Planes: Fire & Rescue (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Veteran Disney animation composer Mark Mancina says his music for the sequel to the studio’s aviation-themed 2013 hit finds the lead character—plane Dusty Crophopper—more grown-up. "So the music wanted to be a little more grown-up: a little bit richer," he says. "There’s an arc to his life, and the music needed to follow that arc.” The composer’s writing was inspired by the film’s natural settings: “It comes from an earthy direction, so there’s a lot of orchestral percussion, French horn, strings, and woodwinds.” Mancina also proudly notes “we were lucky enough to have Bruce Hornsby play piano on the score, which brought it a completely different color and a much more mature feel.” The soundtrack is anchored by a trio of pop songs: Kansas-born Spencer Lee’s ballad “You Make Me Fly” and a pair of cuts from country star Brad Paisley (“Runway Romance” and the self-penned “All In”). Paisley takes special pride in the latter, noting its first-responder theme has personal resonance: “My father’s a firefighter. And my brother-in-law and several family members are firefighters. I was really honored to pay tribute to them.“