Composer Gordon Goodwin passed away on December 8, 2025 at age 70. Goodwin began his career as a musician at Disneyland and went on to create musical arrangements for several Disney Parks parades and shows, plus worked on Disney films.
Gordon Goodwin
Goodwin’s Disney Parks credits include:
- Cinderella’s Surprise Celebration
- Dream Along with Mickey
- Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage
- The Spirit of Pocahontas
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame A Musical Adventure
- Festival of the Lion King
- Remember the Magic Parade
- Hercules Zero to Hero Parade
- Disney Stars and Motor Cars Parade
- Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade
Goodwin received a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement for his work on the track “The Incredits” in Pixar’s The Incredibles (2004), composed by Michael Giacchino. He received the same award for “Rhapsody in Blue” (2011) and “On Green Dolphin Street” (2013), and was nominated for several more Grammy Awards. He won Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for Animaniacs in 1998 and 1999, and Histeria! in 2000.
He worked various roles in the music departments for Disney’s The Great Mouse Detective, D2: The Mighty Ducks, Quack Pack, Con Air, Armageddon, Tarzan, The Lion King 1 1/2, National Treasure, Tarzan 2: The Legend Begins, Kronk’s New Groove, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Incredibles 2, Hocus Pocus 2, and more. His final credit, according to IMDb, is as an additional orchestrator on The Naked Gun (2025).
He led Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band a.k.a. The Big Phat Band, an 18-piece jazz orchestra. They won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album for Life in the Bubble (2014).
Hear Goodwin’s arrangement in our video of Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade at Disney’s Animal Kingdom below.
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