Hey guys! I think you will all enjoy this a lot. I love a great score to a movie. I’m a lover of classical music and when you have a story behind said music it makes it even better.
I have a little hobby of collecting scores of all types and then listening to them while I work. This isn’t as distracting as vocal music can be but you still get the entertainment and the story.
I thought it would be fun to put together a list of my favorite scores. Some of these are part of strong movies and others are not. So the quality of the movie doesn’t really affect the value of the score.
That said, some of these are integral in making the movie work. Rescuers Down Under, for instance, uses the John Williamesque score to give the feeling of an Indiana Jones type adventure very effectively.
I also tried to put in some variety because I don’t only like epic scores but also the electric video game feel to Wreck It Ralph and the pop anime influence of Big Hero 6.
If I had to pick 2 favorites it would probably be Lion King and Bambi because in both films the score tells a lot of the story, especially Bambi. Instead of having sound effects for rain, it is music. Without the score Bambi would be a much weaker movie.
(Also I’m not counting Fantasia, Fantasia 2000 or Sleeping Beauty since those aren’t original scores. If I did they would clearly be the top)
What are some of your favorites?
This list is in no particular order
Beauty and the Beast by Alan Menken
Great Mouse Detective by Henry Mancini
Black Cauldron by Elmer Bernstein
Rescuers Down Under by Bruce Broughton
Frozen by Christophe Beck
Treasure Planet by James Newton Howard
Mulan by Jerry Goldsmith
Pocahontas by Alan Menken
Hunchback of Notre Dame by Alan Menken
Pinocchio by Leigh Harline and Paul J Smith
Bambi by Frank Churchill and Edward H Plumb
Little Mermaid by Alan Menken
Lion King by Hanz Zimmer
Snow White by Paul J Smith and Leigh Harline
Wreck it Ralph by Henry Jackman
Big Hero 6 by Henry Jackman
Alice in Wonderland by Oliver Wallace
Princess and the Frog by Randy Newman
Winnie the Pooh by Sherman Brothers and Buddy Baker
Atlantis: The Lost Empire by James Newton Howard
