The Best Original Songs from Disney Movies

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By Hristina Byrnes Published
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Even though Disney has vastly expanded its cinematic repertoire over the last two decades, the company is still closely associated with creating animated musical movies aimed at children (though they also often gain a substantial adult audience). A big part of what makes these films memorable are their original songs – many of which achieve peak positions on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. (These are the most dominant reigns in Billboard history.)

To determine the top-charting songs from animated Disney movies, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on the performance on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including each song’s date of entry into the Hot 100, total time on the chart, and peak position (and its duration). Songs were ranked based on an inverse performance score wherein a week at No. 1 on the Hot 100 is worth 100 points, a week at No. 2 worth 99 points, and so on, up to a week at No. 100 being worth one point. Chart data is current through July 16, 2022. 

As the Billboard Hot 100 didn’t debut until 1958, earlier hit Disney songs which might have charted – like the Oscar-winning “When You Wish Upon a Star” from 1940’s “Pinocchio” and “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” from 1947’s “Song of the South” – are not included. (These are the best animated Disney movies of all time.)

The film yielding the most hits on the Hot 100 was “Encanto,” placing six songs on this list. One of them, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” was all the rage when it first came out in November 2021. The catchy song was so popular that it was played more times than Happy Birthday on YouTube – and the “Encanto” soundtrack as a whole was the first movie soundtrack to reach No. 1 on the Billboard charts in two years.

Click here to see the best original songs from Disney movies

Historically, however, several other songs have performed better than “Bruno.” After all, Disney has been making movies – and songs for those movies – for about a century. (These are the best Disney movies of all time.)

Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

25. “You’re Welcome” by Dwayne Johnson (from “Moana”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: December 17, 2016
> Peak position: No. 65 (for 1 week)
> Total time on chart: 13 weeks

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Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

24. “Nobody Like U” by 4TOWN (from “Turning Red”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: April 2, 2022
> Peak position: No. 49 (for 1 week)
> Total time on chart: 5 weeks

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Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

23. “Try Everything” by Shakira (from “Zootopia”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: March 26, 2016
> Peak position: No. 63 (for 1 week)
> Total time on chart: 9 weeks

Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

22. “Into the Unknown” by Idina Menzel & AURORA (from “Frozen II”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: December 7, 2019
> Peak position: No. 46 (for 1 week)
> Total time on chart: 12 weeks

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Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

21. “Waiting on a Miracle” by Stephanie Beatriz (from “Encanto”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: January 15, 2022
> Peak position: No. 48 (for 1 week)
> Total time on chart: 12 weeks

Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

20. “How Far I’ll Go” by Alessia Cara (from “Moana”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: December 17, 2016
> Peak position: No. 56 (for 1 week)
> Total time on chart: 19 weeks

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Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

19. “Little Wonders” by Rob Thomas (from “Meet the Robinsons”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: April 14, 2007
> Peak position: No. 58 (for 1 week)
> Total time on chart: 16 weeks

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Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

18. “For the First Time in Forever” by Kristen Bell & Idina Menzel (from “Frozen”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: January 11, 2014
> Peak position: No. 57 (for 1 week)
> Total time on chart: 19 weeks

Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

17. “Dos Oruguitas” by Sebastian Yatra (from “Encanto”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: January 15, 2022
> Peak position: No. 36 (for 1 week)
> Total time on chart: 16 weeks

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Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

16. “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” by Kristen Bell, Agatha Lee Monn, & Katie Lopez (from “Frozen”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: January 11, 2014
> Peak position: No. 51 (for 1 week)
> Total time on chart: 18 weeks

Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

15. “What Else Can I Do?” by Diane Guerrero & Stephanie Beatriz (from “Encanto”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: January 15, 2022
> Peak position: No. 27 (for 1 week)
> Total time on chart: 14 weeks

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Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

14. “How Far I’ll Go” by Auli’i Cravalho (from “Moana”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: December 17, 2016
> Peak position: No. 41 (for 1 week)
> Total time on chart: 20 weeks

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Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

13. “Someday” by All-4-One (from “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: June 29, 1996
> Peak position: No. 30 (for 1 week)
> Total time on chart: 15 weeks

Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

12. “The Family Madrigal” by Stephanie Beatriz, Olga Merediz, & Encanto Cast (from “Encanto”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: January 15, 2022
> Peak position: No. 20 (for 3 weeks)
> Total time on chart: 16 weeks

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Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

11. “Let It Go” by Demi Lovato (from “Frozen”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: December 14, 2013
> Peak position: No. 38 (for 1 week)
> Total time on chart: 20 weeks

Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

10. “You’ll Be In My Heart” by Phil Collins (from “Tarzan”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: July 3, 1999
> Peak position: No. 21 (for 1 week)
> Total time on chart: 20 weeks

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Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

9. “Go The Distance” by Michael Bolton (from “Hercules”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: June 7, 1997
> Peak position: No. 24 (for 1 week)
> Total time on chart: 20 weeks

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Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

8. “Circle Of Life” by Elton John (from “The Lion King”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: August 27, 1994
> Peak position: No. 18 (for 1 week)
> Total time on chart: 20 weeks

Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

7. “Surface Pressure” by Jessica Darrow (from “Encanto”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: January 8, 2022
> Peak position: No. 8 (for 1 week)
> Total time on chart: 19 weeks

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Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

6. “Beauty And The Beast” by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson (from “Beauty and the Beast”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: January 18, 1992
> Peak position: No. 9 (for 1 week)
> Total time on chart: 20 weeks

Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

5. “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” by Carolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz, & Encanto Cast (from “Encanto”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: January 8, 2022
> Peak position: No. 1 (for 5 weeks)
> Total time on chart: 20 weeks

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Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

4. “Colors Of The Wind” by Vanessa Williams (from “Pocahontas”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: June 24, 1995
> Peak position: No. 4 (for 1 week)
> Total time on chart: 23 weeks

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Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

3. “A Whole New World” by Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle (from “Aladdin”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: December 19, 1992
> Peak position: No. 1 (for 1 week)
> Total time on chart: 23 weeks

Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

2. “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” by Elton John (from “The Lion King”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: May 21, 1994
> Peak position: No. 4 (for 1 week)
> Total time on chart: 26 weeks

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Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

1. “Let It Go” by Idina Menzel (from “Frozen”)
> Entered Billboard Hot 100: December 14, 2013
> Peak position: No. 5 (for 5 weeks)
> Total time on chart: 33 weeks

Photo of Hristina Byrnes
About the Author Hristina Byrnes →

Hristina Byrnes is the editor of 247Tempo.com, where she handles the site's assignments and editing. She holds a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University, which she earned in 2012, and she specializes in translating complex health data research into engaging, accessible stories for a general audience.

When she's not poring over the latest data sets or brainstorming story ideas, you can find Hristina watching tennis, playing tennis with her son, or trying to get her daughter into tennis.

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