"When You Wish Upon a Star" is a lyrical ballad composed by Leigh Harline with lyrics by Ned Washington for Walt Disney's 1940 animated film Pinocchio. Written in 1938, the song was originally performed by Cliff Edwards in his role as Jiminy Cricket, with his recording made in December 1939 accompanied by Victor Young and His Orchestra. The composition features a singable, emotionally direct melody built on diatonic harmony, avoiding chromatic complexity in favor of warmth and accessibility. Its gentle, conversational melodic contour builds naturally through an arc that mirrors the song's theme of hope and aspiration. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1940, becoming the first Disney song to receive that honor. Glenn Miller's version reached number one on Billboard's Record Buying Guide, holding that position for five weeks. The composition has since achieved singular cultural status, serving as the signature melody of The Walt Disney Company since the 1980s. The American Film Institute ranked it seventh among the greatest songs in film history, and Cliff Edwards' original recording was inducted into the Library of Congress National Recording Registry in 2009. Its accessible structure has invited reinterpretation across virtually every musical idiom, from big band and solo piano to contemporary pop, making it one of the most widely covered songs in American popular music.
