Board 8 > Best Disney Song Ever - Bracket and Discussion Topic (BDSE)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Welcome to the Best Disney Song Ever tournament!

This year, its a more all-inclusive tournament, featuring music from the farthest reaches of the Disney empire. Weve got songs from animated classics, live action thrillers, award winning scores, nostalgic television jingles, video game soundtracks, and even some theme park melodies, all battling it out in a mega-sized, 128-song, NCAA-style tournament. But only one song will prevail and be crowned Board 8s Best Disney Song Ever.

Full bracket:
https://www.bracketmaker.com/tlist.cfm?tid=477229

This topic will serve as the hub of the contest where the results of each round will be posted, and where discussion is always encouraged. Individual topics will be made for each round where the voting will take place.

The opening round will be starting later this evening so stay tuned.

Tag

Are predictions enabled for the bracket?

Predictions are now enabled for those who want to do that. They will close in a week from today and stay hidden until then.

oh shit I just remembered I forgot to nominate

The Goodbye Song (Out of the Box)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0SUEMGZU04

Married Life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rn-vMbFglI

haha, love the casual pumpkin drum. I vaguely remember that show.

guffguy89 posted...

haha, love the casual pumpkin drum. I vaguely remember that show.

I saw the two hosts sing it again two decades later on Tiktok and it immediately hit me

Favorites bracket:

Winnie the Pooh (Adventures of Winnie the Pooh)
Sanctuary (Kingdom Hearts 2)
Simple and Clean (Kingdom Hearts)
God Help the Outcast (Hunchback of Notre Dame)
Face My Fears (Kingdom Hearts 3)
Hellfire (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
He Mele No Lilo (Lilo & Stitch)
Suite (X-Men 2)

Sanctuary (Kingdom Hearts 2)
Simple and Clean (Kingdom Hearts)
Hellfire (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
Suite (X-Men 2)

Sanctuary (Kingdom Hearts 2)
Suite (X-Men 2)

guffguy89 posted...

haha, love the casual pumpkin drum. I vaguely remember that show.

Context: Its from the Halloween episode. Before it was put on Disney+, the only official releases of this show were two holiday VHS tapes. (The other being the Christmas episode.)

Can you post some previous winners or any results from the past? Not sure if you've run a contest like this before even, but would love to see them if you have em.

Sure. A Whole New World was the winner of the 2021 tournament, which was exclusively for animated Disney movie soundtracks.

Here is the full bracket from the 2021 tournament: https://www.bracketmaker.com/tlist.cfm?tid=475247

An interesting similarity between this bracket and the previous one is that Belle once again is the number 1 overall seed.

Other than that, the brackets look very different. Most notably because of the expanded scope of this tournament, but also because there was a different group of users that provided the bulk of the nominations. There were a few users who nominated songs for both contests, but the majority of nominations were from users who did not nominate last time around.

There were (at least) two other Disney song contests done over a decade ago. I believe the winners were Be Prepared (second contest) and I'll Make a Man Out of You (first contest). Those contests werent as strict as the one I ran last year. I believe they allowed live action and some television music, but definitely not the scope of this current contest.

If anyone has a better recollection of those prior contests, please share.

Ooh, cool! Moon Girl Magic made it in! It'll get smashed in the first round, but I'm glad to see it's in regardless.

It's been years since I listened to Belle. She's kind of stuck up, isn't she?

Belle (Beauty and the Beast)
Down to Earth (WALL-E)
He Lives in You (The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride)
God Help the Outcasts (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
Le Festin (Ratatouille)
Hellfire (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
The Bells of Notre Dame (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
Worthless (The Brave Little Toaster)

Down to Earth (WALL-E)
God Help the Outcasts (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
Hellfire (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
Worthless (The Brave Little Toaster)

God Help the Outcasts (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
Worthless (The Brave Little Toaster)

If only I'd made Reflections of Earth my super nom--that takes it over everything else. Next time!

@Johnbobb
@MarkS2222222222

I overlooked investigating this during nominations for some reason, but I am not finding any evidence that Portlandia was/is owned by Disney. If you have such evidence, let me know in the next couple days, otherwise I am swapping "Dream of the 90s" out with one of the three 2-nom entries that missed the cut. After running a RNG, the Little Einsteins theme song will replace it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJzds6fRfjM

guffguy89 posted...

