Since cinemas very earliest beginnings, sound and music has played an essential role in enhancing the immersion and visual experience. Even in the age of silent films, music was often employed by the theater directly to better engage the audience and make us feel more, a quality that only increased in importance upon the introduction of films that produced sounds on their own.
Now usually, the role of a soundtrack or musical elements is to enhance the thematic or narrative presentation of the film, to better evoke an emotional reaction and to assist and aide in the entertainment experience. Music and sound is meant to enhance the viewing experience, not prioritize over it (as opposed to music videos, where the visuals enhance the music). Despite this general rule, there are times when a film is overshadowed by its soundtrack, or even a single song.
To start the new year, I've decided that these songs will be the focus of our first article. Those pieces in a soundtrack that completely overshadow the movie they were written for. Whether it is a particularly notable song in a musical or a song that was written as a tie-in piece for the credits, the only determinant for entry on this list will be a song that is arguably more well-regarded than the film it came on.
This isn't even to say that the film in question has to be terrible, just overshadowed by the quality of a superior sounding musical piece.
Perhaps that is a bit confusing but I think you all will understand the kind of songs I mean when you look at the list below.
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COUNTDOWN RULES
- We will, as usual, only accept one song from any single film or film property.
- We will be including both live-action and animated films in the selection, while many songs will be from animated films, plenty of live-action pieces have tie-in songs that surpassed their film of origin.
- We will include both diagetic and non-diagetic music in this list, the inclusion on this list will solely be on whether or not the song in question is arguably either more well-regarded then the film it came from or is, in my opinion, far superior in quality to the film it originated from.
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COUNTDOWN
1. Whatever You Imagine (The Pagemaster)
I have discussed this movie quite recently, so I won't go into too much detail about how much I enjoy this song far more than the movie that it is a part of. Performed by Wendy Moten, Whatever You Imagine is a spectacular song in The Pagemaster, it plays during the fantasy montage in the latter half of the film.
In a lot of ways, I hear this song and my mind actually goes to the original Reading Rainbow theme song. Both are otherworldly and surreal, with a sweet tone belying the joys and wonders of reading and imagination, and one could argue that both this film and Reading Rainbow have the same goal, to motivate and inspire children to read through the use of cinematic or televised entertainment. And through this song, which I found myself listening to constantly while writing the review, I believe this well-intended 90s cheese-fest actually does a pretty good job of making reading seem fun and whimsical.
2. Then You Look At Me (Bicentennial Man)I have a rather unique opinion when it comes to Celine Dion's association with movies. More often than not, I tend to find that her songs end up being more popular, well-known, or better than the movies that she performs those songs for (with my personal opinion holding Titanic in the third category). I also think that Bicentennial Man's Then You Look At Me to also be in a similar category.
I've also spoken about this song quite a bit in my review of this movie, but it is just such a great piece of music. I truly think it is an underrated gem in Celine Dion's catalog of romantic songs. Its haunting and beautiful in a way that perfectly captures the underlying tragedy of Bicentennial Man, even as the film itself struggled with tonal issues throughout its 132 minute runtime.
3. Toxic Love (FernGully: The Last Rainforest)
So FernGully: The Last Rainforest is actually a very important film to my family, as my little sister's name was inspired by the main character. As a result, I've always had something of a sweet spot for this film and its forgettable sequel. I know most people are reminded of this movie because of Robin Williams' absolutely insane performance as Batty, but my memories have always immediately connected this film to the vocal performance of an equally insane actor.
A villain song is almost always the best part of a musical and Hexus' song Toxic Love, performed by the singular entity that is Tim Curry is, without a doubt, among the greatest non-Disney villain songs. Though the content and context of this song are vile and disgusting, Hexus' openly sensual way of singing about death, pollution, and poisons evokes an immediate and poignant image in the viewer as to the villains' motivations and worldview. Hexus is a creature of absolute destruction and does not care a whit for who or what gets hurt and actually seems to get off on the pain of others and this song immediately emphasizes that.
Admittedly, there really isn't anything that Hexus does after this song that matches the level of hype built up, leading to an unfortunate case of the film perhaps putting all its cards on the table too early. But the song is so singularly enticing that I'm willing to forgive it. Though this may also be because the covers of this song are almost, if not better, than the original (I'm looking at you Annapantsu).
4. The Prayer (Quest for Camelot)
You've almost certainly heard this song. It's actually an incredibly popular song that has been sung for decades in various musical competition shows. In fact, the British singing duo Jonathan and Charlotte came in second place of Britain's Got Talent because of this song. To say nothing of the literal hundreds of other renditions, covers, and adaptations of this song beyond the original performed once again by Celine Dion (who seems to possess an amazing ability to turn even an average product into a chance for musical masterpieces).
The sheer of scale of hype for this song is absolutely extraordinary to me because I am almost certain that very few people know that The Prayer was written and performed for Quest for Camelot. In fact, this entire soundtrack is absolutely amazing, even if the film that accompanies it is kind of a load of hot garbage. Very nice garbage, but still garbage. And it is amazing to me that such a milk toast film is connected so fundamentally to an absolute powerhouse of a musical ballad.
