Music (Score)

Music (Score)

Leigh Harline, Ned Washington

No matter which way you slice it, Pinocchio has one of the most iconic scores in cinema history. Not only did it win the 1940 Academy Awards for Best Score and Best Song, but "When You Wish Upon a Star" would go on to become the theme song for the entire company of Disney (source).

That's a big deal.

The soundtrack was composed by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington, both of whom were pretty hot names at the time. Their partnership was even-stevens for this film: Harline composed the music, while Washington took care of the lyrical end.

The result? Iconic. Whether we're talking about "When You Wish Upon a Star" or "I've Got No Strings," these are songs that have become so ingrained in the public consciousness that you could have easily heard both without ever seeing the film.

Pinocchio will occasionally use the melodies of these songs as thematic devices—like when it uses the tune of "Wish Upon a Star" to mark the entrance of the Blue Fairy—but for the most part it's structured as a musical, with the cast performing these song-and-dance numbers at regular intervals.