I hope you all had a great Christmas! Mine was good and bad all at once. While I was able to be with my immediate family, a crucial member of my extended family has been suffering from some serious medical issues. And unfortunately, the body doesn’t care if it’s a holiday or not.
But we’ll get through it all, as long as we are together. I noticed this year, in particular, that I approached Christmas with a slightly different mindset. I slowed down and really tried to cherish every moment that I had with my family. Usually I find it hard to sit still and want to keep myself occupied, but this shift in priorities has influenced my strongly and I’m still trying to sort out the emotions attached to it. Perfect for the New Year, isn’t it?
I found this song to be perfectly encapsulate how I have been feeling. This always gets me teary-eyed, but I feel all right admitting it because I did read through some of the comments and wouldn’t you know it, tons of others relate. It’s a very powerful song, please give it a listen.
I think I will try and carry this Transformation with me into 2015. Have a safe and fun New Year, I’ll be back with more Disney-ness for you all! 🙂
I’ll keep this short and sweet. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas today! I hope you are all enjoying the best day of the year! Need a little Dose of Disney to get you started today? I think this video is appropriate. Remember the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade begins at 10:00am on ABC! Enjoy!
Looks like Mickey and the crew are trimming the tree for Santa! Have fun tonight, and don’t forget to tune in to ABC tomorrow at 10:00am to watch the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade!
My foot’s already tapping as I glance over my Top 10 list of best Sing-Along Songs in a Disney movie. The competition was tight, tears were shed, and tough choices had to be made. One movie, in particular, made it on the list – twice! A Disney Diva Top 10 first! But you’ll understand when you see it. Forgive me if I am bias. 🙂
#10 “Topsy Turvy” from The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Come one, come all! Any song that begins with a crowd of cheerful voices is sure to get my attention. With the confetti, bright colors, and wordy lyrics, this song is snappy and tons of fun to sing along to. The animation is goofy and “Ev’ryone is acting crazy“! I especially love the breakdown near the end of the song as they go to crown Quasimodo as the King of Fools. If this song doesn’t get your head nodding, you need to turn it up!
#9 “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious ” from Mary Poppins
It may be hard to spell, but it isn’t hard to say. Actually, it’s the perfect thing to say when you have nothing to say. This classic song is recognized by young and old, and was probably one of the first songs I ever learned to sing along to!
#8 “I Wanna Be Like You” from The Jungle Book
“Well I’m the King of the swingers, oh, the Jungle V.I.P!” Come on! Try singing that line and not finding it unbelievably difficult to finish the rest. This is one song that gets stuck in my head all the time. I love the snappy feel of it, and the best part is, even if you don’t know the words, you can always join in the sing-along as the background chorus! Just follow the singer, you know. Monkey see, monkey do!
#7 “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” from The Lion King
Oh, the choreography that went along with this song in my house! One sang Simba’s part, one did Zazu’s (I believe it was me), and never before had I felt so connected with a movie. I am a Diva, you know, waiting until the day I become Queen. Simba’s my soul character! :p
#6 “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” from Mulan
Part singing. Part dancing. Part karate. Hello! This song has everything. Mulan is one of those movies that I have literally memorized nearly 100% of the dialogue, and while she might not get represented as much as some others, we need to always remember one important thing: Mulan is badass. That’s a fact.
#5 “Zero to Hero” from Hercules
Being a former Backstreet Boy fangirl, I unfortunately relate to this sea of screaming, babbling girls, and believe that if I had been around in Ancient Greece, you would see my face in this crowd! There are many awesome and fun songs in Hercules, which uniquely incorporated a gospel-inspired singing narrative group, the “Muses”. They deliver some of the most exciting and upbeat songs in any Disney movie, but this is my favorite!
#4 “Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid
I believe I am half-mermaid, and entirely agree with a good group of these lyrics. “The human world, it’s a mess.” Yup! “Up on the shore, they work all day!” Uh-huh. “What do they got, a lot of sand?” Not even… I’m miles away from the ocean. I think part of the reason that I love this song is because when I was a kid, I would imagine that maybe I could live ‘under the sea’, and that inspired my to start writing fictional stories to get into that fantasy land. Anyways, I’m getting off track. The reason it’s so good is obvious; the upbeat music, the catchy tune and wonderful feeling of comradery. It’s such a great song because it gets you singing, dancing, and laughing!
#3 “Hakuna Matata” from The Lion King
Yes, The Lion King made it twice! But how could it not. This movie has some of the best sing-along, ballads, choir songs, of all time. It’s wonderful and I’m probably going to watch it tonight. Hakuna Matata has a great message. It is also one of the more creatively successful ways Disney advanced its timeline to age Simba. I think this song is brilliant!
#2 “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast
This movie was made for Broadway, but it had the advantage of animation. Combine the two and you have an immediate breakthrough! The choreographed dinnerware, the beautiful leveling of scenes, and the awesome culinary references make this one of the most fun songs to not only sing-along to, but belt out! I especially enjoy playing this song while I’m cooking. I get energized and wear an instant-smile whenever I hear this song. Plus you get to test out your French accent. It’s so wordy and creative, that once you learn all the words, singing along to it becomes pure bliss!
#1 A Friend Like Me from Aladdin
YES! YES! YES! This is the ultimate in sing-along songs! Why? Because the Genie is amazing, unassuming, and tons of fun! I know people were probably expecting “Let it Go” fro Frozen, but the way I see it is this: A fun sing-along song is one that Ican actually sing! “Let it Go” is brilliant, but it isn’t fun, it’s actually rather melancholy. Anyways, back to my First Place Winner. Wanna tap your feet, snap your fingers, jump around and laugh – then sing-along to this! You can practice your funny character voices thanks to this happy tune. It has every single necessary component to making a great sing-along song, from the happy lyrics, animated imagery, and a dash of goofiness. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!
I encourage you to watch it today! Thankfully Netflix has added it, or I might have forgotten how much I love this movie. My favorite of the 3 short films? A Very Goofy Christmas, of course! But you can’t overlook the last installment, Gift of the Magi. It’s super sweet and features our favorite mouse-couple! Aaaw 🙂
The Disney Diva 