"A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" is a song written and composed by

Mack David Mack David (July 5, 1912 – December 30, 1993) was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning the period between the early 1940s and the early 1970s. David was credited with writing ...

, Al Hoffman and

Jerry Livingston Jerry Livingston (born Jerry Levinson; March 25, 1909 – July 1, 1987) was an American songwriter and dance orchestra pianist. Life and career Born in Denver, Colorado, Livingston studied music at the University of Arizona. While there he com ...

for the

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

film ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'' (1950). In the song,

(voiced by Ilene Woods) encourages her animal friends to never stop dreaming, and that theme continues throughout the entire story. The song was inspired off of Franz Liszt’s Transcendental Etude No. 9 (Ricordanza). This song was also performed by

Lily James Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson (born 5 April 1989), better known by her stage name Lily James, is an English actress. She studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and began her career in the British television series ''Ju ...

for the soundtrack of the live-action version of ''Cinderella'' in 2015. In April 2020, Demi Lovato and

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...

performed the song for

The Disney Family Singalong ''The Disney Family Singalong'' is a series of American music television specials that were broadcast by ABC in 2020. First aired on April 16, 2020, and all hosted by Ryan Seacrest, the specials featured performances of songs from Disney films b ...

on ABC. The song was also featured in the 2022

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

/ Disney Channel original film '' Sneakerella'', sung by

Chosen Jacobs Chosen Jacobs (born July 1, 2001) is an American actor and singer best known for his recurring role as Will Grover on the CBS television series '' Hawaii Five-0'' and his role as Mike Hanlon in the 2017 film adaptation of the Stephen King novel ...

and

Lexi Underwood Lexi Underwood is an American actress and singer, best known for her role as Pearl Warren in '' Little Fires Everywhere''. She also played Athena in ''Will vs the Future,'' a comedic science fiction series created and executive produced by Tim ...

"Dreams" as a recurring Disney theme

Thematically, the lyrics recall the sentiments expressed in " When You Wish Upon a Star" from ''

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel '' The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan ...

'' (1940). In equating a

dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

with a

wish A wish is a hope or desire for something. In fiction, wishes can be used as plot devices. In folklore, opportunities for "making a wish" or for wishes to "come true" or "be granted" are themes that are sometimes used. In fiction In fictio ...

, the song establishes that Cinderella is using the word "dream" in the metaphorical sense of desires that can, as the lyric promises, "come true." "When You Wish Upon A Star" makes this same promise, as does other Disney material, such as the

fireworks Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices ...

show Remember... Dreams Come True and related promotions. The literal meaning of the word, as something that happens "when you're fast asleep", reappears in another Disney song, " Once Upon a Dream" from ''

Sleeping Beauty ''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...

'' (1959).

Release

The original version appears on a CD of the original

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

, as well as several compilations. Ilene Woods with Harold Mooney and his Orchestra recorded the song in Hollywood on October 26, 1949. It was released by

RCA Victor Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Ari ...

as catalog number 31-0014B (in USA) and by

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

on the

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...

label as catalog numbers B 9971, SG 272, HM 2753, JK 2679, SAB 7 and EA 3914. The song has also been used as part of the opening titles of several iterations of the

Walt Disney anthology television series The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 to the present. The pr ...

, notably in the medley for ''The Wonderful World Of Disney'' (1969–1979) and in ''The Magical World Of Disney'' (1988).

Certifications

Circle of Stars version

The song was re-recorded by the Disney Channel Circle of Stars, a group of actors and actresses who have appeared in Disney Channel television series and original movies. The line-up was significantly different from that of their re-recording of "

Circle Of Life "Circle of Life" is a song from Disney's 1994 animated film ''The Lion King''. Composed by English musician Elton John, with lyrics by Tim Rice, the song was performed by Carmen Twillie (the deep female lead vocals) and Lebo M. (opening vocals ...

" in 2003. This version was used in commercials for Disney on Ice from 2006 to 2010, and to launch the inflight music aboard international flights via

Cebu Pacific Cebu Air, Inc., operating as Cebu Pacific (), is a low-cost airline of the Philippines. Founded in 1988, it is Asia's oldest low-cost airline. It offers scheduled flights to both domestic and international destinations. The airline operates fl ...

airlines in December 2010.

Track listing

;Digital track listing #"A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" (Single Version) – 3:55 #"A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" (Christmas Version) – 3:45

Official versions

* "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" (Single Version) – 3:55 * "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" (Radio Edit) – 3:39 * "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" (Christmas Version) – 3:45 * "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" (Cut Live Version) – 1:21

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes, A 1950s ballads 1950 singles 1950 songs Cinderella (franchise) Disney songs Pop ballads Songs about dreams Songs based on fairy tales Songs written by Al Hoffman Songs written by Jerry Livingston Songs with lyrics by Mack David Walt Disney Records singles