15. La La Land

| 2016 | 131 pts | Biggest lover: 1st (Jonjo & UltraReputation) |

 

Josh's Song Highlight: "Someone in the Crowd" (performed by Emma Stone, Callie Hernandez, Sonoya Mizuno, Jessica Rothe)

 

 

La La Land took the world by storm in late 2016 and both critics and audiences could not stop raving about it. It became a bit of a cultural phenomenon and everybody wanted to go and see it. It stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling as an up and coming actress and pianist respectively in Los Angeles who have to work their careers around their growing affections for each other.

 

The film blew up worldwide and made a massive $445 million at the worldwide box office which is pretty much unheard of for an original musical film. It was both the awarded and nominated film at the 89th Academy Awards and won in some major categories including Best Lead Actress and Best Director (the youngest winner of Best Director at the Oscars EVER).

 

I've still only seen this once despite meaning to re-watch it in the last year but it is absolutely brilliant so I'm still a bit gutted it lost Best Picture to Moonlight when I enjoyed this so much more. Saying that, I do find it a little overrated and not sure I'd rank it this high if this were a personal countdown.

 

I know that most people would go for either Oscar-nominated song for their song highlight but I prefer all of "Epilogue", "Another Day of Sun", "A Lovely Night" and "Someone in the Crowd" to both of those tracks to be honest. I've gone for the latter as my song highlight because the music is so joyous and it perfectly captures what getting ready for a night out feels like to me.

I just confess I think i forgot to give points to Bugsy and meant to. Sorry

 

 

Surprised Mary Poppins isn't higher although I'm not a fan, and equally surprised that The Child Catcher from Chitty didn't get a mention

'La La Land' :heart: one of the very best films ever for me. It's just so rewatchable and likeable.

 

'Someone In the Crowd' is very good, but I find it the most overrated! 'What A Lovely Night' is my fave musical number. :wub: If I waa going to choose a routine to learn, it would be that! So smooth, slick and stylish!

A couple more that I haven't seen but what the hell at Enchanted missing the top 20?! It's one of my favourite films of all time and definitely one of Disney's best musicals of recent times.

 

That's about right for Into the Woods, I definitely agree with comments about it being a bit too long with the giants etc. but I think the soundtrack is really strong and I like that the "Into the Woods" song is interpolated throughout the film. I adore "Agony" too :wub:

 

I'm actually surprised to see West Side Story as high as 16th, I do love it though and am pleased that it's held up against some of the more recent films here. "Somewhere" is my highlight, such a moment.

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14. Oliver!
| 1968 | 133 pts | Biggest lover: 5th (Jonjo) |

Josh's Song Highlight: "Consider Yourself" (performed by Jack Wild)



Oliver! is probably the most famous adaptation of the classic Charles Dickens novel. The film is based on the musical adaptation that first debuted on the West End in 1960. I'm really shocked that this hasn't made the top 10 (when you see what actually has made the top 10, you'll know you're on Buzzjack... :lol:) because it's one of those classic musicals that everybody seems to love and it has some brilliant songs too.

At the 41st Academy Awards, Oliver! was nominated for 11 Oscars and won 5 making it the most awarded film of that year. Major wins for the film include Best Picture, Best Director and Best Score. Ron Moody as Fagin and Jack Wild as The Artful Dodger (despite being just 16 years old at the time!) were also nominated but did not win.

I remember watching this over and over again as a child and for that reason it is one of my absolute favourite musicals. I remember the

death of Nancy

scene being one that really stuck with me whenever I watched it.

As I mentioned before, the soundtrack for this is brilliant and there are so many songs I could select as my song highlight so here's a shout out to "Food, Glorious Food", "Pick a Pocket or Two" and "I'd Do Anything" for being some of my favourite ever musical songs. "Consider Yourself" is The Artful Dodger's shining moment and an absolute bop at the same time so I've gone for that one as my song highlight.

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13. The Lion King
| 1994 | 139 pts | Biggest lover: 3rd (Chez Wombat) |

Josh's Song Highlight: "Circle of Life" (performed by Carmen Twillie and Lebo M.)



