Sing Along with Disney Songs

It's time for me to take you back to the past again. When I was a kid, I remember having this collection of videos in a series known as "Disney's Sing-Along Songs". Now, back in the days, this was really a big deal. Before the 80's, believe it or not, there were no such things as VHS tapes, so kids couldn't watch their favorite Disney movies over and over again. This was something that gave kids an opportunity to sing along with and learn all the words to some of their favorite Disney songs.

What I remember most about these videos was the intro.

It started out after the FBI Warning with the Walt Disney Home Video intro.


Then, we fade in to the title screen, which displays "Disney's Sing-Along Songs", and the name of the volume you were about to watch. While this showed, it played a carrousel-type of music. It then goes into an up-beat 80's-styled pop music while showing clips from the Disney cartoons, "Melody" and "Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom". The intro went a little something like this:








Is everybody Ready?


To sing along!


With Disney Songs!


A Disney Sing Along.


Now you at home can sing along
with your favorite Disney songs.
We will play every note,
so you can sing along.


Join right in to sing along
with your favorite Disney songs.
Once you've heard every note,
you'll want to sing along.


But I don't know all the songs.


We'll make sure you can't go wrong.


Sing along, one and all.
Follow the bouncing ball.


You'll find out before you're done.


Music's fun for everyone.


Join right in to sing along...


...with Disney's Sing Along Songs!



That's basically how it went. It was a pretty rocking good intro, and quite gnarly in retrospective, if you ask me. Now, let's talk about what the videos had on them.


Vol. 1 - Heigh Ho
This is considered to be the first volume of the Disney Sing Along series, but it was released as the second. It came out in March of 1987. This video was hosted by Professor Owl, and it had a total of 10 songs. Songs that were included on this video were the title song, "Hi-Diddle-Dee Dee" (Pinocchio), "Yo-Ho" (Pirates of the Caribbean), "The Siamese Cat Song" (Lady and the Tramp), "The Silly Song" (Snow White) and "Let's Go Fly a Kite" (Mary Poppins). Before the credits, the videos often played a reprise of the title song.

Vol. 2 - Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
"Heigh Ho" was the first Disney Sing Along that I watched, but when I watched this one, this is when I knew that this whole Sing Along thing wasn't going to be a one-time-only deal; this was going to be a series. "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" was the first Disney Sing Along released, but it's labeled as Volume 2 of the series. This one came out three months prior to Volume 1. This one was also hosted by Professor Owl. It had a total of 10 songs including the title song, "Mickey Mouse Club March" (Mickey Mouse Club), "It's a Small World" (It's a Small World), "The Unbirthday Song" (Alice in Wonderland), "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo" (Cinderella) "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" (Davy Crockett) and "Whistle While You Work" (Snow White).

Vol. 3 - You Can Fly
From this point on, all of the Disney Sing Alongs will have a theme to them. "You Can Fly" is considered the third volume in the series, but it was released as the fourth in February of 1988. The theme to this video was traveling, and unlike the first two, this one was hosted by Ludwig Von Drake. There were a total of 9 songs on this video including the title song, "I've Got No Strings" (Pinocchio), "Nowhere in Particular" (Ichabod and Mr. Toad), "He's a Tramp" (Lady and the Tramp) and "Step in Time" (Mary Poppins).

Vol. 4 - The Bare Necessities
This is considered the fourth volume of the series, but it was released as the third in October of 1987. This volume was hosted by Jiminy Cricket, and the theme to this one was animals. There were a total of 10 songs on this volume. Aside from the title track, included on this video were "Cinderella's Work Song" (Cinderella), "Winnie the Pooh" (Winnie the Pooh), "I Wanna Be Like You" (The Jungle Book) and "Everybody Wants to Be a Cat" (The Aristocats), but most of the other songs on this volume were rare and obscure songs like "The Ugly Bug Ball" (Summer Magic) and "Old Yeller" (Old Yeller).

Vol. 5 - Fun with Music
This volume was released in 1989. Professor Owl hosted this video, but there was a section of it where Ludwig Von Drake took over. While "Fun with Music" was the title song on this video, the main song was "Why Should I Worry?" (Oliver & Company). The two latter songs were featured as two of the 12 songs included on the video as well as "With a Smile and a Song" (Snow White), "Strolling Through the Park" (Nifty Nineties) and "All in the Golden Afternoon" (Alice in Wonderland). This one also had a bunch of rare and obscure songs that not many Disney fans would recognize. When this video was re-issued in 1994, the UK version was renamed "101 Notes of Fun", and one of the songs was replaced with "Cruella De Vil" (101 Dalmatians). Oh, and the theme to this volume was music.

