

So, funny story: before I started writing this article I had a tentative list in which Mulan was ranked seventh. As I wrote this article I listened to parts of each soundtrack in order to refresh my memory. When I started listening to Mulan's, I was floored. I had completely forgotten how utterly amazing this soundtrack is. It is so beautiful with its Chinese influences, and all of the songs are enjoyable. Lea Salonga may not have my favorite voice, but she does well as Mulan, and honestly the rest of the soundtrack is so good that I don't really care. This soundtrack gives me chills.
Favorite song: I'll Make a Man Out of You
Favorite score: Mulan's Decision (synthesizer version) aka Short Hair

4. Sleeping Beauty
3rd on favorite DP films list

Although this soundtrack is old, it has a sense of timelessness that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Cinderella don't. I'm not sure if that's because I loved this movie as a kid or if it's because the music as adapted from Tchaikovsky's beautiful ballet, but regardless I can listen to this soundtrack over and over again and never get tired of it. Not to mention that Mary Costa has the most beautiful singing voice of all the Disney Princesses. She sounds like an angel. I love her voice more than words can describe.
Favorite song: I Wonder
Favorite score: A Cottage in the Woods

3. Beauty and the Beast
1st on favorite DP films list

Simply put, I adore this soundtrack. The songs are all amazing, the singers are phenomenal, and the score can give me chills and even make me cry. I love this soundtrack almost as much as I love the film itself, but there are a couple other DP soundtracks that I love even more.
Favorite song: Belle (reprise)
Favorite score: Prologue

2. The Princess and the Frog
2nd on favorite DP films list

This soundtrack is incredibly underrated. I love jazz, so the music to this film just makes me want to get up and dance. Every single song in this film is fun, Anika Noni Rose has the most powerful gorgeous voice, and the score adds the perfect touch of enchantment. I can't help but tap my foot along to the music in this movie. It's so fun and so amazing!
Favorite song: Almost There
Favorite score: This Is Gonna Be Good

1. Brave
7th on favorite DP films list

It's kind of funny that both my least favorite and favorite soundtracks have the biggest differences from their respective positions on my favorite DP films list, but there you have it. Brave may not be the best Disney Princess film, but my god the soundtrack is phenomenal. Granted, I grew up with Scottish and other folk music, so I might be a little biased, but everything about this soundtrack is perfect in my opinion. I could run around singing its songs at the top of my lungs. I could listen to it on repeat. I will never get tired of this music. Julie Fowlis has such a beautiful, perfect voice for the songs and the score has that wonderful Scottish flavor sprinkled throughout. Nearly every piece of music in this movie has the capacity to give me chills. Do yourself a favor and go listen to this soundtrack, you might be surprised how awesome it is.
Favorite song: Noble Maiden Fair (A Mhaighdean Bhan Uasal)
Favorite score: I can't pick one so here are my three favorites - Fate and Destiny, I Am Merida, and We've Both Changed

Apologies for the lack of pictures in this article. I'm feeling lazy today :P

Renegade1765, ApplesauceDoctr and 1 other like this

anukriti2409 i absolutely love your list. I never thought i'd find someone who loves soundtracks of Brave and Sleeping Beauty together <3 I think they are just phenomenal. I also love that Mulan's score is also high while it truly doesn't get as much appreciation. I have always been torn between PATF and Pocahontas. There are parts which i totally love and parts where its just meh for me. I agree about your analysis of Aladdin as well, while the songs are fun, the score is much mediocre actually. BATB and TLM score is phenomenal! <3 Great article! I love how you mentioned you favorite DP film list along with it.

MaidofOrleans Thanks so much Anukriti! <3 Yeah I had a really tough time ranking my top 5 because they are all so amazing!

MaidofOrleans ^ I still like Snow White and Cinderella's soundtracks, I just prefer the others! Yay Brave is amazing!

coolsinger198 What a great job!! Very unique! I have to admit, I expected to see Brave last!