@Johnbobb
@MarkS2222222222

I overlooked investigating this during nominations for some reason, but I am not finding any evidence that Portlandia was/is owned by Disney. If you have such evidence, let me know in the next couple days, otherwise I am swapping "Dream of the 90s" out with one of the three 2-nom entries that missed the cut. After running a RNG, the Little Einsteins theme song will replace it.

Hey, looks like that was my fault. I was sure Portlandia was an FX original but I guess I was mistaken

guffguy89 posted...

An interesting similarity between this bracket and the previous one is that Belle once again is the number 1 overall seed.

And will still not see any deep round as got fucked being with Be Prepared (an overrated "song" because it's just Jeremy Irons talking. There. I said it.)

Belle's bracket is pretty stacked. Probably the toughest of the 4 quadrants.

Tag. Wow nice job Belle.

I'm looking forward to discovering new songs from this tournament.

I just had a look at the bracket. I love the song Strange Things, but it's going to get annihilated by the Star Wars theme song. Sorry, Randy Newman, but luck of the draw.

Randy Newman is awesome, and that so happens to be the only Toy Story song in the whole tournament which is a bit of an injustice.

Yeah no idea how You've Got a Friend in Me didn't get nominations

Day 1 Results:

Round 1, Division 1
(1) Belle (Beauty and the Beast) --VS -- (32) Clock Tower Stage (Marvel vs Capcom 2) - 20-5
What some people may not know about the Clock Tower Stage is that the clock in the background actually tells the real time according to your console's internal clock. It works on all versions of the game.

(16) Almost There (The Princess and the Frog) --VS -- (17) Ive Got a Dream (Tangled) - 11-13
The Tangled, Beauty and the Beast, and Kingdom Hearts franchises have 6 entries each in this tournament, good for second most. The top honor goes to the Lion King franchise, which has 7 entries.

(9) Remember Me (Coco) --VS-- (24) Monday Night Football Theme (ESPN) - 18-8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgRtrPU7K94

(8) Be Prepared (The Lion King) --VS-- (25) When We Didnt Get Along (Phineas and Ferb) - 22-4
The song When We Didnt Get Along appears to have been heavily inspired by Toy Story 2s When She Loved Me, including a similar melody, lyrics, and even movements. With that said, got to give this song props for its uniqueness. Not many songs romanticize the superhero/villain rivalry in such a comedic way.

Day 2 Results:

Round 1, Division 1

(5) Space Mountain (2005) (Disney World) --VS -- (28) Ready As Ill Ever Be (Rapunzels Tangled Adventure) - 7-8
The Space Mountain roller coaster at Disney World holds a lot of firsts. Not only was it the first roller coaster built at Walt Disney World, but it was the first roller coaster in the world to be entirely indoors and the first roller coaster in the world to be electronically operated via computer.

(12) Reflection (Mulan) --VS -- (21) Scrooge (The Muppet Christmas Carol) - 12-4
In Scrooge, did anyone catch the mouse saying, Please sir. I want some cheese. A clear nod to Oliver Twist, which shares the same author as A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens. On an unrelated note, this was the first Muppets movie without Jim Henson, who passed away unexpectedly from sepsis at the age of 53. His son, Brian Henson, directed the film.

(13) Lazy Afternoons (Kingdom Hearts 2) --VS-- (20) Poor Unfortunate Souls (The Little Mermaid) - 6-12
Did you know Twilight Town had a radically different design in early concepts that featured a more fantasy-like setting with a fairy-tale-forest look that was complete with swampy ponds, grasslands, a train system that runs on large vines, and settlements atop incredibly large mushrooms? Yeah, Im glad they moved away from that.

(4) We're the Same - Sisi ni Sawa (The Lion Guard) --VS-- (29) Winnie the Pooh (The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh) - 6-10
Just who are these two cubs singing this rather catchy song 'Sisi ni Sawa'? Well, Kion is the first-born son, second-born child of Simba and Nala, and is leader of the Lion Guard. Unlike when Simba was a cub, Kion is a stickler for the rules. Jasiri is a friendly and open hyena, unlike Scar and his predecessor Janja. She ends up being a close ally to Kion on their adventures.

I feel I should get ahead of this. I can't find an isolated version of The Caucus Race, but here's a bit from a video set to roughly where it starts:

https://youtu.be/CV3PeALqqkU?t=59

guffguy89 posted...

An interesting similarity between this bracket and the previous one is that Belle once again is the number 1 overall seed.

Other than that, the brackets look very different. Most notably because of the expanded scope of this tournament, but also because there was a different group of users that provided the bulk of the nominations. There were a few users who nominated songs for both contests, but the majority of nominations were from users who did not nominate last time around.

