The darker side of Disney songs

10. Do You Want to Build a Snowman? (from Frozen, 2013)

This poignant song was almost considered too gloomy for Frozen – but it proved a stand-out (as much as the belting Let It Go). It also demonstrated songwriting couple Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez’s forte for unusual blends – from showtunes to meditations on mortality (which would infuse their music for 2017’s Coco). “Each generation is learning about different parts of the human experience,” Anderson-Lopez told me in a 2019 interview. “I was a Psych and Theatre major; I approached storytelling with all of that knowledge of research on shame, what happens when doors of communication are closed, clinical ways that families in crisis can move forward. Songs like Do You Want to Build a Snowman? sung through a door, and Love Is an Open Door, are absolutely springing out of a post-’90s Psych background.”

11. We Don’t Talk About Bruno (from Encanto – 21 languages version, 2021)

Disney has historically translated its hits for different territories, with an increasingly fine attention to detail; as musician and historian Alexander Rannie explains: “They might reanimate certain moments for different countries to make sure that a joke lands… they do separate dubs for European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese”. In the digital age, we can easily access the global range of a mega-success like the Colombian-themed Encanto (with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s wonderful soundtrack), which has been translated into 46 languages. This clip of Encanto’s biggest anthem brilliantly showcases 21 of them – including English, Spanish, Hungarian, Dutch, Korean, Thai and more – without missing a beat: Disney music as a universal groove.

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