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10 Disney Songs That Taught Us A Lesson 

Hello Lovlies :) I'm Jordan Nicole. Recently, due to the fact that my little cousin Landyn just turned three at the end of April (She is Ellie's daughter, who was mentioned in my Vegas blog), I have had a lot of Disney in my life. Landyn is at that wonderful age where she is starting to be able to sit through  movies and she is loving Disney and all of its princesses. I am thrilled by this because she has given me an excuse to watch all of my favorite childhood Disney movies again (not that I wouldn't have watched them with no excuse at all!). This has also led to creating a Disney playlist on my phone and embarrassingly jamming to those classic hits in the car (and yes I'm alone whilst doing this, I'm not ashamed to admit it either). All of this Disney has really made me think about the various lessons I learned from Disney movies as a child, and even now as an adult. They taught me through their characters, animation and story lines but Disney also never failed to teach me a lesson through a song! So I decided to make a list of ten songs that taught me, and y'all, a lesson :) So I could narrow it down a bit more I stuck to only animated Disney films and only songs that were sung by a character in the film (I threw in some bonus songs that broke this rule, I just couldn't help myself!). To start off the list I picked two songs that are not from classic films, as they were both released within the past five years, but that I thought were still worthy of spots :) 

I’ve Got A Dream- Tangled

"Like all you lovely folks I've got a dream."

Tangled has to be one of my favorite new additions to the Disney line and the message sent by I've Got A Dream is just so wonderful I had to include it on my list. Everyone, no matter what their background or circumstances has a dream and they all matter. Don't assume that you know everything about a person based on their appearance or their past. We all have things we hold deep down in our hearts, wishes we've made and dreams we keep hidden.

Let It Go- Frozen 

"It's funny how some distance makes everything seem small and the fears that once controlled me can't get to me at all. It's time to see what I can do, to test the limits and break through. No right, no wrong, no rules for me. I'm free!"

Frozen has to be the biggest hit Disney has had in years, maybe decades. The hype surrounding it actually kept me away for a long time, I didn't even see it until it had been out on DVD for a bit. Now that I've seen it I do understand all the talk but in my opinion Tangled is still better. Let It Go really is an anthem worthy song (let's face it, having Idina Menzel's vocals didn't hurt this status one bit!) and hearing my little cousins belt it out really makes me happy. Knowing that they will have learned the lesson to be themselves shamelessly and one hundred percent is so comforting. I'm 21 and it is still a lesson I am struggling with. 

When You Wish Upon A Star- Pinocchio

"When you wish upon a star makes no difference who you are. Anything your heart desires will come to you."

Pinocchio is not one of my all time favorite Disney films but this song has always been the biggest thing I have taken from it. I mean this is the Disney theme song in my mind. I picture Disneyland and hear this song playing in the background while fireworks shot off behind the castle. I know it is not the most realistic of all the songs on my list but in my opinion it is just as important to teach your children to dream as it is to potty train them. How can we accomplish any big goal in life without first dreaming that we could?

A Whole New World- Aladdin

"Now when did you last let your heart decide?" 

Aladdin is one of the most adored Disney films on a broad spectrum; it had a little something for everyone after all. It was a boys film in so many ways but us girls still got our princess in Jasmine (who happened to have jet as much personality as she did beauty). It recently got adapted into a broadway musical that won multiple Tonys. My favorite song from the film is A Whole New World. It tells you that its okay to go where your heart leads and not where people tell you that you have to go. There is a whole world you haven't seen and wanting to see it is perfectly acceptable, even if the people around you don't want to let you go.

Colors Of The Wind- Pocahontas 

"Come roll in all the riches all around you and for once never wonder what they're worth."

I have to admit that Pocahontas was my favorite Disney film growing up so this isn't the only song you are going to see from it on my list. I think it is justifiable though, considering that the film itself teaches so many lessons :) I think Colors Of The Wind just encompasses what we should think as humans. We are all equal and it is important to respect others as well as the world around you. In my opinion this lesson needs to be taught to our children now more than ever. We may act like the world is so much more accepting now than when we were kids but really it just feels like things have gotten harder. It is more rare to meet someone who you feel completely accepts you.

A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes- Cinderella

"Have faith in your dreams and someday your rainbow will come smiling thru. No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true."

Cinderella isn't my favorite Disney tale, it always seems a little one dimensional to me, but I do love a lot of the music. This song is one that I have sung to many of my baby cousins and will sing to my children as well. I can't see a sleeping child and not just want them to follow every dream that they have in their little hearts. Adults could take this lesson in their lives a lot more too. Children have the upper hand when it comes to believing in their dreams and I think we should take a page from their book on this one.

