Notable Disney Songs that Didn't Make the Cut (Part 1): 1937-1968

As a semi follow up to my past article, Animated Films that Never Were (Disney Edition), I have decided to write about ten musical numbers that the company axed either in favor of other songs or due to pacing issues. Given that Disney is over ninety years old, it has a very long and interesting history. There are many fascinating 'what ifs' and 'could have beens.' (In fact, Disney's Frozen, had a grand total of seven songs deleted from its original lineup.) So let's take a look behind the scenes at some of the company's decisions to see if any of the music they decided to scrap is actually worth listening to.*

1. Music in Your Soup (Snow White, 1937)

Disney's Snow White was a huge undertaking for the then relatively small studio. Before it was released, feature length animated films were unheard of in Hollywood, and many critics referred to it as 'Disney's Folly.' The critics, of course, were ultimately proven wrong. However, Snow White had a very long and complex production history which lasted a total of four in a half years. "Music in Your Soup" fell victim to this. The musical sequence, animated by Ward Kimball, involved Snow White teaching the dwarves how to eat like gentlemen rather than noisily slurping their soup. The song would have taken place directly after the scene were the dwarves are washing before dinner. Ultimately, "Music in Your Soup" was cut because it simply didn't fit within Snow White's time constraints. Walt Disney actually felt bad about cutting the scene (along with another taking place in the dwarves' bedroom). To make it up to Ward Kimball he let him design and be lead animator on Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio (1940).  

Caricatures of Famous Cartoonists by Animators (Disney Edition)

A sketch of Walt Disney drawn right before the studio strike or after the completion of Snow White by an unknown animator.

Another one of Walt by one of his animators. Done in 1930.

The matador from Ferdinand the Bull (1938) was animated by Ward Kimball based off of Walt.

Ward Kimball himself also appears as a cartoon in Ferdinand.

A Valentine's drawing by Ward for his wife, Betty.

Ollie Johnston, another one of Disney's 'Nine Old Men', makes a cameo in Brad Bird's The Iron Giant (1999) and the Incredibles (2004, alongside Frank Thomas).

Ollie modeled Rufus the Cat from the Rescuers (1977) after himself.

Glen Keane's drawing of Ollie and his wife as Tarzan and Jane.

An excellent Google Doodle made of Mary Blair.

Christmas card by Andreas Deja featuring himself.

Apparently, Hades from Hercules (1997) was based off of Jeffery Katzenberg. Katzenberg was the most hated man at Disney during that time. After a fight with Michael Eisner, he later left the studio and helped establish Dreamworks.

Speaking of which, Dreamwork's first hit animated film, Shrek (2001), gave us the villain Lord Farquaad...who was based off Michael Eisner.