The Most Nostalgic Disney Title Sequences

I didn’t grow up with Disney, save for a few family staples: Cinderella, Mary Poppins, three Christmas shorts (Santa’s Workshop, The Night Before Christmas, and Once Upon a Wintertime), the Nutcracker Suite section of Fantasia, and some of the Disney Sing-Along VHS tapes. Even though I’ve gone beyond those as an adult, I still primarily stick with the older content. I love the old animation from both the movies and the shorts, and I especially enjoy poring over the concept art that was created for the films. They really don’t make ‘em like that anymore!

To be honest, most Disney movies (no matter the era) are much too frightening for me, even now. There are quite a few that I still haven’t seen in their entirety. But there are a lot of songs and scenes I adore, many of which I first saw on one of those Sing-Along tapes.

I think my favorite part of the old Disney movies, though, are the opening titles. Just like the old musicals, the opening credits bring so much nostalgia and joy. I wish movies today still had them in the beginning of the movie instead of the end!

Many times when I sit down to watch a “Disney film,” I’m really just planning on circling through my favorite openings. In fact, I went down that rabbit hole earlier this week, so I thought I’d share some of those here.

First things first: I began watching the opening credits of Cinderella on Disney Plus, but it felt like something was missing. So I present to you the 1993 VHS logo. No old Disney movie is complete without it. That little whistle sound at the end feels whimsically eerie and sets a wonderful tone for the masterpiece that is to come.

Mary Poppins (1964)

Pure magic. I only ever watch the opening titles of this one when I watch the movie, because it feels extra special that way. The sweeping instrumentals, as the camera pans over the London rooftops, never fails to bring me to tears. Possibly my favorite movie opening of all time.

Cinderella (1950)

Other than Mary Poppins, this was the only full-length Disney movie I liked to watch when I was small.

Fun fact: The soloist is Marni Nixon, the woman who dubbed Audrey Hepburn’s singing voice in My Fair Lady and portions of Deborah Kerr’s in The King and I. For the Quintet number in West Side Story, Nixon dubbed Natalie Wood’s voice, as well as a portion of Anita’s part while Rita Moreno was out sick. (I’m always so impressed that she had to sing two different actresses' parts for the same song.) She also had a role as a nun, Sister Sophia, in The Sound of Music!

Peter Pan (1953)

My favorite song (and moment) in Peter Pan is “You Can Fly,” but this one is a close second. The voices in all of these openings are so beautiful, but this one is especially lovely. And the thank-you message to the children's hospital is so touching.

Pinocchio (1940)

This may sound weird, but every time I watch this, it makes me want to live inside of that “scene,” even when there are no actual places or images depicted. For some reason, it reminds of Disneyland, and those memories have a special feeling all their own.

The Sword in the Stone (1963)

Specifically, the “That’s What Makes the World Go ‘Round” bit has a special place in my heart because it's one of my favorites from the Sing-Alongs. I’ll include that version of the song here as well, for those who want to indulge in a bit of nostalgia today:

What's your favorite opening credits scene from a Disney film? Let me know in the comments below! And if you enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing! New posts will fly into your inbox every Saturday.

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend!

Keep living vintage,

Becca