Jim On Film
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Encore! Encore!
Disney Live-Action Musicals

In its long history, Walt Disney Pictures has succeeded in many different genres of movie-making. Walt Disney, of course, helped define what would evolve into American musical theatre with his ingenious integration of song into the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He would go on to create fun adventure, drama, family stories, zany comedies, historical tales, and so on.

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The one genre the studio has yet to find continued financial success in is the live-action film musical. While there is no official list of Disney live-action theatrical musicals, films usually categorized as such are Babes in Toyland (1961), Summer Magic (1963), Mary Poppins (1964), The Happiest Millionaire (1967), The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968), Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), Pete’s Dragon (1977), Popeye (a co-production with Paramount--1980), and Newsies (1992). Of that list, only two--Summer Magic and Mary Poppins--have ever been considered to be box office hits. Of course, many of these films, most notably Newsies, have managed to earn their own followings; however, the track record is not a strong one.

Meanwhile, the studio has found musical success in several other areas. On television, it has successfully produced Polly, Polly Comin’ Home, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Annie, Gepetto, and the upcoming The Music Man. This does not include musicals released under other branches of the studio, including Evita and the television version of South Pacific.

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On the Broadway stage, Disney has also done remarkably well with three hits currently playing on Broadway--Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and the best of the three, Aida. In Germany, Disney also had a long-running success with the stage version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Also, it was Disney’s Miramax division that released Moulin Rouge, which garnered high praise from critics and audiences, as well as the recent release of Chicago, which has also been praised by critics and is building a strong foundation in limited release.

As with Moulin Rouge, it is likely that Chicago will find Oscar honors and other critical praise (as it is, many critics have put the film on their Best of 2002 lists). With this newfound interest in live-action musicals, Disney should take a serious look at creating new musical stories for live-action feature films.