10. Hercules-
This is one of my favorite Disney comedy-musicals of all-time. The son of the Greek Gods Zeus (voiced by Rip Torn)and Hera (voiced by Samantha Eggar), Hercules (voiced by Josh Keaton) is stolen as a boy by the minions of Hades (voiced by James Woods), lord of the underworld. Forced to live among humans, Hercules is turned half-god and half-mortal after drinking a forbidden potion brewed by Hades right hand men Pain (voiced by Bob Goldthwait) and Panic (voiced by Matt Frewer). Now Hercules has the remarkable strength of a god, but is trapped in the body of a human, and before he learns how to use his powers or can return to his home on Mount Olympus he must prove himself to be a true hero on Earth. I just absolutely love this film and anytime its on, I am glued to the TV. Hercules was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song and has a rating of 83% on rottentomatoes.com.
9. Mary Poppins
I loved this film as a kid and I still love it to this day. London children Jane and Michael (played by Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber) have fun with a marvelous nanny Mary Poppins (played by Julie Andrews) and her chimney-sweep friend Bert (played by Dick Van Dyke). Mary Poppins was nominated for 13 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Recording, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Original Song, Best Original Score and Best Music, while winning 5 (Best Actress, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Original Song and Best Original Score) and it has a rating of 100% on rottentomatoes.com.
8. Robin Hood-
This film is mainly great because it adds a new twist to the tale of Robin Hood as all of the characters are animals. The film begins after Prince John (who is a lion voiced by Peter Ustinov) and Sir Hiss (who is a snake voiced by Terry Thomas) have tricked the true king into leaving the country on a phony crusade. With the help of The Sheriff of Nottingham (a wolf voiced by Pat Buttram), they tax the life out of Nottingham's peasants, leaving them all penniless as their only hope of survival lies of Robin Hood (a fox voiced by Brian Bedford). This film tickled me to death as a kid and I still love it today. Robin Hood was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song and has a rating of 55% on rottentomatoes.com.
7. Aladdin-
This film is a masterpiece and it is one of the highest grossing films Disney Animation has ever had. After a sultan (voiced by Douglas Steele) gives his daughter, Jasmine (voiced by Linda Larkin), three days to find a husband, she escapes the palace and encounters the street-savvy urchin Aladdin (voiced by Scott Wienger), who climbs his way into her heart. While the sultan's Vizier, Jafar (voiced by Johnathan Freeman), waves a spell so that he may marry Jasmine and become sultan himself. Aladdin however discovers the Genie's lamp in a cave, rubs it and sets the mystical entity free, leading the Genie (voiced by Robin Williams) to pledge his undying loyalty to the dazzled youth. Aladdin begin his quest to defeat Jafar and win the hand of the princes, with the Genie's help. This film is just absolutely amazing. Aladdin also has two sequels entitled Return of Jafar and Aladdin and The King of Thieves , the film was also was nominated for 5 Academy Awards including Best Original Score, two nominations for Best Original Song, Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing while winning 2 (Best Original Score and Best Original Song) and has a rating of 92% on rottentomatoes.com.
6. Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory (1971)
As kid (and you can ask my father this) I watched this film over and over again until I ruined the VHS tape because I love this film so much. The film tells the story of Charlie Buckett (played by Peter Ostrum (his only film role)) as he receives a Golden Ticket and visits Willy Wonka (played by Gene Wilder)'s chocolate factory with four other children named Veruca Salt (played by Julie Dawn Cole), Mike Teevee (played by Paris Themmenn), Violet Beauregarde (played by Denise Nickerson) and Augustus Gloop (played by Michael Bollner). Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory has a rating of 89% on rottentomatoes.com.