Vol. 6 - Under the Sea
Released in August of 1990, this video was hosted by Ludwig Von Drake. The theme to this video was the sea, and it contained 9 songs. Aside from the title song, included on this volume were "That's What Makes the World Go 'Round" (The Sword in the Stone), "Kiss the Girl" (The Little Mermaid), "A Whale of a Tale" (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea), "Someone's Waiting for You" (The Rescuers), and it also revealed the unknown lyrics to "Never Smile at a Crocodile" (Peter Pan). It also contained a few sea-related songs that were not property of Disney like "Sailor's Hornpipe".

Vol. 7 - Disneyland Fun
Released on the exact same day as "Under the Sea", "Disneyland Fun" was a much different sing along then the other sing alongs. Unlike the others, this one had no host, and it was set in Disneyland. Basically, the video showed footage of rides and attractions at Disneyland as well as costumed Disney characters. This video had a total of 12 songs, which were all updated renditions of songs from the Disney movies and attractions. This was easily one of the weakest sing alongs as it was the first of the Disney theme park sing along videos, and those were...meh...When it was reissued, it was renamed "It's a Small World".

Vol. 8 - Very Merry Christmas Songs
This video was released in December of 1988, and originally, this one wasn't part of the Disney Sing-Along catalog; it was just its own separate video. When the sing alongs were reissued in 1990, this one became Volume 8. This was basically a holiday sing-along video, which had 13 Christmas carols with scenes from festive Disney films playing along with them. Most of the songs were taken from "Disney Presents: A Family Christmas", an album that Walt Disney Records released in 1980 (which I happen to own).

Vol. 9 - I Love to Laugh
This volume was released just before 1991. This video was hosted by Ludwig Von Drake, it contained 10 songs, and the theme of this video was laughter. Included on this video were the title song, "Everybody Has a Laughing Place" (Song of the South), "Oo-De-Lally" (Robin Hood), "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers" (Winnie the Pooh), "Pink Elephants on Parade" (Dumbo) and "Jolly Holiday" (Mary Poppins). When this video was reissued in 1994, it was renamed "Supercallafragalisticexpialladocious".

Vol. 10 - Be Our Guest
In case you haven't noticed, most Disney Sing Alongs that were released were a promotion for the release of a Disney movie. Whether it is for a theatrical release of a new Disney movie or a theatrical re-release of an already-existent Disney movie. In 1992, "Be Our Guest" was released. This volume was hosted by Jiminy Cricket, it contained 9 songs, and the theme was welcoming guests. Apart from the title song, this volume included "Little Wooden Head" (Pinocchio), "Bella Notte" (Lady and the Tramp), "Once Upon a Dream" (Sleeping Beauty) and "Beauty and the Beast" (Beauty and the Beast).

Vol. 11 - Friend Like Me
This next sing along was released in 1993 to promote the release of "Aladdin". This was the first volume to open with a remixed up-to-date version of the Sing Along's opening theme. Anyway, this volume was hosted by Jiminy Cricket, it had 9 songs, and the theme to this volume was friends. Along with the title song, included on this volume were "The Best of Friends" (Fox and the Hound), "Something There" (Beauty and the Beast), "How Do You Do?" (Song of the South), "Let's Get Together" (The Parent Trap), "That's What Friends Are For" (The Jungle Book) and "A Whole New World" (Aladdin).

Vol. 12 - The Twelve Days of Christmas
Released in late 1993, this was another holiday sing along, and it's considered to be one of the Disney theme park sing alongs. This one has no host, and it's basically costumed Disney characters singing Christmas carols. Most of the songs I've never even heard before, and a lot of them were bad! If you have an urge to collect the Disney Sing Alongs, just do me a favor and stay away from this one at all costs.

Vol. 13 - Circle of Life
In 1994, "Circle of Life" was released to promote the release of Disney's "The Lion King". Disney reissued all of the previous volumes at about this time, but in this series, the volumes are no longer numbered. Anyway, this volume was hosted by Jiminy Cricket, the theme to this one was wanting stuff (whether it is fame or whatever). Disappointingly, this one only had 7 songs including the title song, "Part of Your World" (The Little Mermaid), "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" (The Lion King) and "When You Wish Upon a Star" (Pinocchio). This video also had a veteran song, "Everybody Wants to Be a Cat" (The Aristocats). Yeah, I forgot to tell you, from this point on, the Disney Sing Alongs will be including at least one veteran song (a song that was already released on a previous sing along).

Vol. 14 - Colors of the Wind
Like the previous video, "Colors of the Wind" was released to promote the release of the newest Disney movie, "Pocahontas". This one also had a total of 7 songs, some of which were veteran songs. This one was hosted by Ludwig Von Drake, and I don't think this one really had a theme to it; the songs don't really connect with each other in any way. Included on this volume were the title song and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (The Lion King), and the veteran songs on this were "Cinderella's Work Song" (Cinderella), "Why Should I Worry?" (Oliver & Company) and "Little Wooden Head" (Pinocchio). This one came out in the summer of 1995.

