Top 10 Disney Songs by Comic Relief Characters
Disney is very well-known for their comic relief characters. These characters main purpose is to provide laughs and humor to the otherwise more serious stories. Some of these characters (i.e. Genie, Olaf, etc.) have a positive impact on their films by getting a lot of laughs and even adding to the film's story or atmosphere, while other comic relief characters are just unfunny distractions from the film as a whole. The comic relief song essentially serves its purpose as a song that is more comedic or laid back in nature while formally introducing the character who sings it on many occasions. These are the best Disney songs performed by characters that serve as their movie's comic relief.
Robin Williams was a treasure to humanity. Being a legendary comedian is quite an accomplishment. Being an acclaimed actor on top of being a legendary comedian can only be pulled off by someone as special as Robin Williams. Robin is one of the most beloved entertainers in history who won the hearts of millions with his amazing talents and his kind and warm personality. It still pains me knowing he's not with us anymore. On top of all his other career accomplishments, he popularized the trend of getting big-name Hollywood actors to voice characters in animated films, gave one of the best voice-acting performances in film history, and gave the world the quintessential Disney comic relief song. "Friend Like Me" is filled to the brim with so much of Williams' personality that it's impossible not to enjoy. While he technically wasn't the greatest singer, he added so much charm and personality to the song that it didn't matter in the slightest. He sounds wonderful to listen to. Robin Williams' legend will never die, and it's his performances in films like Aladdin that solidify his place in history as a truly one-of-a-kind talent and a truly one-of-a-kind human being.
In 1996, Dwayne Johnson was signed to the World Wrestling Federation and was handing out suplexes and powerbombs on a weekly basis. He became one of the most outspoken and popular superstars in the company's history. I wonder if he thought that 20 years later he'd be singing in a Disney musical. Probably not, but he's The Rock. He could become an astronaut if he wanted to. You're Welcome is probably the most Lin-Manuel Miranda-like song out of all the songs Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote for the Moana soundtrack. The song has such a cool and laid back feel, and is a perfect introduction for the cool and laid back Maui. I always wondered if Disney would include a rap in any one of their musicals, but I was nervous that it come off as too pandering and too desperate to be "hip with the kids". But the rap in "You're Welcome" is actually really well-performed and fits the rest of the song as well as being perfect for the character and the actor who portrays him.
"Be Our Guest" starts off slowly but only continues to grow and get faster, louder, and grander over time. Out of all the Disney Renaissance films, Beauty and the Beast has the best soundtrack in my opinion. All the songs fit really well with the film's magical and enchanting atmosphere and "Be Our Guest" is no exception. The song just oozes charm due to Lumiere's cool delivery and has fantastic lyrics that detail the object's joy to see Belle and the pain they have felt by not being human for so long. It's a great song that is definitely amongst the studio's very best.
I love myself some dark comedy, and "In Summer" is filled with some twisted humor and dramatic irony while putting on the mask of an adorable comic relief song. The song is essentially our formal introduction to Olaf, I character I find to be very funny while I can definitely see why some people would find him annoying. He is the living representation of Elsa and Anna's relationship when they were kids, and because of that, has the mind of a child and is not sure how the world works. He sings about his desires to live in warm weather and enjoy the sun, obviously not knowing that he'd die if he ever did experience that warm weather. The song has a fun rhythm while there's a sense of hidden darkness to the song that makes it unique to many other Disney tunes. Kristoff's remark of "I'm gonna tell 'em" never fails to crack me up, either.
Disney wanted to go in a new direction at the end of the 1980s. They decided that they would take similar stories that they made during the Golden Era when Walt was alive and update them with more modern sounding Broadway songs. The result was the Disney Renaissance with loads of critical and commercial success. The studio contacted famed Broadway composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman to write the songs who ended up writing the songs for the next three movies. "Kiss the Girl" is just a great song with calypso influences that perfectly matches the rest of the film and the character who performs it.
It's safe to say that there are two types of people in the world: people who love "Hakuna Matada" and people who can't stand it. And it's not that hard to understand why. The song is probably the catchiest Disney song in history with its simple lyrics and melody. It just gets lodged in your head immediately and there are people who love to sing along to the lyrics and others who cover their ears and fast forward the film whenever it plays. The song is the ultimate kick back and relax anthem that celebrates not worrying about your problems and believing everything is fine. It's also primarily performed by two of the most famous comic relief characters in Disney history with Timon and Pumbaa.
It's a bit of a stretch to call the seven dwarfs comic relief characters seeing as how their names are literally in the title of the movie. However, the rest of the film's tone is surprisingly pretty dark and the movie gets a lot lighter and jovial once Doc, Grumpy, Sneezy, Sleepy, Happy, Bashful, and Dopey are introduced. "Heigh-Ho" stands out amongst the most memorable songs the studio ever released during the Golden Era when Walt Disney was alive. The song's lyrics and melody is so memorable that it has transcended the film itself. It's just seen as a common work song that I've heard many people sing right before they have to go out and do some work. I'm pretty sure that everybody has heard someone at least hum this song's tune outside the context of watching the movie. That proves how much staying power the song has seeing as how it's been over eighty years since Snow White's release.
Out of all the Disney animated musicals, Mulan definitely has the least amount of songs. There are actually only four songs in the entire film in "I'll Make a Man Out of You", "Reflection", "Honor to Us All", and "A Girl Worth Fighting For". Out of all the songs, the comic relief song by the army is probably the third most popular but it still is a good song that utilizes a wide range of different singers and a chorus to make it sound larger and more epic. Not as good as "I'll Make a Man" but still pretty good regardless.
Out of all the song's on Tangled's soundtrack "I've Got a Dream" is probably the most forgotten. It's not really sung by the main character that much and primarily features characters that do not play a major role in the film as a whole. Still though, it utilizes the group setting ti create a fun-sounding song that fits well in the whole folk/pub atmosphere of its scene.
The Princess and the Frog is a great movie that brought in the Disney Revival, but it's not that controversial to say that its songs are not too memorable. Tunes like "Almost There" add a lot of New Orleans culture by incorporating elements of jazz and blues into the instrumentation while "Friends on the Other Side" is just an overall fantastic villain song that calls back to the villainous tunes of the Renaissance era. Out of all the songs on the soundtrack, "Dig a Little Deeper" is still not the most memorable.
