5 Musical Songs That Shouldn't Have Been Cut from the Movie & 5 Songs We Didn't Miss

5 Musical Songs That Shouldn’t Have Been Cut From the Movie & 5 Songs We Didn’t Miss

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re looking at five show tunes that were needlessly cut from their film adaptations, and 5 songs that were smartly deleted or replaced by better ones.

#5: Missed: “N.Y.C.”
“Annie” (1982)

In bringing the red-headed orphan to the screen, seven songs were cut from the original score. The Broadway production’s lyricist and director, Martin Charnin, derided these decisions. One of the songs that was tossed, “NYC,” was replaced by the upbeat “Let’s Go to the Movies.” While that latter song has its fans, as its title suggests, “NYC” embraces the city that Annie and Oliver Warbucks call home. The change of song may have been made to showcase actress Ann Reinking’s killer dancing skills. While she is great to watch, many fans still would have preferred “NYC” to keep its place in the story, and were rewarded when it was restored in the 1999 TV remake.

#5: Didn’t Miss: “Once in a While”
“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (1975)

Not only does Richard O’Brien’s sci-fi musical have great songs, it has great song titles. You can conjure up the “Time Warp,” “Over at the Frankenstein Place,” and “Damn It, Janet” as soon as you hear their names. But while Brad’s solo in act 2 of “The Rocky Horror Show” is a pretty enough song, compared to the rest of the score, it’s as dull and nondescript as its title. “Once in a While” is the character’s song of heartache after he cheats on Janet with the evil Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Although actor Barry Bostwick recorded and filmed the number, the scene was left out of the final cut.

#4: Missed: “A Bushel and a Peck”
“Guys and Dolls” (1955)

This one didn’t make the movie soundtrack for a very simple reason: producer Samuel Goldwyn didn’t like it. It didn’t matter that it’s one of the most revered and covered songs from the musical. He didn’t like it, so he made the writers replace it with a new song, the unfortunately titled “Pet Me, Poppa.” You can almost respect a creative choice to remove a song, but this one just feels petty and ill-advised. Considering the original song became so popular that its position in the actual show was changed so the audience could hear it sooner, it seems like a bad business decision to boot.

#4: Didn’t Miss: “Whose House Is This?”
“Mean Girls” (2024)

Several songs were cut from the score of this teen musical, and fans were not happy. They were so vocal about it that Tina Fey even addressed it on the “Las Culturistas” podcast. Lost in the move to the screen were beloved tracks like “It Roars” and “Fearless.” Conspicuously absent from this list of songs the fans missed was “Whose House Is This?” Cady Heron’s ode to self-destruction and partying is a little too repetitive and on the nose. It would have dragged the movie down, and it makes total sense why it was deemed expendable.

#3: Missed: “Christmas Bells”
“Rent” (2005)

Several storylines converge during this act 1 showstopper in a way that would be absolutely thrilling to see on film. So the fact that the 2005 movie is missing the song with the most cinematic possibilities doesn’t sit well with fans. “Rent” is a long show, but of all the songs to cut, “Christmas Bells” just isn’t it. Performed by the entire ensemble, “Christmas Bells” takes place in the hours leading up to a protest. Full of desperation and longing, it’s a counterpoint to the holiday during which it takes place. It’s also one of the songs that drives home what’s really at stake for the characters. Without it, the movie comes off more twee and empty.

#3: Didn’t Miss: “Find Yourself a Man”
“Funny Girl” (1968)

Once Hollywood came calling, the movie version of this Broadway show was rewritten and tailored to its new star, Barbra Streisand. Songs from the musical that didn’t feature her were largely eliminated. Many others were replaced with other songs from the repertoire of the real-life Fanny Brice. But this jaunty tune, sung by the Brices’ old neighbors, was an easy cut. It’s not much of a song. It’s more of a diversion, and it doesn’t advance the central romance between Fanny and Nick Arnstein. Furthermore, it was one of several scenes involving Fanny’s mother that were also largely dropped in the transition from stage to screen.

#2: Missed: “Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now”
“Hairspray” (2007)

When the movie version of “Hairspray” rolled around, fans were not pleased at the cutting of one of its most celebrated numbers. “Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now” features Tracy Turnblad, Penny Pingleton, and Amber Von Tussle fighting against their mothers’ oppressive parenting. Unfortunately, the makers couldn’t justify the song’s inclusion. Pacing-wise, it slowed down the story. More damning though, was their aversion to three-way split-screen. They felt it would be too stylistically different from the rest of the numbers in the movie. They were at least kind enough to put a version of the song over the end credits, sung by star Nikki Blonsky, and two former Tracy Turnblad actresses Ricki Lake and Marissa Jaret Winokur.

#2: Didn’t Miss: “Don’t Tell Mama”
“Cabaret” (1972)

Director Bob Fosse made so many changes to the Tony Award winning musical that some fans think of the movie as a separate entity entirely. Whole subplots from the show are disposed of to focus on Sally Bowles, a performer at Berlin’s Kit Kat Klub. Her introductory song in the show, “Don’t Tell Mama,” is a bawdy number about what her mother might do if she found out what she does for a living. Fosse replaced it with the stunning song and dance number, “Mein Herr.” Liza Minnelli and the ensemble do some unforgettable chair-ography that’ll make you forget all about Mama and whatever it is you weren’t supposed to tell her.

#1: Missed: “No More”
“Into the Woods” (2014)

Broadway fans were right to be skeptical that Disney would honor Stephen Sondheim’s more adult take on classic fairy tales. The show’s second act is a profound meditation on grief and loss. Unfortunately, the movie cut some of the score’s biggest emotional payoffs. “No More” is a duet between the despondent baker and his deceased father. Of all the songs that were cut, this one makes the least sense. In the show, it serves as the climax to the baker’s narrative, convincing him that he must accept his wife’s death and face the future. Without it, the movie doesn’t have nearly the emotional punch.

#1: Didn’t Miss: “An Ordinary Couple”
“The Sound of Music” (1965)

In the original show by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, Maria and Captain Von Trapp declare their love over the duet, “An Ordinary Couple.” The makers of the 1965 film version made the wise decision to sub it out for the devastatingly beautiful “Something Good.” Although “An Ordinary Couple” is a good song, it’s hard to argue with the end result. Once you’ve seen Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer’s rendezvous in the hazy moonlight of the gazebo, it’s hard to imagine a more perfect piece of music. Rodgers composed the new song himself, as Hammerstein had passed away a few years before. It retains all the old-fashioned, highly romantic charm of their best work.

What musical song were you sad to see cut from the movie version? Tell us in the comments!