MaidofOrleans ^ Haha really? But it's so amazing!

wavesurf Who knew? [i]I love the soundtrack to Brave,[/i] just not the character of Merida herself. The Brave soundtrack is on my iPod. I have a thing for bagpipes and the penny whistle thingy-- which James Horner used so deliciously in Titanic. So, Brave's soundtrack brought back how much I loved the Titanic soundtrack.... Memories. The soundtrack for Brave almost made up for the fact that I really disliked the movie. Almost... I really love TLM soundtrack and Jodi Benson's singing voice, so we differ a tad bit there. The soundtrack to BATB is middle-of-the-road for me. I like Gaston's Song, "the transformation" score, and the songs sung by Lumiere and Mrs. Potts which I grew up with, but the rest is...dull. I didn't like the songs in TPATF at all, because the lyrics were really forgettable, and I just could not get into them... There was a huge separation for me there. I found the songs from Tangled much more accessible. I usually love jazz, but I don't like Randy Newman's version of jazz it seems... The score for Mulan is totally underrated and I love it TO DEATH. There. Not just the songs. The freaking score is to DIE FOR. Interesting arrangement, and I can relate to some of your choices. Good article!!

MaidofOrleans ^ Thanks wavesurf! Wow I wasn't expecting you to like Brave's soundtrack haha but it's cool that you do! Eh, I don't find the lyrics in TPatF that forgettable. I bet I could sing most of them from memory, and I haven't listened to most of them in a while. Granted, I have a pretty good memory for music anyway since I grew up surrounded by it, so it might just be me. I can see why you would view BatB's soundtrack as mediocre. It's certainly not the best in technical terms, I think I just love it so much because it reminds me of the film and the characters that I adore. YES. The score for Mulan is AMAZING! (I actually like the score more than most of the songs.) I definitely plan on buying it on itunes sometime soon. I can't believe no one talks about how awesome it is.

wavesurf ^I don't know where I found it...or how...but back some years ago I found the ENTIRE soundtrack to Mulan, including the synthesizer score for when she cuts her hair, and all of the "incidental" music, which is STILL KILLER. But I'm shameless about that movie, just as I am about TLM score and songs. I have the entire soundtrack with the incidental music for TLM, too... Iol, I'm weird.

MaidofOrleans ^ Yeah when I was writing this article I already knew that the hair cut score was gonna be my favorite for Mulan, but when I went to try and find it it sounded waaayyy different than how I remembered from the movie and it turns out that the synthesizer version (which is the one I was remembering) is only available on some special edition soundtrack or something! I thought it was so weird because the synth version is definitely the one that is in my version of the movie. I'd never even heard the non-synth one until I wrote the article.

Renegade1765 Good article. I agree with many of the things you said, but as usual, I disagree with others. For instance, while Tangled's soundtrack has its flaws, it's actually one of my favorites. My favorite song from the movie is "I See the Light", and it's one of my favorite Disney songs ever. And "Kingdom Dance" is also amazing. I agree with Snow White and Cinderella, but I have to admit that it had its fair share of decent tracks. Aladdin has a pretty a pretty kick-ass soundtrack, and I find it very memorable and enjoyable. I like the Arabian feel they give to most of the songs, and it makes them feel more natural and fitting for the setting. I have a lot of favorites, but my favorite one would have to be "Arabian Knights". While Pocahontas is one of my least favorite Disney Princess movies, it does have a really enjoyable soundtrack in my opinion. I disgaree, "Mine, Mine, Mine" is a fun song. My favorite song is without a doubt "Savages". Not only does it sound badass, but it has some of the most intense lyrics in any Disney song. This one being my favorite: "Destroy their evil race, until there's not a trace left!". I agree with your thoughts on The Little Mermaid. The soundtrack is special to me, because it was one of my favorite Disney movies growing up. I have a hard time picking my favorite; I love "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is my favorite song, but "Part of your World" is a very close second. I like Mulan's soundtrack, but only two songs really stuck with me: "Reflection" and "Make a Man Out of You". The rest is pretty forgettable in my opinion. I don't remember much from Sleeping Beauty's soundtrack, so I have nothing to really say about it. Beauty and the Beast would have to be my favorite one. The film was my favorite growing up, and thus the soundtrack really stuck with me ever since. Heck, while I hate the 2017 remake, I did tear up a little when the classic jingle played during the teaser trailer; that's how much the movie and soundtrack impacted me. My favorite song is "Beauty and the Beast". Like Mulan, I only remember two songs from the movie: "Almost There" and "Friends on the Other Side". While the score can be fun to listen to, the rest of the soundtrack is forgettable to me, but that's mostly beause I hate Randy Newman's music. My favorite song is "Almost There". You must be surprised that the viallin song isn't my favorite this time. I remember watching Brave only twice, but I don't remember that much from the soundtrack. It may be good, but I'm not in the mood of listening to it. Overall, good read! Like I said, I disagree with a lot of things, but I still really enjoyed it. Keep uop the goo work!