Since the release of its first "talkie," Steamboat Willie, Disney Studios has used music as an important element in its productions, to emphasize or to advance story lines. This impressive volume describes more than 900 songs written for Disney movies, videos, musicals, television shows, recordings, and theme parks. Authors Hischak and Robinson define Disney songs as works written specifically for Disney productions. Their "Brief History of Disney Music" is followed by paragraph-length A-Z entries that discuss each song's mood and style, indicate which character(s) perform the song, give the date of the production, and describe what is happening while the song is performed. Many of the songs listed are relatively unknown, having been written for short-lived TV series or home videos with limited target audiences, but for hard-core Disney fans, each page turn might bring another "ear worm" recalling images of singing critters and happy endings. Nearly one-quarter of the volume consists of appendixes offering alternate song titles, lists of songs arranged by songwriters and by source, a guide to recordings and videos/DVDs, Academy Award-winning Disney songs and scores, and a glossary of song terms. Although there are other Disney reference books, such as Disney A-Z (3d ed., 2006), and many Disney music songbooks, no other volume offers a comprehensive list or description of Disney songs.
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