At D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event 2026, The Sherman Brothers on The Record offered a rare look into Disney Music History through recordings, demos, interviews, and studio moments most fans have never heard.
Randy Thornton, Grammy Award-winning producer and Disney Music Historian, led the Walt Disney Archives Stage presentation. Rather than giving fans another traditional tribute, Thornton opened the door to the creative process behind Richard and Robert Sherman’s music. That made the session feel especially personal.
After the emotional Jolly Holiday tribute to Richard Sherman at D23 2024, this presentation carried a different tone. That earlier moment felt like a celebration of life. This felt more like being invited into the recording studio.
Hearing the Songs Take Shape
The Sherman Brothers wrote songs Disney fans know by heart. Their music lives inside Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, Winnie the Pooh, The Sword in the Stone, The Parent Trap, it’s a small world, Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress, and so much more.
HThe Sherman Brothers on The Record did not focus only on finished classics. Thornton used rare recordings, demos, interviews, and rehearsal moments to show how the music developed. A familiar song suddenly became a work in progress. Ideas took shape. Voices tested a line. Studio moments revealed pieces of the story fans do not usually get to hear.
That is what made the presentation so compelling. It did not just celebrate the Sherman Brothers songbook. It let the audience hear the work behind it.
The Annette Funicello Surprise
One of the most memorable moments came from archival rehearsal audio featuring Richard and Robert Sherman singing with Annette Funicello. That discovery carried extra meaning.
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Before Mary Poppins, it’s a small world, and the theme park classics, the Sherman Brothers wrote pop songs for Annette. Their early work with her helped bring Walt Disney’s attention to their talent. Because of that connection, the rehearsal audio felt like more than a novelty. It removed the polish.
Randy made the history of the Sherman brothers songbook feel alive, unfinished, and still being discovered, not History under glass in a musieum.
Randy Thornton and the Living Archive
The heart of the session was preservation. Thornton did more than play old recordings. He showed how Disney music survives. Archive work can feel like detective work. Sometimes a tape reveals a demo. Other times, it contains a rehearsal, a conversation, or a version of a song that changed before release.
Those surprises made The Sherman Brothers on The Record feel intimate. The session did not simply ask fans to remember Richard and Robert Sherman. Instead, it invited fans to listen for the moments they left behind. Near the end, Thornton shared one detail that tied everything together. At one point, he had the voice actors behind Disney’s Fab Five record the titles of every Sherman Brothers song.
Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto did not sing the songs. Instead, they helped frame the scale of the Sherman Brothers songbook.
That idea was wonderful. Disney’s most iconic characters helped carry forward the legacy of two songwriters who shaped Disney’s musical identity.
Sam’s Disney Diary Take
The Sherman Brothers on The Record stayed with me because it did not try to be the biggest presentation in the room. It was quieter than that. More personal. Randy Thornton gave fans a chance to hear the creative process behind the magic. The demos, rehearsal audio, interviews, and unexpected discoveries made Richard and Robert Sherman feel present in a different way.
That is why the session felt emotional. We all know the songs. We know the words. In many cases, we also know the attractions, films, and memories connected to them. However, hearing how those songs began changes the experience.
Disney history did not appear fully formed. People created it in rooms, at pianos, in recording studios, and on tapes that someone later had to find, restore, and understand. The Sherman Brothers gave Disney some of its most unforgettable music. This D23 session reminded fans that the magic took work.
Thanks to Randy Thornton, those voices are still on the record.
