SOUND-A-LIKES
The name of this page speaks for itself, it's music that has either had an influence on Disney, or just sounds alike.
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1.
The Carnival of the Animals
by classical composer
Camille Saint-Saens
"The Aquarium" from "The Carnival of the Animals" by Camille Saint-Saens has had a couple influences on Disney. The first example is from a scene in
Beauty and the Beast when Belle enters the west wing. The second example is from the Disneyland attraction Space Mountain, the background music for the ride uses the theme from "The Aquarium".
2.
The Sleeping Beauty
by classical composer
Pyotr (Peter) Ilyich Tchaikovsky
For Disney's
Sleeping Beauty film, the music used for the production was adapted from Tchaikovsky's "The Sleeping Beauty" ballet score. In the following example, you can hear how one of Tchaikovsky's pieces are arranged and used with words. It is the song used in the opening scene of the movie. I couldn't leave out the famous Waltz either!
3.
Flying
by film score composer
James Newton Howard
If you saw the 2003 Universal Pictures film
Peter Pan, then you might have recognized one of its main songs in the "Year of a Million Dreams" commercials for Disney Parks. Disney's "Year of a Million Dreams" started in 2006 after the end of the "Happiest Homecoming on Earth". Part of the song "Flying" by James Newton Howard was used as the "Million Dreams" theme song.
4.
The Planets
by classical composer
Gustav Holst
Even though Dreamworks is
not part of
Disney, I thought it would be interesting to add an example here. The first is from Dreamworks Animation film
Shrek; a scene when Princess Fiona is singing to a bird, her song sounds similar to the theme from Holst's "Jupiter" from his suite "The Planets". The second example is from the Dreamworks Animation logo song, it also sounds similar to "Jupiter".
5.
Symphony No.4
by classical composer
Pyotr (Peter) Ilyich Tchaikovsky
When I played this symphony in my school's orchestra, there was one part that reminded me of the
Pirates of the Caribbean film soundtrack. It's not a big or obvious similarity, but in some ways the string's music parts sound a little alike and I always thought about Pirate's every time.
6.
Arabesque #1
by classical composer
Claude Debussy
I was playing this piano piece and then I started thinking about the Disney movie
Pocahontas because it reminded me of the scene when Pocahontas jumps off a waterfall. Like the Pirate's example above, it's not exactly alike but you can tell they have some similarity- even though the notes are going the opposite direction.
7.
Siegfried's Rhine Journey
by classical composer
Richard Wagner
This is also a piece I have played in my school orchestra. In one of the acts, "Siegfrieds Rheinfarht", the theme sounds a lot like the theme heard in the opening of "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" from Disney's
Cinderella. It confused me because it sounded so much like it. I do not know whether or not the composers of Cinderella were influenced by Wagner's opera, but it sure sounds like it.
8.
Symphony No. 9 "From the New World"
by classical composer
Antonin Dvorak
In the Prologue music of Disney's
Beauty and the Beast, there are a couple seconds that sound like part of the famous second movement (Largo) from the "New World Symphony" by Dvorak.
9.
Gayaneh Suite: Dance of the Kurds
by classical composer
Aram Khachaturian
When I heard this part from "Dance of the Kurds", I thought of
Peter Pan. It's not quite exact but you should be able to hear it. The scene from the movie is when Michael is being followed by an Indian hiding in a tree.
10.
Gayaneh Suite: Ayshe's Awakening
by classical composer
Aram Khachaturian
"Ayshe's Awakening" sounds like it could be some kind of variation of "Chim Chim Cher-ee" from
Mary Poppins. Just like a lot of these other soundalikes, they are in two completely different keys. But if you listen to Ashye's Awakening seperately, it almost sounds like the melody is going to turn into Chim Chim Cher-ee.
11.
The Big Country Main Theme
by American composer
Jerome Moross
The main theme from the American western film
The Big Country was used in Disneyland's firework spectacular, "Remember...Dreams Come True", which also features other popular music. You can hear how Davy Crockett's theme was added with Moross' opening.
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