Disney songs are some of the most popular in the history of film. There are countless tunes that you still remember the words to today. However, over the decades, Disney has also produced some fairly unusual songs. There are so many Disney songs that we grew up with that we'll never forget, but there are also quite a few of songs that you have likely forgotten, or possibly even mentally blocked out.
These aren't necessarily bad songs. Some of them are quite good, while others are just strange. Still, they all qualify as songs you've likely forgotten exist, which is sad, because there's absolutely something memorable about each of them.
'Wreck-It, Wreck-It Ralph' - Wreck-It Ralph
It's not surprising if you missed this tune as it plays over the closing credits of Wreck-It Ralph after the Owl City tune "When Can I see You Again?" which will one day go on a separate list of Disney Songs I've Had Stuck In My Head For At Least Five Years. "Wreck-It, Wreck-It Ralph" is a song about the "classic" arcade game of the film. What makes this game special though is that's performed by Buckner & Garcia, the same duo responsible for another video game based hit song, 1982's "Pac-Man Fever." The song does everything to convince you it was actually recorded 30 years ago.
'The Siamese Cat Song' - Lady And The Tramp
This one is just...awkward. Lady and the Tramp just isn't one of the Disney films that has remained a popular and well-loved classic over the years, beyond the pasta scene, anyway. The Siamese Cat song consists of two cats singing with terrible Asian accents, who are also trying to end the life of a pet fish for their lunch before moving on to steal a baby's milk. This one has not aged well, and may be part of the reason Disney doesn't talk about this movie much anymore. Everybody, just remember the dog with a meatball on his nose and move on, ok?
'The World's Greatest Criminal Mind' - The Great Mouse Detective
Vincent Price once sang a Disney song. I could really leave this entry right there and the point would be made. There's more to it, however, because the song is actually pretty good. You can hear Price's pure joy at performing this song in ever line. It's a gloriously fun tune from a seriously underrated Disney movie. If you have never seen The Great Mouse Detective, go do so. You'll enjoy Vincent Price's performance as villain Ratigan if nothing else. It's a shame they weren't able to get Price to voice a character in a bigger movie, he could have been one of the all-time greats.
'One Last Hope' - Hercules
Danny DeVito once sang a Disney song. That is a thing that happened. However, while the random Vincent Price tune mentioned a minute ago is actually an entertaining song, "One Last Hope" from Hercules is...not. It's just not. It's maybe not DeVito's fault, the song doesn't do him any favors. It's probably not his key, assuming he has one, but while Disney can do a pretty good job of making mediocre voices sound good, that doesn't happen here. Hercules is pretty much a disaster of a movie from start to finish and while it has some good points worthy of praise, this song is not one of them.
'I Thought I Lost You' - Bolt
Like Wreck-It Ralph, Bolt is not a musical, and as such, the only song is over the closing credits, but you can count on Disney to close off any movie with a catchy pop tune. On its surface, there's nothing that strange about "I Thought I Lost You" at first glance It's your standard Disney pop. What makes this one worthy of the list is the oddness of the duet, Miley Cyrus and John Travolta. Granted this is 2008 Miley Cyrus, so we haven't quite reached swinging naked on a wrecking ball level Miley, but the fact that Disney was able to get the star of Grease to sing with their (then) pop princess is a fascinating thing to behold.
'Trust In Me' - The Jungle Book
It's possible that you haven't forgotten this one entirely, as it was played over the closing credits of the live-action remake of The Jungle Book by Scarlett Johansson. One of the interesting things that they did in that film was change the gender of the snake Kaa from male to female. This song was probably the reason they did that. "Trust in Me" is a song of seduction. There's really no way to not look at the song that way. Even when it's being sung by an animated snake to a hypnotized boy, there's an element of straight-up creepiness in this one.
'I Saw A Dragon' - Pete's Dragon
The 70s were weird. When Disney decided to remake Pete's Dragon they decided to not do it as a musical and that was probably for the best. However, it meant that we were all robbed of what we're sure would have a brilliant musical number consisting of Karl Urban singing about seeing a dragon while appearing three sheets to the wind. Mickey Rooney, who plays the town drunk in the original, tries to convince a bar full of townspeople of the monster he saw. It's absolutely bonkers but I'd by lying if I said it wasn't also fun.
'Once Upon A Time In New York City' - Oliver & Company
If we're being honest, the entire soundtrack to Oliver & Company could go on this list. Modern Disney musicals have always an element of pop music to them, but Oliver & Company is more specifically a rock musical. If you remember this movie's music at all it's probably because Billy Joel voices one of the characters and provides a song. However, here we're spotlighting the film's opening song. "Once Upon A Time In New York City" is sung by Huey Lewis and if that's not enough to make this one odd, the lyrics were written by Howard Ashman. Yes, the same guy who won Oscars for music from The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast got his start at Disney writing for a Disney rock musical based on Oliver Twist.
'You Might Think' - Cars 2
You can't separate music and driving, which may the reason that the Cars movies have some of the best soundtracks among all of Pixar's productions. While Cars 2 is one of the studio's rare misses when it comes to movies, the music is still top notch. Since you don't remember the movie you probably don't remember that the film included a cover of The Cars "You Might Think" that was done by who might be literally the best band ever chosen for such a task, Weezer. They're so perfect that you might not have realized you were listening to a cover.
