The Disney Song Encyclopedia - fieldi

“THE GNOME-MOBILE” 65
mated film Mulan (1998). As they march through the mountains of China, a
band of new recruits (voices of Harvey Fierstein, James Hong, Jerry Tondo,
Wilder, and the chorus) sing of the type of girl they desire, from a ravishing
beauty to a good cook. When the girl Mulan (singing voice of Lea Salonga),
disguised as a male soldier, suggests a bright woman who thinks for herself,
the others dismiss the idea as unattractive. The song, with a revised lyric by
Alexa Junge, is also heard in the video sequel Mulan II (2005).
“Girls Are Like Boys” is the confused musical lesson Owl (voice of Andre
Stojka) sings in the animated television special Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine
for You (1999). When Winnie the Pooh finds out that Christopher
Robin is making a valentine for a girl named Winifred, Owl has to explain
to the bear what a girl is, singing that they are just like boys, yet different
in every way. Michael and Patty Silversher wrote the waltzing number that
manages to confuse Pooh more than clarify matters.
“Girls of San Francisco” is the wry musical tribute to the pretty gals
from the California city who are always nice to gentlemen, as long as the
men take out their wallets and spend money on the girls. Richard M. and
Robert B. Sherman wrote the pastiche saloon number for the period film
The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin (1967), and it was sung by Bostonian
Arabella Flagg (Suzanne Pleshette), who goes out West and gets a job as a
singer in the Lucky Nugget Saloon.
“Give a Little Whistle” is the tuneful song of caution about letting one’s
conscience act as a guide in life, written by Leigh Harline (music) and Ned
Washington (lyric) for the animated movie fairy tale Pinocchio (1940). The
snappy number is sung by Jiminy Cricket (voice of Cliff Edwards) and
Pinocchio (Dickie Jones) as they dance about Geppetto’s toy shop and celebrate
Jiminy’s being made Pinocchio’s conscience by the Blue Fairy. Edwards
recorded the number, which, as the title suggests, involves a certain
amount of whistling. The song was heard on children’s records for years,
and Barbara Cook made a distinctive recording in 1988.
“The Gnome-Mobile” is the jaunty title song that Richard M. and Robert
B. Sherman wrote for the 1967 film fantasy about gnomes in the redwood
forests of California. The young gnome Jasper (Tom Lowell) tells the lumber
tycoon D. J. Mulrooney (Walter Brennan) and his two grandchildren
(Matthew Garber and Karen Dotrice) that he cannot find a mate because
the lumber business has driven so many of the gnomes from the forest.