12 Best Musical Movies, Ranked

Ever since sound entered the world of cinema, audiences and critics alike have been unable to resist the allure of a movie with song-and-dance numbers. Musicals are a glorious form of cinematic storytelling that, in their peak form, dazzle the eyes, rivet the eardrums, and touch the heart. Sure, subpar musicals like the box office bomb "Joker: Folie a Deux" or the 2019 "Lion King" remake exist, no question. However, there are also many more movie musicals that are absolute treasures, exemplifying why the visual-oriented domain of film is an art form worth savoring. Given the lengthy history of the musical movie, it can be tough to figure out which are the greatest features within this genre.

The 12 best musical movies ever (ranked from "least best" to best) are a great blueprint for the endless manifestations of the movie musical. Some of these musical movies are great because of luscious color schemes and cinematography that could've only been possible in earlier eras of filmmaking. Others are masterpieces for how they subvert expectations on how musical films should operate. Still others are outstanding in the most delightfully simple ways, like delivering a boatload of tunes that one can never get out of their head. Whatever the reason for their revered status, the 12 best musical movies ever are all love letters to one of cinema's most head-bopping and soul-stirring genres.

Quality musical cinema takes many forms. Sometimes, it's in a polished MGM musical from the mid-20th century. Other times, it's in a 2008 adaptation of a stage musical drawing on ABBA's discography. "Mamma Mia!" is firmly a frivolous feature with grand ambitions that let attractive people romp around in the sun and boisterously sing catchy tunes. Who says that can't sustain an entire motion picture? In the hands of a cast anchored by Amanda Seyfried and Meryl Streep, not to mention the highly energetic renditions of tunes like "Does Your Mother Know," "Mamma Mia!" clicks together. It's a riot of a feature with endearingly scraggly qualities, like Pierce Brosnan's vocals in that infamous "S.O.S." musical number. 

However, there's also endless charm in its commitment to the silliness, and quiet craftsmanship permeates the filming of dance-heavy sequences. Plus, the sunny Greek backdrops combined with fun costumes and an endearingly horny atmosphere accentuate the film's transfixing nature. What could've been a star-studded night at a karaoke bar turns into something really special. How can you not tap your toes to a movie whose very first musical number is the infectiously exuberant "Honey, Honey?"

Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan

Director: Phyllida Lloyd

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 108 minutes

Where to Watch: Max

It's staggering to consider the countless iconic musical numbers originating from the various "Muppet" movies. "The Rainbow Connection." "Somebody's Getting Married." "Can You Picture That?" "Man or Muppet." This franchise's various entries have been rife with the imaginative and catchy lyricism that any songwriter would kill for. Many of the greatest "Muppet" tunes, and by proxy best movie musical numbers ever, originated in "The Muppet Christmas Carol." This one's soundtrack is so good that even a deleted song, "When Love is Gone," is a profoundly moving keeper. The mournful lyrics of this track absolutely shatter the heart (Michael Caine's tremendous performance during the song helps on that front) and the way it plays off the closing song "The Love We Found" is ingenious.

Meanwhile, the ditties that did make the final cut of the Christmas classic "The Muppet Christmas Carol" are absolutely superb, while the whole film is one of the very best of the endless cinematic adaptations of "A Christmas Carol." There's no better cinematic Ebenezer Scrooge than Michael Caine, while having Gonzo as Charles Dickens and Rizzo the Rat guide the story as a Greek Chorus is an inspired touch. "The Muppet Christmas Carol" isn't just a divine Yuletide treat, it's also proof positive of how "Muppet" cinema has been a boon to musical movies.

Cast: Michael Caine, Steve Whitmire, Frank Oz

Director: Brian Henson

Rating: G

Runtime: 85 minutes

Where to Watch: Disney+

"And the strangest things seem suddenly routine" goes a line in the fantastic "Wig in a Box" musical number in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch." Such a sentiment will likely permeate the minds of audiences as they witness the recurring surrealistic digressions in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch." Director, co-writer, and star John Camera Mitchell doesn't tell the story of Hedwig (Mitchell) in a conventional or ultra-realistic fashion. This musical saga of identity and self-love is rife with heightened touches fitting for the ballad of a rocker who started their life sheltered in East Germany before coming to America and embracing their true self. Fueling Hedwig is a hunt for their "other half," a universally relatable desire for companionship that lends a gripping emotional bedrock to the proceedings. 

"Hedwig and the Angry Inch's" flashy exterior qualities and provocative title conceal a profoundly moving story about love and what a fulfilling existence can look like. All those elements are paired with a killer soundtrack. Songs like "Origin of Love" and "Wig in a Box" are unquestionably all-time great ditties. They're also fittingly idiosyncratic in every respect, which makes them perfect sonic encapsulations of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" as a whole.

Cast: John Cameron Mitchell, Michael Pitt, Andrea Martin

Director: John Cameron Mitchell

Rating: R

Runtime: 93 minutes

Where to Watch: Digital rental and purchase from Prime Video

In his eclectic filmmaking career, Howard Hawks did every kind of genre under the sun, including acclaimed Westerns like "Rio Bravo." However, in the "Ain't Anyone Here For Love" musical number in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," Hawks channeled the zippy, wacky energy that infused his earliest iconic works like "Bringing Up Baby" and "His Girl Friday." This sensational mixture of crooning and yearning saw Jane Russell harmonizing about her troubled love life while navigating a bunch of brawny dudes doing various exercises in a gym. It's a tour de force of catchy songwriting and wacky visual gags. That feat also makes it a great microcosm for "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" as a whole, which is rife with laughs and lavish musical numbers.

The production also makes great use of the chemistry between Russell and Marilyn Monroe, not to mention a phenomenal array of luciously colorful costumes, like the pink number Monroe dons for the iconic "Diamond's Are A Girl's Best Friend." Spry musical fun is on the menu with "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," and those hungry for that material will leave this project stuffed.

Cast: Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe, Charles Coburn

Director: Howard Hawks

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 119 minutes

Where to Watch: Digital rental and purchase from Prime Video

"I don't know you/but I want you/All the more for that." So begins the beloved song "Falling Slowly" from "Once," a tremendously touching number perfectly capturing the sensation of instantly becoming enamored with a stranger. Musical movies, with their maximalist tendencies and innately unrealistic flourishes, can often so vividly channel real emotions with insightful musical numbers. "Once," a John Carney directorial effort with admittedly a much more realistic aesthetic than typical musical movies, is a classic example of that phenomenon. These melancholy tracks tell the saga of musicians Guy (Glen Hansard) and Girl (Markéta Irglová) falling for each other, even with endless obstacles standing in the way of their passion.

Carney's intimate and quasi-cinema verité style of shooting makes the moments of musical bonding between Guy and Girl extra moving. How lovely it is to see a romantic connection flourish even as the imperfections of reality are always apparent. The songs, meanwhile, sound exactly like something ramshackle musicians would come up with, yet possess such immense lyrical power. Just look at the emotional impact of "Falling Slowly's" opening words.

Cast: Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová

Director: John Carney

Rating: R

Runtime: 85 minutes

Where to Watch: Hulu and Disney+

Remakes are usually where creativity goes to die. However, most remakes are not helmed by Steven Spielberg. 2021's adaptation of the definitive musical "West Side Story" is a vibrant achievement that showcases what the visual language of musical cinema can look like through Spielberg's precise and striking style. Camera angles, glorious uses of natural light and shadows, richly tangible textures — they all look so phenomenal under the masterful eye of Spielberg and cinematographer Janusz Kamiński.

These sumptuous images especially pop within the outstanding musical numbers. Set pieces like "America" or "Dear Officer Krupke" come alive like never before thanks to the imaginative staging, not to mention phenomenal editing and camerawork that lets viewers absorb all the visual majesty. On top of all that, Spielberg's irony-free approach to the material imbues endless confidence into both the story's emotions and unforgettable performances from folks like Rachel Zegler. Spielberg's "West Side Story" sweeps you off your feet and makes an age-old musical new again.

Cast: Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose

Director: Steven Spielberg

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 156 minutes

Where to Watch: Disney+

Songwriter Howard Ashman's legacy is eternal. As long as people hum "Part of Your World" or "Be Our Guest," his inspired artistry will never vanish. Some of his greatest contributions to musicals, though, were in his songs for the stage show "Little Shop of Horrors." Adapted into a 1986 film directed by Frank Oz, Ashman's songs are a tonal wonder. "Somewhere That's Green" can at once inspire chuckles with lines like "On our big, enormous, 12-inch screen," encapsulating the modest dreams of a fantasy 1950s housewife.

However, Audrey's yearning for a better life in "Somewhere That's Green" also effortlessly inspires a lump in your throat. Ashman's tangible love for this raw display of emotional unfulfillment is irresistible. "Little Shop of Horrors," even without its darker alternate ending, is like that as a film, combining its zany premise (a killer plant that eats people!) and wacky songs with absorbing emotions. In Oz's film adaptation, the proceedings take on new levels of artistic success. There are the tremendous practical effects, for one thing, which realize Audrey II in a fashion that still stuns decades later. There's also a flawless cast (Rick Moranis as Seymour is absolutely perfect casting) making this imaginative take on a '60s B-movie extra glorious. That's the power of a creative mind like Ashman's.

Cast: Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Steve Martin

Director: Frank Oz

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 94 minutes

Where to Watch: Digital rental and purchase from Prime Video

In 1929, "The Broadway Melody" hit theaters as one of Hollywood's first proper movie musicals. It was also a terribly dreadful motion picture with weirdly aloof camerawork and unengaging tunes. Merely 10 years after the worst best picture Oscar winner ever debuted, though, the American film musical reached one of its greatest creative peaks with "The Wizard of Oz." In the span of a decade, cinematic musicals had gone from being clumsy to containing some of the most iconic musical numbers in history. To this day, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" still touches the soul. Meanwhile, the luscious color scheme of Oz (particularly in contrast to the early monochromatic Kansas sequences) was an early sign of how radiant movie musicals could look. This heightened genre could house resplendent locales like the Yellow Brick Road or the radiant Emerald City like no other cinematic domain.

Nearly a century after its premiere, it's remarkable how the costumes, production design, and staging for "The Wizard of Oz" remain as stellar as ever. Characters like The Cowardly Lion or The Scarecrow endure as eternally endearing. This musical masterpiece left the days of "The Broadway Melody" far behind and to this day leaves many modern movie musicals in the dust.

Cast: Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley

Director: Victor Fleming

Rating: G

Runtime: 102 minutes

Where to Watch: Max

In the 1960s, the French New Wave, spurred on by artists like Agnes Varda, Jean-Luc Godard, and François Truffaut, was redefining what cinematic storytelling could look like with visually avant-garde works. However, 1960s French cinema still had room for something frothier, yet by no means less artistically valid. Jacques Demy's "The Young Girls of Rochefort" exceeded more "intellectual" '60s titles from this country, like "Breathless," with its joyous and visually absorbing nature. Delphine (Catherine Deneuve) and Solange (Françoise Dorléac) are twin sisters who crave romance in their lives. These yearnings lead them to the town of Rochefort, France, where they hope to find love. 

Under Demy's meticulous eye, Rochefort is a land where apartment buildings are dotted with bright blue windows, pink walls are common, every passerby has vibrant orange and pink clothes, and you just might run into Gene Kelly on a random afternoon. Even recurring mentions of a murderer's rampage in Rochefort can't disrupt the captivatingly bubbly atmosphere Demy's concocted. The dancing, costumes, sets, and exquisitely endearing performances are all perfectly realized. 1960s French cinema produced lots of iconic movies, but the musical classic "The Young Girls of Rochefort" was one of the country's greatest cinematic contributions from this era.

Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Françoise Dorléac, Gene Kelly

Director: Jacques Demy

Rating: G

Runtime: 125 minutes

Where to Watch: Max

S.S. Rajamouli has always had expansively imaginative visions for cinema, as seen by pre-2022 directorial efforts like "Eega." However, he reached new heights of artistic creativity with his musical action epic "RRR," packed full of exciting set pieces. It's hard to describe the expansive endeavor in a single sentence, but it boils down to fictionalized takes on real-life figures Komaram Bheem (N.T. Rama Rao Jr.) and Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) going through their version of "Point Break" while fighting British colonizers in 1920s Delhi. Despite juggling countless plates in the air, Rajamouli's craftsmanship never wavers. This includes his outstanding vision for the movie's musical numbers, particularly the showstopping "Naatu Naatu" that occurs midway through the story.

"Naatu Naatu" is bursting with so much energy and told with excellent dance choreography (all of it crisply filmed and edited) that it's impossible to imagine listening to it and not wanting to get up and dance. "Naatu Naatu" is "RRR's" Oscar-winning musical number standout, but it's far from the only time the film delivers exceptional music. Other standout tunes like the stirring "Dosti" or jubilant end credits tune "Etthara Jenda" are equally memorable. There's no inch of "RRR" phoned in. Naturally, then, Rajamouli's extraordinary artistic conviction informs every ounce of "RRR's" musical digressions.

Cast: N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, Alia Bhatt

Director: S.S. Rajamouli

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 182 minutes

Where to Watch: Netflix

Nobody in the history of cinema used color in cinema as skillfully as Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Their incredible deployment of bright hues was apparent all across their filmographies. However, their 1948 effort "The Red Shoes" (an adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen story of the same name) may be the greatest display of these gifts. Ballet dancer Vicky Page's (Moira Shearer) indecision over whether she should pursue dancing or her romantic passions results in a jaw-droppingly beautiful cinematic extravaganza. Extended digressions of Page dancing her heart out to transportive music are told with a dazzling array of colors, from hauntingly subdued blues to succulent golds and everything in between.

Such vibrant colors (which also manifest in the costume design) are filtered through strikingly precise blocking and a grandiose emotional sensibility that dials everyone's feelings up to 11. There's no subtlety in "The Red Shoes," but that's why it's so glorious. Like the best musicals, it wears its heart on its sleeve and makes no apologies for shouting from the rooftops the kind of emotions audiences are told every day to suppress. 

Cast: Anton Walbrook, Marius Goring, Moira Shearer

Director: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 133 minutes

Where to Watch: Tubi and Criterion Channel

The law of averages would suggest that surely at least one musical number in "Singin' in the Rain" should come up short and derail this 1952 motion picture. Yet that never happens. "Make 'Em Laugh", "Moses Supposes," "Good Morning," "Fit as a Fiddle (And Ready for Love)", and the titular "Singin' in the Rain," are all so perfectly entertaining in the hands of cast members like the incomparable Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds. Many of these tunes showed up in plenty of classic musicals before "Singin' in the Rain." However, their marvelous appearance here means they belong to this Kelly and Stanley Donen directorial effort. What's old is a fresh as a newly-plucked daisy in a movie that's never lacking in propulsive verse or entertainment.

Whether it's in Kelly's fancy footwork, Jean Hagen's unforgettable line deliveries as Lina Lamont, or the engaging rapport between actors like Kelly and Donald O'Connor, "Singin' in the Rain" is absolutely bursting with captivating qualities. It's also the most delightful distillation of musical cinema's unique toe-tapping potential. With its flawless soundtrack alone, "Singin' in the Rain" is both a downright perfect movie and handily the pinnacle of musical cinema.

Cast: Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor

Director: Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen

Rating: G

Runtime: 103 minutes

Where to Watch: Max