The Lion King lands in at #13 making it the second highest animated musical on the countdown! I'm a little shocked at what film is the highest animated musical here but at least Beauty and the Beast and this managed a pretty high position too. I'm sure pretty much everyone has seen it but it tells the story of a young lion cub named Simba and his journey on the way to becoming the King.

The film was a massive box office success and beat out the likes of Forrest Gump, The Mask and True Lies to be the highest grossing film of 1994 worldwide. It also won two Oscars for Best Score and Best Original Song for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" which beat out other Lion King nominees "Hakuna Matata" and "Circle of Life".

If you discuss your favourite Disney animated classics with pretty much anyone, you know that Lion King is going to crop up in the conversation at some point. It is one of the most famous Disney movies and one that many people grew up with. I am a fan of some of the Disney princess movies ever so slightly more than this to be honest but there is no denying just how good this is and it packs one of the biggest gut punches in an animated movie ever (

Mufasa's death, of course

:cry:)

The film is jam-packed with amazing songs and I was going to be a bit inspired and go for "Be Prepared" as the song highlight as it is probably my favourite ever Disney villain song (that or Ursula's "Poor Unfortunate Souls" anyway) but "Circle of Life" is SUCH a moment that there really is no other option for me. I remember getting tingles as a child just from seeing the whole animal kingdom come together leading up to the lifting up of Simba to the skies with this song playing over it. One of my favourite ever Disney scenes so that has to be my song highlight :wub:

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12. Annie
| 1982 | 141 pts | Biggest lover: 5th (Josh!) |

Josh's Song Highlight: "Little Girls" (performed by Carol Burnett)



Much like Oliver, I thought this was another one of those classic musicals that would be a shoo-in for a top 10 placing but I have been proved wrong :cry: Annie tells the story of a young orphan who is looked after by a wicked carer until she is lucky enough to be picked to live with a billionaire for a week.

I think this is the first (non-Disney) musical that I ever saw because I was in a production of it when I was six years old. I remember loving all the songs and learning all the words within days and my love for musicals has been there ever since. I remember that I had a VHS boxset with this and Oliver on it and I used to watch them on repeat when I was little.

Annie is one of those musicals that is just fantastic song after fantastic song so there really is loads of options for song highlight. "Tomorrow" is probably the most famous track and it is such a lovely moment in the film but I'm definitely a bigger fan of the fun/cheeky tracks such as "It's the Hard Knock Life" and "Easy Street". Carol Burnett as Miss Hannigan is one of my favourite performances in a film ever though and the personality and humour she injects into "Little Girls" makes it a song to remember :wub:

11. Frozen
| 2013 | 145 pts | Biggest lover: 2nd (UltraReputation) |

Josh's Song Highlight: "Let It Go" (performed by Idina Menzel)



One thing I was NOT expecting when counting up the results was Frozen to rank as the highest animated musical in the countdown :o I really thought the likes of Beauty and the Beast, Lion King (and even Little Mermaid etc.) were going to finish way higher than this and I certainly wasn't expecting it to land just outside the top 10! It tells the story of two sisters, one with magical ice superpowers, and the tough relationship they must deal with when the magical powers get out of control.

Frozen is obviously one of the biggest financial successes of all-time, currently ranking at #9 on the all-time worldwide box office highest grossing movies list with $1.27 BILLION made. It was popular with all ages and even won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature over tough competition from Despicable Me 2, The Wind Rises, The Croods and Ernest & Celestine.