As long as I'm here, Belle will always be #1. I'm used to being the one to carry her and that film on my back in every relevant contest.

Uglyface2 posted...

It's been years since I listened to Belle. She's kind of stuck up, isn't she?

Nah, she's educated.

She's complaining about life in a small town. At best, she's like Peter Gabriel in Big Time:
https://youtu.be/PBAl9cchQac

Uglyface2 posted...

I feel I should get ahead of this. I can't find an isolated version of The Caucus Race, but here's a bit from a video set to roughly where it starts:

https://youtu.be/CV3PeALqqkU?t=59

I was planning on using this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3YzD7pWUxs

Nah, Belle isn't stuck up, especially by Disney heroine standards. I am more concerned with her starting to have feelings for a beast like creature. You know what they say about bookish girls, they're into some weird stuff.

TomNook posted...

As long as I'm here, Belle will always be #1. I'm used to being the one to carry her and that film on my back in every relevant contest.

???

Day 3 Results:

Round 1, Division 1

(3) Sanctuary (Kingdom Hearts 2) --VS -- (30) Somewhere in My Memory (Home Alone) - 16-5
Home Alone director Chris Columbus initially hoped to have Bruce Broughton score the film, however, Broughton was busy with The Rescuers Down Under, and he had to cancel at the last minute. Now needing a new composer, a wild idea crossed his mind. Why not see if we can get John Williams? The idea was absurd on the surface. John Williams was the legendary, most-sought-ought composer, why would he sign onto a random Christmas movie that was not expected to be a big hit? Columbus didnt even know how to get in contact with Williams, so he tried to get in touch with Steven Spielberg, who then helped him connect with Williams. Williams surprisingly agreed to score the movie, and the rest is history.

(14) The Family Madrigal (Encanto) --VS -- (19) Friends on the Other Side (The Princess and the Frog) - 7-14
It is argued that The Family Madrigal may be the fastest paced Disney song. Though the Panchito song well see later in this contest may have a say in that. On a separate note, the songwriter stated that The Family Madrigal was inspired by the song Belle. Personally, I dont quite see the resemblance outside of it being a movie opener.

(11) Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride (Lilo & Stitch) --VS-- (22) Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers Main Theme - 8-14
The chorus for Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride is mostly in Hawaiian save for the last line. Here is the English translation:
Quick, don't be late
Bring your surfboard
The broad waves are rising
The ocean flows in and out
Relax on this sunny day
With the water on the sand
Come on, let's go
Hawaiian roller coaster ride

(6) A Whole New World (Aladdin) --VS-- (27) Down to Earth (WALL-E) - 18-4
The end credits song Down to Earth (sung by Peter Gabriel) is meant to reflect how the Earth in the film changes. At the beginning of the song, the music is very electronic-sounding and only Gabriel is singing. As the song progresses, however, the music becomes more natural-sounding with additional voices and almost all acoustic instruments. At the beginning of the film, the Earth has little to no life on it and WALLE is the only 'real' character. But over the course of the film, more characters are introduced and the Earth eventually becomes more natural.

Careful Tom, There's one or two people may wanna derail that train. Won't name 'em but they know who they are

Day 4 Results:

Round 1, Division 1

(7) Surface Pressure (Encanto) --VS -- (26) Long Hard Times to Come (Justified Main Theme) - 17-2
For any fans of Justified, you might be pleased to know that Disneys FX has announced it has greenlit a new drama limited series, Justified: City Primeval, which is set seven years after the events of the original FX series. It is set to come out this summer.

(10) Colors of the Wind (Pocahontas) --VS -- 23) Who Needs the Kwik-E-Mart (The Simpsons) - 14-7
Believe it or not, Who Needs the Kwik-E-Mart was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyric in 1994. It lost to the song The Song Remembers When, which appeared on a one-hour musical special, Trisha Yearwood: The Song Remembers When, on the Disney Channel, of all places.

(15) Why Should I Worry (Oliver and Company) --VS-- (18) Son of Man (Tarzan) - 15-7
Tarzan is considered by many to be the last major box office success of the Disney Renaissance Period before the studio's decline in the early to mid 2000s, sometimes known as Disney's Second Dark Age, though Disney refers to it as the Post-Renaissance period.

Gaston (Beauty and the Beast) --VS-- (31) Happy Working Song (Enchanted) - 20-3
While Happy Working Song is mostly a parody to the music from Snow White and Cinderella, the bridge portion of the song deliberately parodies the bridge in the song Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

Justified is one of my favorite shows ever. But the intro theme was just ok.