Vol. 15 - Topsy Turvy
In the summer of 1996, "Topsy Turvy" was released to promote the release of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". From this point on, the Disney Sing-Alongs will no longer have a host. This volume had 8 songs, and the theme to it was goofing around and being a fool. Along with the title song, included on this volume were "Out There" (Hunchback of Notre Dame), "You've Got a Friend in Me" (Toy Story), "Streets of Gold" (Oliver & Company) and a little surprise number of Timon and Pumbaa performing the Ben E. King classic, "Stand By Me". Veteran songs on this video were "The Silly Song" (Snow White) and "The Unbirthday Song" (Alice in Wonderland).

Vol. 16 - Pongo and Perdita
This video was a little different from the other Disney sing alongs. The release of this video in late 1996 was to promote the release of the new live-action remake of "101 Dalmatians". This one had twelve songs, and it's basically a more for kids kind of video about Pongo and Perdita and their puppies having fun and singing songs. With the exception of a couple Disney classics, every song on this video was completely original. I never owned this sing along, but there is a YouTube user (known as unclejimboy) who made trailers for each Disney Sing Along whom I happen to watch often. After watching the preview to this one, I now wish I had this video; it looked like a lot of fun!

Vol. 17 - Honor to Us All
This volume was released in 1998 to promote the release of "Mulan". This volume had a total of 12 songs including the title song, "Zero to Hero" (Hercules), "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" (Cinderella), "We Are One" (The Lion King II), "On the Open Road" (A Goofy Movie), "I Won't Say I'm in Love" (Hercules) and "I'll Make a Man Out of You" (Mulan). "The Siamese Cat Song" (Lady and the Tramp) was a veteran song.

Vol. 18 - Flik's Musical Adventure at Disney's Animal Kingdom
This is another video I never owned, being that I didn't like the Disney theme park sing alongs. In this 1999 volume, Flik (from Disney and Pixar's "A Bug's Life") takes kids on a musical journey through Disney's Animal Kingdom. There were 9 songs in all, some of which were original songs, some were songs done by other artists, some were classic Disney songs, and some were even parodies on Disney songs. This was the last Disney Sing Along to have the Disney Sing Along intro.

Now, before I talk about these next two, I gotta fill you in on something. As you may have noticed, there were a few Disney Sing Alongs that I left out. I didn't talk about any of the other Disney theme park sing alongs because I never owned them since they all sucked. Also, during the late 90's and early 2000's, Disney released compilation videos/DVD's of Disney songs from the classic era (the 30's and 40's), the magic era (the 50's, 60's and 70's), and the modern era (the 80's and 90's). They also made Winnie the Pooh sing alongs and Disney Princess sing alongs, which I'm not going to go into since I never watched any of those either.

Vol. 19 - On My Way
In 2003, Disney came back to their senses and made a sing along DVD in sort of an old-fashioned style. It didn't have the same intro with Professor Owl, but at least it had a feel to it like the classic Disney Sing Alongs. This sing along was released to promote the release of Brother Bear; it had 9 songs, and the theme to it was going places. This volume had two veteran songs: "Following the Leader" (Peter Pan) and "On the Open Road" (A Goofy Movie); other songs included the title song, "Aloha E Komo Mai" (Stitch: The Movie), "Go the Distance" (Hercules), "I'm Still Here" (Treasure Planet), and my personal favorite, "Try Again" (101 Dalmatians II). This volume was hosted by the two moose guys from "Brother Bear", Rutt and Tuke.

Vol. 20 - Little Patch of Heaven
This sing along was much different from most of the other sing alongs. It was released in 2004 to promote the release of "Home on the Range". This was basically made to be a collection of cowboy-related songs. It contained a few songs from "Home on the Range" (including the title song), and mostly traditional folk songs that have to do with either farming or the wild west. It did include a veteran song, "A Cowboy Needs a Horse", and another Disney song, "Pecos Bill" (Melody Time). The sing-along portion contained 11 songs, but after those songs was a dance-along, which was for 3 songs from "Home on the Range". Maggie the cow hosted this one.

Overtime, these videos have been re-issued from time to time. All the videos were re-issued in 1990, and again in 1994, and they were released on DVD in 2002. During these re-issue dates, songs have been removed from the volumes, and songs have been added to them as well. It kind of infuriates me when they change stuff that I grew up with all these years, but unfortunately, that's life, I guess.

So, yeah. There you go. I attempted to talk about the Disney Sing Alongs according to the best of my knowledge. If you happen to see any of these Sing Alongs available on DVD, I suggest you check them out, because they're pretty interesting, and it's fun to get into them. And remember to sing along, one and all, following Mickey, your bouncing ball.


*End Note: Credit for the screenshots go to YouTube user: unclejimboy, who gave me permission to take screen captures of his videos to use for this article.