There are only 18 types of songs in Disney cartoons

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

1. "This is (cartoon name)!"

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)
- It is first sung by a chorus, or an unseen or minor character (exception: Pocahontas) pic.twitter.com/yEk048reux

- Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy) May 18, 2020

• 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 begins to sing (exception: Pocahontas).

2. "I want to"

I Want (26 entries):

- It is sung by the main character (exception: the Frozens, Ralph Breaks the Internet)
- It is a monologue, sung alone - or to animals! - expressing their greatest desires pic.twitter.com/H8aHIBZUz1

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- Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy) May 18, 2020

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

3. "I am 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
- It usually expresses the villain's desire, but can also be mocking the main character pic.twitter.com/DQRtChVjRC

- Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy) May 18, 2020

• 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
- If a man is singing, he’s either egging things on, or in a duet pic.twitter.com/TgJFyAkzlX

- Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy) May 18, 2020

• 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
- It generally builds up to dancing or fevered choreography, with an element of "let’s put on a show!" pic.twitter.com/CIhAbY1IIt

- Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy) May 18, 2020

• 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
- It is sung by the main character or clear second, soon after we meet them pic.twitter.com/PO8GRbN7Ri

- Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy) May 18, 2020

• 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
- The song generally shows the characters working, or talking about a specific desire pic.twitter.com/1fzSGNJXzD

- Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy) May 18, 2020

• 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 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)
- Often has elements of a montage & and an unseen singer pic.twitter.com/ZGufU78L2z

- Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy) May 18, 2020

• 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
- It’s generally sung by a supporting character that helps the protagonist pic.twitter.com/VeSWD0bXf0

- Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy) May 18, 2020

• 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
- generally serves as an intermission for the movie pic.twitter.com/njjEWruyaa

- Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy) May 18, 2020

• 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 song types 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
- Half the songs Phil Collins wrote for Tarzan and Brother Bear were montages, and that was a poor choice pic.twitter.com/DNyyIZ7akx

- Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy) May 18, 2020

• Occurs 13 times.
• As the name suggests, this is gluing. Among these songs, there is not a single outstanding one.
• Bonding was first used in Hercules.
• Phil Collins wrote half of this type of song 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
- But we’re including EVERY SONG, so pic.twitter.com/K1ehLsra6E

- Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy) May 18, 2020

• They meet 13 times.
• Remember Melody Time and Play My Music?
• No? In general, these were films collected from a heap 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
- Three Winnie the Pooh songs! pic.twitter.com/241uccwtGa

- Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy) May 18, 2020

• 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
- You’re right, none of this sounds interesting! pic.twitter.com/qqWDzcrwtU

- Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy) May 18, 2020

• 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
- Three Alice in Wonderland songs! pic.twitter.com/PkUFSHoxLT

- Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy) May 18, 2020

• 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," dedicated to a character you don't care about.
• We've heard three of these 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
- One could argue every Alice In Wonderland song should be here pic.twitter.com/YlqITumGEO

- Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy) May 18, 2020

• 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
- Which is weird, because that’s a great song! And great songs don’t live here pic.twitter.com/jJOPQL2hpk

- Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy) May 18, 2020

• Occurs 6 times.
• Advice on how to live your life better.
• Always addressed to the main character.
• "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!
- No, I will not be explaining this further, for what I hope are obvious reasons pic.twitter.com/wtWOSkjHiP

- Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy) May 18, 2020

• 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!