There are a surprising number ofmovie musicalsthatoriginated on stage before being adapted to film. When looking over the hundreds upon hundreds of musicals in history, it might well be the case that most of the big ones were originally stage shows, and that film adaptations are simply a way to allow a wider audience to experience what lucky theatergoers can see performed live on-stage.
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As such, it’s worth highlighting those movie musicals that didn’t originate as stage shows and were instead designed from the ground up to be movies (or were adapted from other source material, like novels). The following movies all originated as movie musicals without the guiding hand of a pre-existing stage show, although interestingly, many of them have since been adapted to stage shows themselves.
1’The Wizard of Oz' (1939)
Few musicals are as well-known or widely beloved as 1939’sThe Wizard of Oz. It’s a film that’s since become more well-known than the book it was based on, and follows a young farm girl who travels to a strange fantasy world, befriending a group of unusual characters on her quest to find the titular wizard and get sent back home to Kansas.
It’s a film that seemed designed to push the boundaries of the art form back in the 1930s, and indeed, it’s one with ambitious special effects that were ahead of their time and very impressive overall. It’s since had multiple sequels and spin-offs, as well as inspiring stage shows likeThe Wizfrom the 1970s andWickedfrom the 2000s.
2’The Lion King' (1994)
There are plenty of animated Disney films that qualify as musicals, but few are as adored -or as emotional- as 1994’sThe Lion King. The music is just one of the reasons it excels as much as it does, with anunforgettable score composed byHans Zimmerand memorable songs that were written byElton John.
It’s also a tightly paced movie, clocking in at under 90 minutes while telling a surprisingly epic and emotional story. The music and lyrics are essential in helping propel the plot and its characters forward, as demonstrated particularly well in songs like “Be Prepared” and “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King.” It’s not too surprising then that a musical as good asThe Lion Kingwas also adapted into a successful stage show, andone of the most financially successfulof all time at that.
3’La La Land' (2016)
Damien Chazelle’sbreakout filmWhiplash(2014) dealt with music in its narrative but wasn’t a musical. Chazelle’s 2016 follow-upLa La Land, however, certainly was a musical, and served as an effective and bittersweet throwback to the simplicity and emotion found in Hollywood’s most classic musicals of old.
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Narratively,La La Land’svery straightforward, focusing on two passionately artistic people who fall in and then out of love, becoming torn apart because they’re both drawn too strongly to their respective creative fields. It may not have originated on stage, but its potential as a compelling stage show has since been realized, as it’sset to receive a Broadway adaptation.
4’Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory' (1971)
An iconic fantasy/musical that was released only seven years after the novel it was based on (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory),Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factoryhas endured in the decades since its release as a family classic… that is, despite havingplenty of scenes that will likely terrify childrenand potentially even unnerve adults.
It’s about the title character’s mysterious chocolate factory, taking viewers on a journey through it that’s sometimes magical and sometimes horrifying. The music similarly shifts between fun/whimsical and unsettling, making it one musical that stands out for being quite bizarre and all over the place, despite (presumably) being intended for family audiences.
5’Labyrinth' (1986)
If a movie managed to land the greatDavid Bowiein a leading role, there are certainly worse things to do than make said movie a musical. That’s the case for the cult classic 1980s fantasy movieLabyrinth, which features Bowie as Jareth the Goblin King, a being who kidnaps the baby brother of teenage protagonist Sarah, who then has to set out and rescue him.
It ends up being a strange but creative movie, and it’s easy to see why it has a dedicated following some decades on from its release. And of course, it’s a movie that gives Bowie equal opportunities to ham it up and sing, with several songs in the soundtrack being written and performed by the late artist.
6’Mary Poppins' (1964)
Surprisingly,Mary Poppinswas not originally a stage musical, and instead only debuted as an adaptation on stage in the early 2000s. Originally,Mary Poppinswas a series of children’s books written byP. L. Travers, with this source material being adapted into the classic family musical of the same name in 1964.
It’s surprising because while watchingMary Poppins, a good deal of it feels like watching a stage show, thanks to the set design and the very theatrical acting from much of its cast. Of course, it also has special effects-heavy sequences that work better in film than they might on a stage show, but large stretches of this movie musical do feel like scenes that have been adapted directly from the stage.
7’Moulin Rouge!' (2001)
Standing as perhapsBaz Luhrmann’scraziest and most maximalist film,Moulin Rouge!is a jukebox musical that takes place in Paris in the late 19th century. It revolves around the titular nightclub, and centers on its most celebrated performer - Satine - who’s an object of desire for both the film’s protagonist and antagonist.
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There’s plenty of music inMoulin Rouge!, and it’s all jarringly anachronistic, given the songs originated many years after the film’s set. The wild style and frantic editing of the movie mean that it might be hard to capture everything on stage in quite the same way, though since its release, it has indeed had a stage adaptation thathad its Broadway premiere in 2019.
8’Singin' in the Rain' (1952)
Even though most of its songs are now synonymous with the film,Singin' in the Rainwas actually a jukebox musical that repurposed numerous older songs into its narrative. It’s a comedic and entertaining depiction of Hollywoodduring the transition from silent films to talkies, centering on a group of actors whose lives are all changed by the dramatic industry-wide shift.
Few Hollywood musicals have endured quite the same waySingin' in the Rainhas, as it’s endlessly rewatchable and still a ton of fun for audiences young and old. Its legacy all but ensured it would get a stage show adaptation eventually, which it did, with said stage showpremiering in the 1980s.
9’South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut' (1999)
The two minds behindSouth Park,Trey ParkerandMatt Stone, are no strangers to musicals. One of their earliest films was 1993’sCannibal! The Musical, and the two were also behind the long-runningThe Book of Mormon, a comedic stage musical that’s among thehighest-grossing in Broadway history.
The movie adaptation ofSouth Park-South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut- also qualifies as a musical, seeing as there are plenty of surprisingly catchy music numbers throughout the film. Given its style of animation and the ridiculously large-scale plot involving comedic warfare and post-apocalyptic scenarios threatening all of humanity, it would be very hard to adapt into a stage show, but thankfully works perfectly well as a movie musical.
10’The Blues Brothers' (1980)
Unusually,The Blues Brotherswas adapted from a series of sketches onSaturday Night Live. Technically then, the characters did first appear before a live audience initially, and later found themselves in a movie, but adapting skits fromSaturday Night Liveisn’t quite the same as having a stage musical be turned into a movie musical.
Either way, the main thing is thatThe Blues Brothersis one of the best film musicals of all time, telling a crazy story about two determined brothers attempting to raise enough money to stop their childhood orphanage from being shut down. To do this, they reunite their old R&B band to throw a charity concert, in the process getting on the bad side of rival musicians, the Chicago Police Department, a deadly ex-girlfriend, and even a group of Neo-Nazis. It’s a crazy hybrid of music, comedy, and action, and undoubtedly one of the greatest cult classics of the 1980s.
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