It’s zombie month here at Horror Press, so it is time to continue my effort to transform the site into a compendium of knowledge about the ZOMBIES franchise (which is stylized as Z-O-M-B-I-E-S because they want to give me premature arthritis from typing it that way all the time). For those who don’t remember, this is a series of Disney Channel original musicals about busting stereotypes and promoting diversity that uses zombies as a stand-in for whatever minority group caught the filmmakers’ attention that very second.
As the franchise expanded, so did its menagerie of creatures (played, as always, by humans with colorful hair). While the impending Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 4 promises that vampires are on the horizon, so far the trilogy has dragged werewolves and aliens into its manic melange of metaphors. While, as you might be able to tell, the storytelling is chaotic as all get out, the movies feature catchy songs and solid choreography, frequently at the same time! In this piece, I’d like to celebrate the musical numbers that deliver the most bang for your buck, even to the unseasoned viewer who has not yet dived into the candy-colored world of exuberant nonsense that is in store for them.
The Best Musical Numbers in Disney’s Zombies Franchise
#10 “We Got This” (Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 2)
This is the opening number that sets up where the plot has progressed after zombies have joined the community of Seabrook as more-or-less equal citizens. It’s more of a functional number, but as the anthemic cheerleader beat builds, it becomes more and more propulsive and irresistible. Plus, you won’t get that hook out of your head for weeks.
#9 “Like the Zombies Do” (Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 2)
This Bruno Mars-inflected track about assimilation is the ZOMBIES franchise’s answer to “In America” from West Side Story. Music-wise, this number is a little thinner (and features the franchise’s bad habit of sing-talk “rap” that doesn’t quite land), which is why it’s so low. But the dance battle of it all still makes it a delicious confection.
#8 “Call to the Wild” (Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 2)
OK, yeah, the rap just doesn’t go away. It will keep happening all the way up this list, so be warned. However, what this one lacks musically, it makes up for with that exuberant hopscotch choreo breakdown that finds a huge variety of ways to use those long sticks to carve different physical spaces on the dance floor.
#7 “My Year” (Z-O-M-B-I-E-S)
This is the introductory number of the original 2018 movie, and boy what an introduction. Eye-searing colors, athletic choreography, and simply too many cast members to count. While the ensemble of the franchise will grow more and more unwieldy (in a good way, I say), the sheer amount of people bringing this number to life sees the franchise already embracing the decadent maximalism that it exhibits when it’s at its best.
The juxtaposition of the preppy pastels of the human neighborhood and the more eclectic designs of the zombie neighborhood also visually highlight the division between the groups in a sumptuous way, as does the difference in the group’s choreography styles. Subtlety does not exist in ZOMBIES, nor should it.
#6 “We Own the Night” (Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 2)
The first sequel in the franchise is where they began introducing new genres into their pop musical sensibility, and this Rihanna-inflected song is a hell of a lot of fun. It’s probably the first number on this list that is fully listenable as a proper single when not attached to visuals, which is why it’s OK that the choreography is slightly less interesting here.
#5 “Someday” (Z-O-M-B-I-E-S)
As the big love duet, and the only song that has reprises in each of the sequels, “Someday” really needs to sing. Thankfully, it does! This musical number sees romantic leads Zed and Addison showing off their playful chemistry by turning a zombie panic room into a playground of creativity. Plus, the “caught my eye” bit (about 42 seconds in) is a visual pun that leans in on the idea of falling in love with a zombie in a way that’s a little more visceral than you’d expect Disney to go, even while being super adorable at the same time.
#4 “Exceptional Zed” (Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 3)
The third installment is where the franchise’s cast, locations, and aesthetic really began to gel into something so magical it can overcome even the most ludicrous storytelling. The location (Toronto’s Sugar Beach Park) is doing most of the heavy lifting in the early going, but the part where Zed is marched down a gauntlet of the movie’s supporting characters is punchy and lively, and the energy of the number keeps rising from there. The choreography here also leans in hard on one of star Milo Mannheim’s strengths, which is his ability to maneuver his impossibly long limbs into exhilarating shapes.
#3 “BAMM” (Z-O-M-B-I-E-S)
This is going to be the toughest one for anyone who’s allergic to musical theater kids rapping. But the zombie rave is a gloriously over-the-top setting, and the trampoline floor allows for the choreography to add a mind-bending aerial element that elevates the number beyond the rest of the offerings in the original movie.
#2 “Alien Invasion” (Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 3)
Remember what I said about maximalism? There is no character, type of monster, or musical genre that isn’t contained in this gloriously sprawling number. It begins with a dubstep riff on the musical motif Close Encounters of the Third Kind before launching into a Howard Ashman-esque ensemble number with a power-pop chorus and a brief sojourn into K-pop. It’s a sight (and sound) to behold.
#1 “Ain’t No Doubt About It” (Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 3)
Unquestionably the finest number the franchise has offered, “Ain’t No Doubt About It” is a delightfully catchy duet about the existential crisis of being in a high school relationship when graduation is on the horizon. What the song offers lyrically is perfectly compounded by the visuals, which see Zed and Addison gleefully dancing through danger, just barely missing being violently murdered at every turn. It’s a Looney Tunes-ass number that is working on all cylinders.