In terms songs, "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" is probably my favourite to watch because I really like the way they grow up in the visuals and I love the image of the two girls either side of the door wanting to be together but knowing it's not possible. However, "Let It Go" as a song is easily my favourite, an undeniably impressive vocal performance from Idina Menzel and it just creates such a huge moment in the film that it's impossible not to love :heart:

One final recap before we hit the top 10 :cheer:

Any predictions or hopes for what is to come?! :o

40. Beauty and the Beast (2017) (48 pts)
39. Dreamgirls (48 pts)
38. Evita (51 pts)
37. Sing Street (51 pts)
37. Sister Act (51 pts)
35. Jersey Boys (54 pts)
34. Sing (54 pts)
33. Blues Brothers (60 pts)
32. Trolls (61 pts)
31. Muppets Christmas Carol (68 pts)
30. Dirty Dancing (69 pts)
29. The Bodyguard (73 pts)
28. Moana (75 pts)
27. The Muppets (80 pts)
26. High School Musical 2 (83 pts)
25. Into the Woods (85 pts)
24. Mary Poppins (85 pts)
23. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (87 pts)
22. Enchanted (91 pts)
21. Bugsy Malone (110 pts)
20. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (117 pts)
19. Pitch Perfect 2 (118 pts)
18. Beauty and the Beast (1991) (120 pts)
17. Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (125 pts)
16. West Side Story (130 pts)
15. La La Land (131 pts)
14. Oliver! (133 pts)
13. The Lion King (139 pts)
12. Annie (141 pts)
11. Frozen (145 pts)

Kinda surprised Frozen beat The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, especially as the former is an actual stage musical and all :o I do feel it's songs are iconic enough to make it stand out though, I was hesitant to include Disney movies due to them being primarily animation, but those three I think can crossover.

 

Mary Poppins is far too low :( One of the first films I remember watching and it's still so joyful and wonderful to this day.

 

Wizard of Oz to slay please *.

'Oliver!' Is outstanding. One of my fave musicals/films ever. Such a classic and it's so good seeing it do so well in this :heart:

 

'Annie' is a classic too, but I like it quite a bit less than 'Oliver!', but I still enjoyed it a lot.

 

As I've said, I don't know why, but I don't consider Disney animations to be "musicals". So weird, but 'The Lion King' is forever a fave (and is possibly the best soundtrack of all time) and I enjoy 'Frozen' from time to time.

I'm not that sad to see either The Lion King or Frozen drop out. The former is obviously a childhood classic but I don't love it as much as other people of my age group, apart from the soundtrack. Frozen is a good 21st century animated musical but I've only watched it twice.

 

Rooting for Grease or Rocky Horror for the win now! I'm shocked that Little Shop is top ten, I've also only seen that once but I didn't really like it that much.

Little Shop to win :heart:

I'm shocked that Little Shop is top ten, I've also only seen that once but I didn't really like it that much.

 

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? :o

 

Little Shop has one of the best soundtracks of all time for me. Every song is amazing. The movie is perfect. It's camp, dark and so funny! It's my go-to musical. I'll never tire of it.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? :o

 

Little Shop has one of the best soundtracks of all time for me. Every song is amazing. The movie is perfect. It's camp, dark and so funny! It's my go-to musical. I'll never tire of it.

All of this!! It has some of the best musical songs ever in my opinion and characters like Audrey II and the Dentist are just so much fun. Theo's post is actual blasphemy :heehee: :drama:

10. Chicago
| 2002 | 152 pts | Biggest lover: 4th (Josh) |

Josh's Song Highlight: "Cell Block Tango" (performed by Catherine Zeta-Jones & The Cell Block Girls)



Yay, this is one of my favourite results from this countdown! I wasn't so how liked Chicago was on Buzzjack so I was really chuffed when it sneaked into the top 10 as it is one of my favourite musicals ever. I'd love to see the stage show one day too, I think seeing this live is top of my list from the ones I've not seen yet. It tells the story of two murderers who fight for fame in order to prevent being sent down for their crimes.

The film was a huge critical success and it one six Academy Awards that year (more than the likes of The Pianist, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Gangs of New York) including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for Catherine Zeta-Jones. Renee Zellweger, Queen Latifah and John C. Reilly all scored acting nominations that year too meaning the film scored an overall 13 nominations :o

This is one of those really fun musicals that never fails to put a smile on your face. The humour is dry at times but certainly laugh out loud funny, the songs are super catchy and the visuals and choreography are all top notch. The characters are all pretty hilarious too, I've always thought Renee Zellweger as Roxie in this is super under-rated :heart:

