Disney, being Disney, is accustomed to creating movies sprinkled with musical numbers, with many of its animated classics being known for their amazing soundtracks (as well as compelling storytelling, of course). Through the years, Disney has remade some animated musical movies such as Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and Cinderella, giving a fresh new take on songs and scenes audiences know and love. But the streaming service has also produced live-action musical films that are not re-imaginings of familiar stories. Not only this, but it’s also got a handful of musical movies that were not animated to begin with.
Since Disney+ launched in 2019, the streaming service has become home to perhaps every Disney movie and TV show known to man. With its popularity has come a string of original content, as arbitrary as dark Marvel programs to the usual cheery cartoons. Disney is continuing its streak of making new content, and has plans for a new musical – Better Nate Than Ever – set to premiere in April. Until the release of the upcoming movie, as well as many others, here are live-action musicals you can stream right now on Disey+.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
8 Annie (1999)
Columbia Pictures
A remake of the 1982 classic and based off the Broadway musical, Annie follows a preteen orphan in the slums of New York who gets the chance to spend the holidays with an uptight billionaire. Though she grows closer to the rich man, named Oliver Warbucks, she still faithfully believes her parents are alive and looking for her. The perfect family film, Annie features a memorable soundtrack, including the familiar song “Tomorrow,” as well as delightful song and dance routines from its ensemble of both children and adults. Annie premiered as a television special on The Wonderful World of Disney in 1999 and won multiple awards including two Emmys.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
7 The Greatest Showman
20th Century Studios
20th Century Fox’s 2017 blockbuster, The Greatest Showman tells the true story of PT Barnum, creator of Barnum & Bailey circus. The period piece stars Hugh Jackman in the lead role with an all-star cast of Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Zac Efron and Zendaya. The Greatest Showman sees Barnum through his struggles of growing up a poor, orphaned child and follows him all the way to a successful adult. The story also tackles issues of race and acceptance, all while doing so in a fun, colorful way set to the tune of a Grammy-winning album.
6 Enchanted
Walt Disney Pictures
Enchanted is a self-parody of classic-era Disney movies, with the delightful animated Princess Giselle landing herself in the chaos of the live action New York City. Starring Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey, Enchanted shows what it’s like for fairytale characters in the real world, with the princess even falling for an awkward, single father/lawyer, whilst her Prince Charming is pining after her. Nearly 15 years after the film’s premiere, a sequel titled Disenchanted is currently in development and is set to premiere on Disney+ in 2022.
5 Freaky Friday (2018)
Disney
The fourth and most recent interpretation of the mother-daughter switcheroo movie debuted in 2018 on The Disney Channel. This version of Freaky Friday is heavily based on the Disney Theatrical Productions stage show which premiered in 2016. The story follows the same formula as the classic movies: a stubborn, rebellious teenage daughter and her strict, overworked mother constantly butt heads and are given a taste of one’s medicine after a magical spell switches their bodies. While the movie might not be as successful as Disney’s 2003 adaptation, starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, it still received some positive reviews and given that there are many Freaky Friday’s to choose from, this movie adds another to the list in the event of a Freaky Friday movie marathon.
4 High School Musical
Disney Channel has had a lot of musical series but High School Musical was surely the most successful, even gaining its own spinoff show. High School Musical stars Zac Efron as the basketball star, Troy Bolton and Vanessa Hudgens as the brainiac Gabriella Montez. The trilogy sees the two and their friends through multiple parts of school and summer, going all the way to their graduation. The High School Musical franchise is filled with showstopping musical numbers and has a soundtrack it’s hard not to sing along to.
3 Into the Woods
The 2014 film Into the Woods is based on Stephen Sondheim’s Broadway musical of the same name. The movie has an ensemble cast of Meryl Streep, James Corden, Johnny Depp, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, and several other stars. Into the Woods is a modern take on the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, combining the adventures of Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Jack and the Beanstalk, with Corden and Blunt as a husband and wife who are eager to have a child, but have gotten a spell cast on them by a witch (Streep).
2 Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins was the highest-grossing film of the year when it was released in 1964. The story tells of the fantastical nanny who comes to take care of children Jane and Michael Banks. The movie combines cartoon and live action but unlike Enchanted, the two are used simultaneously. Mary Poppins, starring Julie Andrews and Dick van Dyke, began as a children’s novel by PL Travels and the history of its transition to film can be seen in the 2013 movie, Saving Mr. Banks. In 2018, it was given a sequel called Mary Poppins Returns with Emily Blunt in the lead role. To this day, Mary Poppins is a beloved classic with its songs like “Let’s Go Fly a Kite,” “A Spoonful of Sugar,” and especially “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” standing the test of time, and with the film’s music having won two Grammy Awards.
1 The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is another one of Julie Andrews’ vintage musical movies. She starred as Maria, a young woman who, after failing to become a nun, becomes the caretaker of seven sneaky children. Her charm and positive attitude turn the strict home into a fun environment, with each child looking up to her and soon even changing the heart of their stern father. The Sound of Music was released in 1965 and was named the fourth-greatest musical film of all time by the American Film Institute.
