Top 10 Best Disney Movie Musicals

Falling right into its pattern of retelling classic fairytales, Disney gives a Hollywood makeover to this Broadway show, which merges some of our favorite childhood stories. With this one, you don’t just get one fairytale, but several all wrapped up into one. It’s like the ultimate fan theory connecting all our favorite characters. The story juggles comedy and tragedy as the lives of different fairytale characters intertwine. The performances from the star-studded cast, including Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, and Emily Blunt, although overly campy at times, are definitely entertaining to watch.

Speaking of retelling classic tales, this old-school Disney musical centers around Mother Goose nursery rhymes. Tom Piper is all set to marry Mary Contrary, but the evil Barnaby has other plans. He wants to marry Mary for her inheritance, so he kidnaps Tom and hires some goons to kill him. Needless to say, Mary is quite contrary. As you might expect from a family movie, everything turns out with a happy ending. The goofy characters and fun songs will surely make you nostalgic for your childhood.

This musical follows a young boy named Pete as he escapes from an abusive family, the Gogans, forms a new one with a woman named Nora, and wins over a town that initially rejects him. He does it all with the help of his best friend Elliot, who just happens to be an occasionally invisible dragon. In this tale about friendship, Pete and Elliot protect each other from those who might want to hurt them. Though the premise of this film may seem bleak, the darkest parts of the story, like when the abusive Gogans try to take Pete away from his new family, are lightened up by the jovial songs.

It was the start of something new. The movie that launched the careers of Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens was a Disney Channel phenomenon so popular that it sparked two sequels, the last one being widely released in theaters. Through catchy songs and memorable characters, this film delivered the powerful message to an audience of young viewers that they should be unafraid to break free of the status quo and explore all dimensions of themselves. This movie took the clichéd plot of the superstar jock and the nerdy girl breaking all the rules and revived it with a new musical twist.

The genius pairing of Amy Adams and Jason Segel combined with everyone’s favorite musical puppet friends makes this one possibly the best “Muppets” movie ever. “The Muppet Christmas Carol” is definitely a close second, but this 2011 installment to the “Muppets” franchise is the one earning a spot on this list. To save the old Muppets studio from being destroyed by oil man, Tex Richman, Gary, Mary, and Walter reunite the Muppets to raise the money to save it. The musical numbers are just as fun and campy as you might expect from the Muppets as they find each other, and rediscover themselves on this new adventure.

Witches, Nazis, and a flying bed that travels through dimensions make up this family-friendly musical. Miss Eglantine Price is a student of witchcraft who desires to use her powers to help the war effort during the Blitz, but she is missing the final spell she needs to complete her training. With the help of her three young wards and her witchcraft professor, Miss Price adventures to find the spell, and take on the Nazis. This film is essentially a historical fiction fantasy musical that will bring you back to the age of believing. The combination of live-action and animation using impressive special effects make the magic happen.

Based on the real Newsboys strike of 1899, this musical tells the story of Jack Kelly and his fellow newsies who lead a strike against the most powerful newspaper men in the city. In this true David and Goliath story, the newsboys stand up to Pulitzer after they jack up the price of papers for the newsies. Christian Bale stars as Jack Kelly, the leader of the newsies, who rallies an entire city to stand up to the ruthless businessmen. That’s right, it’s the Batman singing and dancing, and it’s pretty awesome. So awesome, that the Broadway style songs and choreography inspired the hit Broadway show of the same name.

First of all, it only made sense that Hermione Granger grew up to be Belle. Secondly, this live-action remake of the beloved animated classic did not disappoint. The perfect mix of all the elements we love so much from the original movie and updated details make this one of Disney’s best. Placing a little more focus on the backstory of the town and townspeople helped close some plot holes the original left open, as well give some more depth to even the most superficial characters. The updated versions of the original songs are amazing and the new songs are great additions.

The fairytale world bleeds into the real world when Giselle is banished by an evil Queen to a world where happily ever afters don’t exist. But her blinding optimism and tendency to randomly burst out into song and dance quickly infect the city. She is not just some damsel in distress who needs a handsome man to come save her, however. The princess does her own saving. In this brand-new fairytale, the purposefully hammy fairytale characters hilariously off-put the cynical real-world characters. While playfully poking fun at fairytale stories, this film also celebrates their overall messages about hope and self-belief.





Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:



“The Jungle Book” (2016)





“Cinderella” (1997)

This classic Disney musical remains so iconic that it produced a sequel decades after its initial release. What kid didn’t wish they had a mystical nanny after watching this one? Played by the iconic Julie Andrews, Mary Poppins blows into the lives of the Banks children on her flying umbrella and takes them on an otherworldly adventure inside a chalk drawing. With her friend Bert, stunning musical numbers, and a spoonful of sugar, she teaches the children about the magic of youth, and reminds their overly serious father about what really matters in life. There’s only one word to describe this movie, and it’s supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
Script written by Francesca Savoy
Disney has a knack for success! For this list we’re taking a look at the Top 10 Live Action Disney Movie Musicals! We’ve included musicals like “Into the Woods”, “High School Musical”, “Pete’s Dragon”, “High School Musical” and more!