I guess "All That Jazz" is probably the most well-known and iconic song in Chicago and whilst Catherine Zeta-Jones completely nails her version of it in the film, "Cell Block Tango" will always be my favourite. It's sassy, it's fierce and wryly humorous too - what's not to love? :lol:

09. Mamma Mia
| 2008 | 167 pts | Biggest lover: 2nd (Josh & Jahq) |

Josh's Song Highlight: "Does Your Mother Know?" (performed by Christine Baranski)



Another one of my all-time favourites drops out know but I'm super glad it made the top 10 anyway so yay! Mamma Mia uses the classic songs from ABBA's discography to tell the story of a young lady who is getting married and wants to seek out her biological father to invite him to the wedding. Little does she know that all of the potential fathers will turn up to the island without her mother knowing...

Up until Wonder Woman was such a huge success this year, Mamma Mia actually held the record for highest grossing (worldwide) live-action movie directed by a woman! :o It was such a huge financial success as ABBA are obviously such a global phenomenon and now the studio have finally made a sequel that is due out in 2018. Meryl was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance here but ended up being nominated that year in Lead Actress at the Oscars for Doubt instead.

Meryl is easily the best thing about the film but Julie Walters & Christine Baranski are heaps of fun too and there aren't many other movies you get to see serious actors like Colin Firth & Pierce Brosnan wearing flared trousers singing Waterloo by ABBA during the closing credits.

I was about to go for "The Winner Takes It All" as the song highlight because it is my personal favourite ABBA song ever and Meryl sells the emotion in that scene so, so, so well but then I remembered how hilarious "Does Your Mother Know?" is and HAD to go for that instead. Christine Baranski clearly knows how to flirt and her performance here during this song is one of my favourite musical moments ever :wub: :lol:

Never seen 'Chicago', not sure if I'm bothered about it either. 'Mamma Mia' can be good fun at times, but annoying at other times. Great song highlight though :wub:

08. Little Shop of Horrors
| 1986 | 173 pts | Biggest lover: 1st (Josh) |

Josh's Song Highlight: "Skid Row (Downtown)" (performed by Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene & Cast)



And here comes the time where my #1 favourite musical drops out :cry: I wasn't actually expecting it to get this high so I'm really pleased that others love it so much too. Based off the 1982 original stage show, Little Shop of Horrors tells the story of a blood-thirsty plant and the lengths his owner must go to in order to keep his human-eating shrub happy.

I feel like this is one of the most well known classic musicals and it's not hard to see why so many people love it for how fun and campy it is. I remember watching an amateur production of it when I was much younger and just falling in love with the songs as well as the bonkers storyline :lol:

The doo-wop/motown sound of the songs makes them super catchy if you like classics from the likes of The Supremes and The Jackson 5. I've gone for "Skid Row" as the highlight just because it has such a gorgeous chorus. "Little Shop of Horrors", "Suddenly, Seymour", "Dentist!" and "Somewhere That's Green" are all 10/10 too though.

07. Les Miserables
| 2012 | 186 pts | Biggest lover: 5th (Jade) |

Josh's Song Highlight: "I Dreamed a Dream" (performed by Anne Hathaway)



We go from one of campiest musicals on the countdown to one of the most serious ones now with Les Mis which touches upon all sorts of topics including war, death and prostitution. It follows the life of a convict and his life of hiding his past under his new identity, constantly running from the police.

Les Miserables has been made into countless films by now but it's the 2012 Hollywood adaptation that brought it new levels of fame. It was nominated for 8 Oscars that year and took home three awards for Anne Hathaway, Make-up/Hairstyling and Sound Mixing.

I've seen this twice now on the West End but in all honesty, I probably do prefer this film adaptation of the story. The plot is a bit dark and serious to be one of my absolute favourite musicals but I remember being mind blown when I first saw it in cinemas and there's a good reason that the story has stood the test of time since it was first released as a novel in 1862.

Speaking of Anne Hathaway taking home the Oscar that year, "I Dreamed a Dream" is the big MOMENT in the film so there really is no other option for song highlight - her delivery of every line completely sells every word! Shout out to "Master of the House" too for being ridiculous amounts of fun :cheer: