Article in progress; apologies!
I’m passionate that kids should be exposed to all kinds of music, including (and especially?) musical theatre. MT is a genre in itself, but it also includes just about all other genres of music. I think there’s something particularly special about an art form that uses music (and dance) to tell stories.
I’ve compiled this list of films and cast recordings with kids in mind, but these are musicals that I think everyone should watch or listen to.
Musicals to watch at any age:
- The Sound of Music: ***** A very good place to start! This one really speaks for itself.
- Singin’ In the Rain: ***** Beautiful music, dancing, Old Hollywood glamour, hilarious slapstick humor, and romance. Who could ask for anything more?
- Mary Poppins: **** Aside from Dick Van Dyke’s baffling cockney accent, this film is practically perfect in every way.
- Cinderella: **** 1997 Rodgers and Hammerstein; come for the music, stay for the excellent colorblind casting and flashy costumes.
- The Wizard of Oz: **** If your kids haven’t seen this yet, follow the yellow brick road and watch it immediately.
- Annie: **** The 1999 version most closely follows the original musical, is therefore much more kid-friendly, and features the incomparable Audra McDonald.
- Thumbelina: *** My favorite of Don Bluth’s films, in large part due to the pretty music. It’s true to the original Hans Christian Anderson story, and it features the voice of Jodi Benson (who also voiced Ariel).
- The Swan Princess: **** I genuinely love this one. It’s so romantic and funny, and it tells the story of Swan Lake, complete with the happy ending as originally written (yup, Odette wasn’t supposed to die; look it up).
Disney:
There are so many of these—and I have so many opinions on each of them—that it seemed appropriate to put them in a separate list. Start with the animated films, then the Broadway musicals (cast recordings or proshot stage filmings), and then the live action films.
- The Beauty and the Beast: animated **** musical ***** live action ***
- The animated film is the best of the Disney renaissance, IMO, and the musical is even better. It was my first Broadway show, and it will always hold a special place in my heart. Its only glaring flaw is that the Beast is illiterate (but this allows for a touching scene where Belle teaches him to read). “If I Can’t Love Her” gives me chills every time. The live action has some great moments (“Evermore” makes me swoon), but between the autotune, the costumes, and overlong script, I think it loses a lot of the magic.
- Aladdin: animated **** musical **** live action ****
- The animated film is great, and the musical is good. The live action gets my approval due to Jasmine’s expanded role and Will Smith’s original take on the genie, although they really messed up with the final battle against Jafar.
- The Little Mermaid: animated **** musical *** live action ****
- “Part of Your World” and “Kiss the Girl” are some of the best songs from a decade known for its great music. I will die on the hill that Ariel is not anti-feminist. The musical is good—the harmonies are just to die for! The live action had a few issues, but overall I loved it.
- Mulan: The movie is gorgeous and surprisingly full of layered symbolism, and Mulan is a total baddie.
- Frozen:
- The animated film has been the obsession of children everywhere since it released. The musical expands on it a bit and includes some of the songs that originally got cut. Frozen 2 also has some great
- The Princess and the Frog: *****
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: ***
- The Lion King: ***
- Moana: Moana 1 **** Moana 2 *** live action *
- Encanto: ****
- Enchanted: This one should never have won an Oscar for “the wrong song, ”Happy Working Song.” It should have won it for “How Do You Know that You Love Her” instead. For that matter, Amy Adams should have been nominated for her hilarious portrayal of a Disney princess that managed to be simultaneously saccharine, naive, and dripping with charisma.
- Cinderella:
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame:
- Pinocchio:
- Sleeping Beauty:
- Tarzan: film *** musical ***
- The film doesn’t actually belong on this list, because its main flaw is that it isn’t actually a musical. The Broadway musical redeems it by having the characters sing Phil Collins’s songs.
Musicals to watch next:
- My Fair Lady: Audrey Hepburn is charming as ever, and her dub, Marni Nixon, has the voice of an angel. The storytelling and comedy may not hold very little ones’ attention, but they certainly captivate me.
- The Music Man: The opening sequence on the train is so cool! Be prepared for some snickering at the baffling “Shepoopie” number.
- The Newsies: A young Christian Bale leads a very talented cast in this true story about a bunch of underdogs who win against “the man.”
- Anastasia: Some scenes may scare young children, but the musical numbers and romance are top-notch.
- Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat: Where to begin? The music, the comedy, the biblical storytelling, Donny Osmond’s performance—they’re all superb! Just be warned that a few of the costumes and the scene with Potiphar’s wife are a little risqué.
- The Prince of Egypt: Speaking of Bible stories—this one is a must-watch. Whether or not you are religious, it will make you feel things. Hans Zimmer and Stephen Schwartz outdid themselves. Be warned that as a fairly accurate portrayal of the story of Moses, this story gets quite dark at times.
- The Greatest Showman: A modern classic that tells the romanticized tale of P.T. Barnum and his circus. As an opera singer, I want to be offended by the portrayal of Jenny Lind, but I’m just not. ”Never Enough” is way too gorgeous to be mad about.
- Fiddler on the Roof: This one may require a longer attention span, and I’m not crazy about some of the singing, TBH, but it’s brilliant and can lead to some great conversations about cultural differences, personal values, and tolerance.
Musicals to watch later:
- The Phantom of the Opera: One of the top five musicals of all-time, IMO, and the movie does it justice.
- The King and I: The 1999 animated version adds some unnecessary magic and action sequences, but you’ll have a lot less explaining to do with your kids; if you’d rather watch the original 1956 movie, just wait until they’re a bit older.
- Hamilton: Hamilton has everything you could hope for in a historical musical: lyrical complexity, contemporary music with wide appeal, and (mostly) historical accuracy (by contrast, the musical Six has only one of these features). Unpopular opinion: Lin Manuel Miranda was miscast in his own musical.
- Shrek the Musical: The filmed staging is surprisingly good! It’s surprisingly touching (especially “I Know It’s Today” and “Who I’d Be”), and Farquad is flat-out hilarious. Be sure to watch the animated film first.
- Into the Woods: A dark twist on the traditional fairytales. The first act is fairly kid-appropriate, but the second act is more mature. I strongly recommend the 1989 filmed staging starring Bernadette Peters.
- Little Shop of Horrors: Part homage to mid-century horror flicks, part comedy, and part catchy musical, this one features Steve Martin in a hilariously unhinged supporting role as a sadistic dentist. Wait until the kids are older to watch this one.
- Westside Story: Romeo and Juliet in 1950s NYC. As in the Shakespeare play, lots of terrible decisions lead to terrible consequences. (I’m in the minority who kind of liked the Spielberg version, btw).
- 1776: This is a more superficial approach to history than Hamilton, but it has some great songs, and to this day it helps me remember a lot of the American founding fathers’ names.
- Amadeus: OK, this one isn’t musical theatre, and it isn’t exactly kid-friendly. But it’s the film that made me fall in love with opera, and it’s a must for any music lover (if you aren’t one already, maybe Amadeus will turn you into one). A very important caveat: skip the director’s cut, which almost ruins Peter Schaffer’s brilliant play/screenplay.
Recordings to listen to:
- Les Miserables: This is widely regarded as the greatest musical of all time. The Complete Symphonic Cast Recording includes the entire libretto, which has no spoken dialogue. Precocious kids can handle the storyline with some careful guidance, but you should first be familiar with it yourself. This musical, like the book it is based on, is intricate, and I could honestly talk about it all day. And please don’t watch the movie without familiarizing yourself with the music first. Overall, the music in the movie is just…not good.
- The Phantom of the Opera: The Original Broadway Cast Recording starring Sarah Brightman is the standard. You can compare and contrast it with the beautiful film. Also check out the 25th anniversary proshot, which is the next best thing to seeing it on stage.
- Anastasia: The Broadway musical is much more realistic and historically plausible than the animated film; the antagonist is a Bolshevik official rather than Rasputin.
- The Secret Garden: Read the book and watch the 1993 film together first. It’s a sweet, kid-friendly classic.
- Matilda: This isn’t my favorite score, TBH, but it’s widely appreciated by kids and adults alike.
- Frozen: Your kids have seen the movie—two or three thousand times—so why not mix it up with some fresh new songs? A few of them were outtakes from the movie.
- Wicked: Be sure to watch (and/or read) The Wizard of Oz first!
- Jane Eyre: Read the book first! The score is delightful and very true to the book, which is my all-time favorite novel.
- The Woman in White: A gothic murder mystery with a forbidden love triangle; trigger-warning: the plot is mature and deals with murder and sexual violence, but it is handled carefully and never explicit.
- Jekyll & Hyde: I prefer the Original Broadway cast recording over the London; same trigger warning as above.
I do not utilize generative AI or autotune in any capacity. My performances, writing, artwork, and all creations are—and will continue to be—my own work, in collaboration with other human artists. Stay human!