Reflection- Mulan

"Why is my reflection someone I don't know? Somehow I can not hide who I am though I've tried. When will my reflection show who I am inside?"

Mulan is one of the best Disney movies simply because the heroine is not obsessed with a prince and can fight her own battles, better than the men even! Mulan's story teaches us to follow our hearts and stand up for the things we believe in. Reflection shows that everyone goes through a period where they aren't sure who they are (especially when compared to what you are expected to be). In the end you are who you are and that is who you should be, not what others want to make you.

Part Of Your World- The Little Mermaid

"Ask them my questions and get some answers. What's a fire and why does it- what's the word? Burn."

I connected most with Ariel when I was growing up because she had red hair like me and growing up a red head you don't have many people to look up to that are red heads too. This is probably why
Scooby Doo was my favorite cartoon, I had Daphne on my side! Anyways, I loved The Little Mermaid and would pretend to be a mermaid at the pool for years (I may still do this from time to time.. I mean who wouldn't want to be a mermaid? Other than Ariel that is!). I think everyone is curious about the world they aren't a part of. We are all longing for something more and think that other people have what we don't. When we are younger and feel a bit lost it is nice to see that other people feel the same way as us, and other parents make their children feel "held back" too.

Go The Distance- Hercules

"I will find my way. I can go the distance. I'll be there someday if I can be strong. I know every mile will be worth my while. I would go most anywhere to feel like I belong."

Hercules has one of the best soundtracks of any Disney classic, my personal favorite is I Won't Say I'm In Love and I feel like that may say something about me... but the most anthem worthy, lesson teaching, song in the film has to be Go The Distance. Hercules is told by his adopted parents that he is actually the son of Zeus and embarks on a journey to be reunited with his family and find a place where he feels he truly belongs. We may not all be adopted (and even in the story line, it wasn't that he didn't feel loved by his parents, its just that earth didn't feel like his home seeing as he was a god) but we have all be through a time when we felt we didn't belong, like Hercules we all have to push through this time and have hope that we will find the place that we feel at home and accepted. With enough faith and effort we will all get to a place where we belong too. 

 Just Around The River Bend- Pocahontas

"What I love most about rivers is you can't step in the same river twice. The water's always changing always flowing."

This might be a biased choice for the list, seeing as its my favorite Disney song, but this is MY list after all so I can put anything I want on it :) As I said, this is my favorite Disney song of all time. I still turn this one up in my car, roll the windows down and belt it out. I feel the most connected to this song and the feeling that there is something more for me out there than what people think there is for me if I would settle where I am. There is always something coming from just past where I can see and Pocahontas seems to get that! Maybe it is just the hippie in me. Who knows? Nevertheless I think that the message is we are all in a constant state of change and we shouldn't give up on our dreams by settling for something other people tell us to. That seems to be a bit of theme I have going here..

Bonus Songs: 

Circle Of Life- The Lion King

"There's more to see than can ever be seen. More to do than can ever be done."

This song breaks the rules I set for myself when picking the songs (I guess I could have changed the rules, I created them after all, but I needed guidelines so I am throwing it in at the end) but it is so classic Disney and I am pretty sure that it teaches the most basic of principles in life. So how could I not throw it in here? The Lion King wasn't my favorite but it is beloved by many and the broadway production is a hit worldwide. The Circle Of Life is really what life is about, we are all a part of it. This grammy winning song is definitely worthy of this list. 

You'll Be In My Heart- Tarzan 

"Why can't they understand the way we feel? They just don't trust what they can't explain. I know we're different but deep inside us we're not that different at all." 

This song also breaks the rules (it isn't sung by any of the characters, but no Tarzan song could be included because of this rule and I wanted it on the list) but there are many songs that teach a lesson in Tarzan so this one is the one I am tacking on here at the end. We are all the same when we think about it, all just people in the end and whether we are physically together or not we carry the ones we love with us in our hearts. 

Well there they are! My list of ten Disney songs that teach a valuable lesson :) In case you had any doubts, I was indeed listening to Disney music the whole time I wrote this (I may have been going a bit of karaoke as well)! We are all just children at heart and I am proud to say my percentage of child like behavior is probably higher than most :) If you take nothing else from this list, I do hope that you take a desire to pull out those old VHS tapes and watch a Disney movie! We could all use a little more Disney in our every day lives. 

***All of the gifs in this post are from Tumblr, I did not make any as I have no knowledge or talent in this area :)