Hope Breakfast Movie Challenge: Movie Musicals

By Ally BarnesThursday 23 Dec 2021Hope BreakfastMoviesReading Time: 2 minutes

Boxing Day can mean watching cricket and eating leftovers. Some go shopping for the best deals. And others watch the latest blockbuster releases, and one of the biggest flicks of the summer is Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story.

If you can’t get to the cinemas, but you feel like a movie musical, here are some options you can enjoy at home, compiled by our movie guy Russ Matthews, from Reel Dialogue.

Musical films that will keep the little ones engaged:

• Contemporary – Vivo, Encanto, Frozen
• Classic – Sound of Music, Wizard of Oz, Mary Poppins
• Disney – The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast

Reel Dialogue pick: Enchanted (Disney+)

Synopsis: Princess Giselle is banished from her kingdom by her lover’s evil stepmother. She is then transported to the real world where she meets a lawyer and finds herself falling for him.

Musical films for date night:

• Once
• In The Heights
• A Star is Born
• Sing Street
• La La land
• The Greatest Showman
• Grease

Reel Dialogue pick: Mamma Mia! (Stan)

Synopsis: The story of a bride-to-be trying to find her real father told using hit songs by the popular 1970s group ABBA.

Musical films for musicalbuffs

• Les Miserables
• Phantom of the Opera
• Dream Girls
• Hairspray
• Chicago
• My Fair Lady
• Hamilton

Reel Dialogue pick: West Side Story

Synopsis: Lovers Maria and Tony find themselves entangled in the bitter battle between their gangster families.

Musical films that aren’t classified as musicals

• The Muppet Movie
• The Blues Brothers
• Help! or A Hard Day’s Night (Beatles)
• The Sapphires
• Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
• Purple Rain

Reel Dialogue pick: Yesterday

Synopsis: Jack, a struggling musician, meets with an accident during a blackout and wakes up to find out that only he remembers The Beatles. Later, he starts singing the band’s songs to gain fame.

Get more great movie recommendations and reviews from Reel Dialogue.

Listen to Russ Matthew’s full review chat in the player above.

Feature image: West Side Story Facebook