For the record, I apologize for the "Injun" line in TBoDC. I totally forgot that was there, I just remembered the first verse and the chorus line.

TomNook posted...

As long as I'm here, Belle will always be #1. I'm used to being the one to carry her and that film on my back in every relevant contest.

DoctorBIind posted...

???

I will also add question marks. P.S. Oh hai, Doc.

Guess the Simpsons factor isn't as strong.

Day 5 Results:

Round 1, Division 2

(1) He's a Pirate (Pirates of the Caribbean) --VS -- (32) The Ballad of Davy Crockett (Disneyland on ABC) - 17-3
It has been a tough start for music scores in this contest, going 0-5 until now. With plenty of scores left to compete, and some heavy hitters at that, well see how many more make it to the second round alongside Hes a Pirate.

(16) Proud Corazon (Coco) --VS -- (17) Mother Knows Best (Tangled) - 4-15
Proud Corazon was originally going to be sung by MAIKA, which is a female Spanish VOCALOID, basically a virtual singer; however, it was later changed to be sung by Anthony Gonzales (Miguels voice actor).

(9) Darkwing Duck Main Theme --VS-- (24) He Lives in You (The Lion King 2) - 12-10
He Lives in You first appeared in The Lion King musical and then later was used as the opening song for Lion King 2.

(8) Simple and Clean (Kingdom Hearts) --VS-- (25) My Name is Panchito (House of Mouse) - 16-5
There is some discontinuity with Panchitos name. In Mickey and the Roadster Racers, he introduces himself as Panchito Romero Miguel Junipero Francisco Quintero Gonzalez III (adding a III at the end). Then in the Legend of the Three Caballeros, he introduces himself as Panchito Romero Miguel Francisco Quintero Gonzalez III (this time omitting "Junipero" while keeping "III").

Day 6 Results:

Round 1, Division 2

(5) The Moon (Duck Tales: Remastered) --VS -- (28) Show Yourself (Frozen 2) - 12-6
The original version of Show Yourself was 6 and minutes long, but after various rewrites over the course of 6 months, the song was whittled down to 4 minutes, 20 seconds. Songwriter Kristen Anderson-Lopez was quoted saying on the songs development: It transformed a lot, and it was hard.

(12) Lava (Lava) --VS -- (21) Don't Think Twice (Kingdom Hearts 3) - 9-7
Kingdom Hearts IV, which was announced last April, is not set to be released anytime soon, but we do know it will be the start of a new story arc, beginning with returning protagonist Sora trapped in the life-like world of Quadratum, an expansive city set in a realistic world inspired by Tokyo.

(13) Friend Like Me (Aladdin) --VS-- (20) Spider Pig (The Simpsons Movie) - 18-1
Film composer Hans Zimmer wrote a choral version of the song Spider Pig originally as a joke, but one of the producers of the Simpsons Movie heard it and decided to add it into the movie at the last minute.

(4) The Glory Days (The Incredibles) --VS-- (29) The Naked Mole Rap (Kim Possible) - 16-2
In the show, the Naked Mole Rap is performed improvisationally at a talent show in response to Drakkens performance (Rappin Drakken) to buy Kim some time to defeat him. We will see Rappin Drakken later on in this contest.

Day 7 Results:

Round 1, Division 2

(3) The Mandalorian Main Theme --VS -- (30) When Love is Gone (The Muppets Christmas Carol) - 13-4
If you dont remember When Love is Gone from the Muppets Christmas Carol, its because the entire scene was cut from the theatrical release, only appearing in the VHS release.

(14) What Else Can I Do? (Encanto) --VS -- (19) The Scare Floor (Monsters, Inc.) - 11-6
Monsters, Inc. won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.Not for The Scare Floor, but rather for Randy Newmans If I Didnt Have You, which did not make this contest.

(11) God Help the Outcast (Hunchback of Notre Dame) --VS-- (22) Soarin' Over California (Disney CA Adventure) - 11-6
Although the Soarin attraction has changed visually and structurally over time, it has kept the same Jerry Goldsmith underscore music.

(6) Waiting in the Wings (Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure) --VS-- (27) Go to Bed Sleepy Head (Bear in the Big Blue House) - 13-2
Bear in the Big Blue House was shot in the same building as Sesame Street, prompting a visit from Big Bird in one of its episodes.

