10 Best "I Want" Songs In Animated Films

A staple of most musicals, there will be a moment where the protagonist expresses, through song, his or her desire to achieve bigger and better things in their dismal or otherwise ordinary life. It gives them the opportunity to establish their character, to provide a motivation for their actions and – if the songs are excellently written – a reason for the audience to care about them and their ensuing journey ahead.

Like their real life counterparts, animated heroes and heroines have goals and dreams that extend beyond the confines of their worlds. Their objective forms a large part of the narrative, and they just have to let the audience know it through song. If the words “I want” does not make an appearance in the lyrics, a variant will surely be sung to communicate the character’s intentions.

Coupled together with gorgeous animation and the right vocals (and the occasional choreography), the “I Want” song can be an enjoyable, earworm-worthy performance that successfully draws viewers into the film’s plot. These musical numbers have become synonymous with Disney films, but other animated offerings over the years have also brought out some classic hits of their own.

Performed by the legend that is Phil Collins, “Strangers Like Me” is sung from the perspective of Tarzan, who yearns to find out more about the human world. It also describes his fascination with the other human characters who all act differently to him, as well as his budding feelings for Jane Porter.

In a pop rock song punctuated by drums, Collins effectively conveys Tarzan's curiosity and eagerness to learn about the modern conventions of a world that is completely alien to him. It couples well with the smoothly-animated montage that sees Tarzan becoming closer to his human companions but distancing himself from his life in the jungle, where he had been raised all his life.

That Collins performs the musical number rather than Tarzan himself allows the viewer to concentrate on our hero's organic reactions to everything – from candle-light and the stars in the night-sky to Jane's own response to his home – and see for themselves how genuinely enthralled he is with the outside world.