Honestly, if this song wasn't on a list like this, I will have made a huge mistake.
5. St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion) (St. Elmo's Fire)
I can bet money that most of you have never even heard of this 1985 coming-of-age film and there is a very good reason for that. It's neither very good or very interesting and was critically panned upon its release, though it was a box-office hit; just not one that entered the cultural zeitgeist.
With one singular exception.
Perfomed by John Parr, St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion) is an incredible rock song that, ironically, was not actually written to be associated with the film, even though that was the actual point of composing the song. In truth, John Parr and David Foster were actually inspired by the Canadian athlete Rick Hansen who was going on a global trek in a wheelchair to bring attention to spinal cord injuries, the Man in Motion Tour, inspired the two to create this song. So the amazing song made for this movie was actually written because of a completely unrelated event and tacked on to the film because its theme was, sort of, related.
It's an amazing story and goes to show how sometimes an average movie can inspire amazing music, and sometimes an amazing song can stumble its way into an average movie.
6. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now (Mannequin)
Much like St. Elmo's Fire, I am also absolutely certain that most of you have never seen or heard of the 1987 romantic comedy, Mannequin. Based very loosely on the story of Pygmalion, the film was critically panned and while it was a success with audiences at the time, it is something of a cult classic for its genre.
Performed by Starship, one of the most famous bands of all time, Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now is, on the other hand, an absolute ear worm. I love listening to this song whenever I get the chance and initially didn't even know that it was a movie-tie in song. That goes to show just how superior this song was to the film it was tied to. It's a power ballad that hearkens to the synth rock classic of the 1980s and evokes a truly romantic feel to it that enthralls. And it has completely overshadowed the film for which it was made.
Thus explaining its place on my list.
7. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now (Cats Don't Dance)
Much like The Pagemaster and Bicentennial Man, I have spoken of the underrated animated feature that is Cats Don't Dance. Whilst I do believe that this film is quite good and entertaining, I do have to acknowledge that the film itself was something of a dark horse and is likely considered quite ordinary or average by modern sensibilities.
By that token, we can thus consider the most well-known song of this film to be an entrant on this list. The fact that this song also shares the name with a previous entrant on this list was also so funny that I had to put it here. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now is the penultimate song of the 1997 musical comedy, the finale that brings our cast together and shows them triumph over the evil Darla Dimple. The song is an absolute blast to listen to, even if you don't understand all the context behind it.
The song is a loving tribute to the musical set-pieces of the golden age of cinema. I could easily imagine this song taking place in a film like An American in Paris or Singin' in the Rain. As a huge fan of that era of cinema, that makes this song one of my absolute favorite animated musical segments. And the fact that the rest of the soundtrack is nearly as good as this song really goes to show the sheer talent at work in a film that has been woefully forgotten by many.
8. Let Me Be Your Wings (Thumbelina)
Our final entrant on this list is the emotional musical core of a film that was an endemic part of my childhood and yet also represents somewhat the culmination of a legendary filmmakers' fall from grace. In the 1980s, Don Bluth was a powerhouse of the animation industry. His works like The Secret of NIMH, The Land Before Time, and All Dogs Go to Heaven had become critical and financial miracles, in an age where animation seemed to be on the decline. So great was Bluth's influence that his creative efforts nearly brought the Disney animation studios to their knees, and almost certainly played a role in the ascension of Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg to their legendary position withing the Disney corporation.
However by the early 1990s, Bluth's influence was beginning to wane. The Disney Renaissance was in full swing and it seems like Bluth's financiers were motivating him to produce content that was more "Disney-like" to compete with the House of Mouse. In 1991, Rock-a-Doodle was very poorly received due to its incredibly childish story and message (though my memories are haunted by nightmares of the Grand Duke of Owls, though that is a story for another time). And in 1994, two other films were set to release Thumbelina, based on the Hans Christian Anderson fable (clearly trying to get the same magic of The Little Mermaid), and A Troll in Central Park, a story that I am firmly of the opinion was inspired the delirious fever dreams of a sleep-deprived pothead. Both films were panned and failed to make their money back and clearly showed that the miracle of Bluth was beginning to fail compared to the reascending star of Disney.
Despite the rather warranted bad opinions of this film, I cannot deny that the music is, for the most part, great. Their are a few stinkers in the lot (I will never understand the logic of giving Gilbert Gottfried a singing role), but other pieces like Let Me Be Your Wings are truly the closest Bluth gets to capturing something akin to Disney magic.
Perhaps its because of Jodi Benson's voice, or the fact this song is a very effective a soothing romantic piece, but I truly think it stands out in Bluth's lineup, especially in an era of his that really wasn't known for its memorable moments. It absolutely fantastic and is the perfect song to finish up our list.
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CONCLUSION
I had an absolute blast compiling this list and spent an inordinate amount of time, especially due to catching a stomach bug about halfway through December, listening to a compiled playlist of all of these songs. I really goes to show the power of music and the sheer quality that can be found even in the most esoteric of places.
With that in mind, I will absolutely make a follow up to this countdown some time in the future. In fact, this year I would actually like to increase the variety of articles that I present to you all, so this is for you all out there. What kind of countdowns or subjects would you guys like to see in 2025?
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