Day 8 Results:

Round 1, Division 2

(7) This is Halloween (Nightmare Before Christmas) --VS -- (26) King of Pride Rock (The Lion King) - 15-6
King of Pride Rock doesnt just appear in The Lion King, but also in The Lion King 1.5, the 2019 remake, the stage musical, and The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar.

(10) Call Me, Beep Me (Kim Possible) --VS -- (23) The Mob Song (Beauty and the Beast) - 8-12
In 2015, Call Me, Beep Me claimed the number one spot in the ranking of the "Disney Channel Theme Songs of Yesteryear"

(15) Waiting for a Miracle (Encanto) --VS-- (18) Doug Main Theme - 11-9
After airing for four seasons on Nickelodeon, Doug was not renewed for a fifth season. Several networks tried to purchase the rights to the show, with ABC as the frontrunner. In the midst of this, Disney acquired ABC, then Disney soon after bought the rights to Doug. Lots of changes were made including character designs and voice actors.

(2) I See the Light (Tangled) --VS-- (31) Rage Awakened (Kingdom Hearts 2) - 13-6
The optional boss battle that Rage Awakened appears in is considered to be the toughest battle in Kingdom Hearts 2. The name of the optional boss is an interesting story. Officially called Lingering Sentiment, it was given a fan name of Enigmatic Soldier, which has become the more popular name of the two.

It's too bad this song came out just a week or two after nominations, would've loved to see how it would've done:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsi-j6YwqiE

I come today with a gift: a playlist featuring all 128 nominations in this year's bracket, in order of appearance:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKFfmFvBWjwVRRGk3VBrRQ3-eiI_0SOfq

Aim was to feature each nom with the highest quality audio available. Enjoy!

RySenkari posted...

It's too bad this song came out just a week or two after nominations, would've loved to see how it would've done:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsi-j6YwqiE

I have not seen this show, but I find the animation very captivating. Definitely unique.

Place posted...

I come today with a gift: a playlist featuring all 128 nominations in this year's bracket, in order of appearance:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKFfmFvBWjwVRRGk3VBrRQ3-eiI_0SOfq

Aim was to feature each nom with the highest quality audio available. Enjoy!

As someone who knows first hand how long it takes to put together 128 videos, I want to say thank you for your time and effort in doing this. Would you mind if I added that playlist to the voting topics going forward? I figured it would give people options if they wanted to hear a possible alternate or extended version of the song. My goal in finding videos was to try to find the song as it appeared in the media itself, assuming I could find a good enough video. But your playlist compliments that nicely.

guffguy89 posted...

Would you mind if I added that playlist to the voting topics going forward?

By all means, you're more than welcome to! Of course, thank you for putting the contest on in the first place. It's a solid bracket and I wanted to immortalize it in some small way.

Day 9 Results:

Round 1, Division 3

(1) The Imperial March (Star Wars) --VS -- (32) Oo-De-Lally (Robin Hood) - 11-4
The phrase Oo-de-lally was actually a popular phrase used during the 1950s meaning yay or yippee.

(16) Quit Playing Games With My Head (Kim Possible) --VS -- (17) We Know the Way (Moana) - 2-12
Kim Possible has the most entries out of any single tv show with 4, but the show has not fared well in this contest so far, going 0-3. Looking at their remaining matchup, Im betting itll be 0-4.

(9) Le Festin (Ratatouille) --VS-- (24) Little Einsteins Main Theme - 13-1
Billy Straus, who wrote and composed the Little Einsteins theme song, also wrote the opening song for Dora the Explorer.

(8) You're Welcome (Moana) --VS-- (25) Face My Fears (Kingdom Hearts 3) - 8-5
Despite the opening songs for KH1 and KH2 both advancing, the same is not true for the opener of KH3. Kingdom Hearts finishes 2-4 altogether in the opening round.

I missed voting and 3/4 of my choices lost!

Not that my vote would've swayed them but still, Quit Playing Games With My Head is an all-time great

And goddamn Kingdom Hearts has been taking a beating, didn't expect that

I was tempted to vote Quit Playing Games With My Head because I did enjoy it more and found everyone dancing between lasers funny, but for the purposes of this contest, struggling to hear the lyrics over the laser fire counted against it.

The only Kingdom Hearts loss that surprised me was Don't Think Twice losing to Lava. The other songs had tough competition, and the two that advanced also have nostalgia going for them.

I love that Lava got a win. Top 10 Disney song for me. Saw the music video for the first time with my wife while we were...uh...partaking in an activity that makes visuals look awesome.

Song made us cry, ha. And then we watched Moana for the first time, and that was epic as well.