Brian Wilson’s Favorite Disney Song From ‘Dumbo’
Brian Wilson is an award-winning songwriter with an affinity for Disney soundtracks. The Beach Boy commended Randy Newman for Pixar’s newer hits and specifically mentioned his appreciation for one Dumbo song in I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir.
The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson shared his love for Disney’s ‘Dumbo’
The Beach Boys (and Brian Wilson) are the musicians behind “God Only Knows,” “Good Vibrations,” and “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.”
There’s even some overlap between this surf rock group and the Walt Disney Company. According to Disney Fandom, The Beach Boys appeared in The Monkey’s Uncle (1965), in which they [performed] ‘The Monkey’s Uncle’ with Annette Funicello.”
With Funicello known for her Mouseketeer role in The Mickey Mouse Club, “The Monkey’s Uncle” is now included in The Best of Annette album.
Years before, the Beach Boys released their song “Disney Girls” for Surf’s Up, referencing fantasy worlds and wishes that come true in the lyrics. For his memoir, Brian Wilson mentioned Disney Studios and his favorite songs for their animated films.
Brian Wilson named ‘Baby Mine’ his favorite song from Disney’s ‘Dumbo’
Wilson specifically commended Disney movies for their music, noting that the company’s amusement park was a “big deal.” In his memoir, this artist explained the first wave of films came out before he was born, or when he was a “tiny baby.”
“One thing those movies did was give audiences great songs,” Wilson wrote in I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir. “It goes from the newer Randy Newman songs, which blow me away, all the way back to songs like ‘Baby Mine’ from Dumbo.”
Randy Newman is the songwriter behind some Pixar original soundtracks. He performed “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” for Toy Story, also writing “We Belong Together” for Toy Story 3 and “McQueen and Sally” for Cars.
“’Baby Mine’ was beautiful,” he noted. “It has a beautiful melody and it’s so much fun to sing. It’s one of my favorite cuts on that record. Paul and I did selections and arrangements for that, too, the same way we had on the Gershwin.”
‘Baby Mine’ is included in the original ‘Dumbo’ — and the 2019 live-action adaptation
In Disney’s animated film, this song is performed by Dumbo’s mother to her son. Although they can’t physically be together, their trunks intertwine as Dumbo is being comforted.
“If they knew sweet little you,” the lyrics state. “They’d end up loving you too / All those same people who scold you / What they’d give just for / The right to hold you / From your head to your toes / You’re not much, goodness knows / But you’re so precious to me / Cute as can be, baby of mine.”
In 2019, Dumbo was remade by Disney as a live-action production, of course, including “Baby Mine” in the soundtrack. This original earned over 5 million Spotify plays, making it one of the most popular songs from the 2019 film.