5. Dumbo
This has got to be one of my favorite movies as a child as well as one of the saddest films I have ever seen. A young circus elephant is born with comically large ears and given the cruel nickname Dumbo. One day at a show, he is taunted by a group of kids, inciting his mother into a rage that gets her locked up. After Dumbo's ears cause an accident that injures many of the other elephants, he is made to dress like a clown and perform dangerous stunts. Everything changes when Dumbo discovers that his enormous ears actually allow him to fly, and he astounds everyone at the circus with his new talent. Dumbo was nominated for 2 Academy Awards including Best Score and Best Original Song while winning 1 (Best Original Song) and it has a rating of 97% on rottentomatoes.com.
4. The Muppets
No mater what happens thrugh out my life, I will always love the Muppets as one of the funniest group of characters of all-time and they were a big part of my childhood. On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter (voiced by Peter Linz), the world's biggest Muppet fan, his brother Gary (played by Jason Segel) and Gary’s girlfriend Mary (played by Amy Adams) from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (played by Chris Cooper) to raze the Muppet Theater and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets' former stomping grounds. To stage a telethon and raise the $10 million needed to save the theater, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit (voiced by Steve Whitmire) reunite the Muppets, who have all gone their separate ways: Fozzie (voiced by Eric Jacobson) now performs with a Reno casino tribute band called the Moopets, Miss Piggy (voiced by Eric Jacobson as well) is a plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris, Animal (voiced by Eric Jacobson as well) is in a Santa Barbara clinic for anger management, and Gonzo (voiced by Dave Goelz is a high-powered plumbing magnate. The Muppets was nominated for 1 Academy Award for Best Original Song, while winning the award as well, and it has a rating of 96% on rottentomatoes.com.
3. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
South Park is one of my favorite shows and this film adaptation is one of my favorite films of all-time. The third graders of South Park sneak into an R-rated film by ultra-vulgar Canadian television personalities Terrance (Matt Stone) and Phillip (Trey Parker), and emerge with expanded vocabularies that leave their parents and teachers scandalized. When outraged Americans try to censor the film, the controversy becomes a call to war with Canada, and Terrance and Phillip end up on death row -- with only the kids left to save them. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut was nominated for 1 Academy Award Best Original Song and it has a rating of 81% on rottentomatoes.com.
2. The Lion King-
This is the very first film that I had ever seen. It tells the story of Simba (Younger version voiced by Johnathan Taylor Thomas, Older version voiced by Matthew Broderick) a young lion who is to succeed his father Mufasa (voiced by James Earl Jones)as king. However, after Simba's uncle Scar (voiced Jeremy Irons) murder Mufasa, Simba is fooled into thinking he was responsible and flees into exile in shame and despair. Upon maturation living with two wastrels, a meerkat naemd Timon (voiced by Nathan Lane) and a warthog named Pumba (voiced by Ernie Saballa), Simba is given some valuable perspective from his friend Nala (younger version voiced by Niketa Calame, Older version voiced by Moria Kelly) and his shaman, Rafiki (voiced by Robert Guillaume), before returning to challenge Scar to end his tyranny. The Lion King was nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Original Score and Three nominations for Best Original Song, while winning 2 (Best Original Score and Best Original Song) and it has a rating of 90% on rottentomatoes.com.
1. Les Miserables (2012)
This film is amazing and its one of the greatest films of all-time. Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France, Les Misérables tells an enthralling story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemption—a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit. Ex-prisoner Jean Valjean (played by Hugh Jackman), hunted for decades by the ruthless policeman Javert (played by Russell Crowe) after he breaks parole. When Valjean agrees to care for factory worker Fantine’s (played by Anne Hathaway) young daughter, Cosette (played by Isabelle Allen (young Cosette) and Amanda Seyfried (older Cosette)), their lives change forever. Les Miserables was nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Song, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Sound Mixing and Best Production Design, while winning 3 (Best Supporting Actress, Best Makeup and Hairstyling and Best Production Design) and it has a rating of 70% on rottentomatoes.com.
So ladies and gentlemen what do you think of my list and what are some of your favorite musical films? Let me know in the comments section and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
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