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Song of the Day #6,006: ‘Let Me Go, Lover’ – Joan Weber

Throwing back to the week of December 14, 1954, we find The Chordettes’ ‘Mister Sandman’ still dominating the charts. But in second place, on its way to a four-week stint at #1, was Joan Weber’s ‘Let Me Go, Lover.’

The song became popular after it was featured on a television show called Studio One, in an episode about a murder mystery involving a disc jockey. The producers took advantage of the show’s reach to push the song into stores and radio stations, one of the earliest examples of that sort of cross-promotion.

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Song of the Day #6,005: ‘We Know the Way (Finale)’ – Lin-Manuel Miranda and Opetaia Foa’i

Concluding my countdown of favorite Disney Animation movies following my marathon viewing of all 64… you can see the full ranked list here.

My Top Ten Disney Animation Movies
#1 – Moana (2016)

Nobody who’s read this blog for any length of time will be surprised by today’s pick. After all, it was just four years ago that I named Moana my favorite movie of the 2010s, and I consider it among my top ten of all time. So yeah, it’s the best Disney animated movie.

I won’t go into detail all over again as to why that’s the case — I invite you to read the post linked above if you want to know my reasons. I’ll note that, according to my Letterboxd account, I’ve seen the movie six more times since writing that entry and it’s been equally brilliant every time.

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Song of the Day #6,004: ‘Friends on the Other Side’ – Keith David

Continuing my countdown of favorite Disney Animation movies following my marathon viewing of all 64…

My Top Ten Disney Animation Movies
#2 – The Princess and the Frog (2009)

The mid-2000s saw Disney switch to computer animation, a move tied to the studio’s merger with Pixar. When The Princess and the Frog opened in 2009, it had been five years since the last hand-drawn film (and that was Home on the Range, the movie with the dubious distinction of being last on my list of 64 Disney animated features).

With the exception of a minor Winnie the Pooh feature in 2011, this is also the last time Disney has used this traditional animation method, which is a real shame. While computer animation can be astounding in its own way, nothing can match the elegance and beauty of hand-drawn work.

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Song of the Day #6,003: ‘Reflection’ – Lea Salonga

Continuing my countdown of favorite Disney Animation movies following my marathon viewing of all 64…

My Top Ten Disney Animation Movies
#3 – Mulan (1998)

The best film of Disney’s Renaissance Era, Mulan is equally satisfying as a coming-of-age drama, a war movie, and a romcom.

Based on a Chinese legend of a daughter who disguised herself as a man to take her father’s place in war, this movie has a gravitas lacking in many of Disney’s films. But it balances that weighty subject matter with real hilarity, mostly in the form of Eddie Murphy’s dragon sidekick Mushu.

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Song of the Day #6,002: ‘One Jump Ahead’ – Brad Kane

Continuing my countdown of favorite Disney Animation movies following my marathon viewing of all 64…

My Top Ten Disney Animation Movies
#4 – Aladdin (1992)

Aladdin was the first film from the Disney Renaissance period that I really embraced. Sure, I got swept up in the acclaim for Beauty and the Beast — the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture — but it didn’t work for me the way this one did.

Maybe it’s as simple as this being the first princess movie that was really about the prince. The “street rat” Aladdin is a great character, witty and resourceful, mischievous but kind-hearted. The movies aren’t exactly lacking in male protagonists, but he felt like something new from Disney.

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