With Hamilton being a revolutionary step for watching Broadway musicals at home, we take a look back at the best movie musicals you can watch on Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO Max and Amazon Prime, including Chicago, High School Musical, and Singin’ in the Rain.
When Hamilton dropped onto Disney Plus over July 4 weekend, it was revolutionary for the relationship between Broadway and Hollywood. But that relationship has a long history that includes filmed stage productions, musical adaptations, original movie musicals, and even movies based on musicals based on movies.
Hamilton is a true modern classic, but if you’ve already binged the Disney Plus version enough to sing along perfectly to “Guns and Ships” there are plenty of other movie musicals worth your time. Some of our favorites are below, from iconic Golden Age movie musicals like Guys and Dolls and Singin’ in the Rain, modern classics like Chicago and Newsies, and goofy, ridiculous, or just plain weird offerings like Bugsy Malone, Teen Beach Movie, or Shrek the Musical.
Besides the fact that it’s a better Mary Poppins than Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks is a plain old great time. Angela Lansbury stars as Eglantine Price, a witch-in-training whose pursuit of the last page of a book of witchcraft leads her to the charlatan Emelius Browne (David Tomlinson). To make matters more complicated, she has a trio of children placed in her care as London is evacuated during the Blitz. Equal parts a belated coming-of-age story (Eglantine is struggling with her powers as a witch, and with the era’s gender expectations), an animated adventure (her quest for the page takes her and the kids to the animated world of Naboombu), and a historical-fantasy epic (yes, Eglantine eventually battles Nazis), Bedknobs and Broomsticks is a delight in every respect. —Karen Han
Bedknobs and Broomsticks is streaming on Disney Plus.
Bugsy Malone is a singular oddity. Alan Parker (Fame, Midnight Express) wrote and directed this musical comedy loosely based on Prohibition-era gang wars. The twist? A cast of children play the gangsters and showgirls, including a young Scott Baio as the titular Bugsy Malone and Jodie Foster as his former flame. The antics are all G-rated — machine guns spray whipped cream instead of bullets and flirtations end with forehead kisses. It’s silly and ridiculous even before the kids start singing about how Bugsy Malone is “a candy-coated sinner.”
Bugsy Malone is streaming on CBS All Access.
Sure, the plot is cliché and the acting leaves a little to be desired, but with two pop divas like Christina Aguilera and Cher at the helm, it’s all easily overlooked. Burlesque is pure campy fun. Aguilera plays a small town singer named Ali who moves to L. A. to follow her dreams of performing, and ends up working as a cocktail waitress and then a backup dancer at a burlesque club owned by Cher (I mean, her character’s name is Tess, but she’s always Cher.) The musical numbers are, of course, incredible, especially as Ali tries to convince Tess to let her sing live instead of lip syncing. Plus, the supporting cast includes Stanley Tucci, Alan Cumming, and a wonderfully catty Kristen Bell.
Burlesque is streaming on Netflix.
Rob Marshall’s 2002 adaptation of the 1975 musical Chicago (which boasts the second-longest run in Broadway history) was the first movie musical to win a Best Picture Oscar in over 30 years. It stars Reneé Zellweger as Roxie Hart and Catherine Zeta Jones as Velma Kelly, two women awaiting trial for murder in 1920s Chicago. Richard Gere co-stars as their sleazy lawyer, Billy Flynn. Roxie and Velma vie for press coverage, hoping that public sympathy will save them from a death sentence. Marshall adapted Bob Fosse’s iconic choreography for the film, maintaining its vaudeville spirit and making Chicago one of the best adaptations of a stage musical ever made.
