"musical"

1952 · Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen · 103 min · Musical / Comedy

Singin' in the Rain is the rare film that earns every bit of its towering reputation. Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds are magnetic together, the musical numbers hit with a joy that feels unstoppable, and the Hollywood satire gives it a brain to match its boundless energy. One extended ballet sequence tests the pacing, and the plot won't win any awards for complexity. None of that matters much when a film is this relentlessly entertaining. It set the standard for what a movie musical could be, and nothing has knocked it from that spot since.

1939 · Victor Fleming · 102 min · Fantasy / Musical

Eighty-five years later, The Wizard of Oz still works. The transition from sepia Kansas to Technicolor Oz remains one of cinema's great visual moments, the songs have never left the cultural vocabulary, and the story's emotional logic holds up even when the special effects show their age. Judy Garland's performance anchors the entire production with a sincerity that cuts through the spectacle, making Dorothy's journey feel personal rather than fantastical. The pacing sags in places, the Scarecrow's logic is sometimes questionable, and younger viewers raised on modern effects may find Oz less wondrous than their grandparents did. None of that has dimmed its power as a piece of pure, earnest storytelling about finding that what you need was with you all along.

2007 · 4 Seasons · Disney Channel · Animation, Comedy, Musical

Phineas and Ferb turned a simple summer vacation premise into one of the smartest and most consistently entertaining animated comedies of its generation. Its songs are absurdly catchy, its humor works on multiple levels, and the Perry and Doofenshmirtz dynamic is one of the best comedic pairings in animation history. The formula gets repetitive if you binge too many episodes back to back, and the show never really evolves beyond its established structure. But within that structure, it operates at a level of craft and wit that most children's shows can only dream of reaching.

2021 · Steven Spielberg · 156 min · Musical / Drama / Crime

West Side Story is Spielberg proving that the musical, as a cinematic form, still has the power to overwhelm. The dance sequences are some of the finest ever filmed, Ariana DeBose owns the screen as Anita, and the technical filmmaking is breathtaking from first frame to last. The central romance remains the weakest structural element, inherited from the source material rather than introduced by this version. But as a piece of pure cinema, choreographed and shot with a passion that borders on obsessive, it's a stunning achievement.

2013 · 5 Seasons · Cartoon Network · Animated Fantasy

Steven Universe broke new ground for children's animation through its music, emotional intelligence, and inclusive storytelling, though uneven pacing and a rushed conclusion keep it from reaching the heights its best episodes promise.

2016 · Damien Chazelle · 128 min · Musical / Romance / Drama

La La Land is a gorgeous, emotionally ambitious musical that swings big and mostly connects. Damien Chazelle built something that feels like a love letter to old Hollywood while telling a story about the cost of chasing your dreams in the modern world. The music is excellent, Stone earned her Oscar, and the final sequence hits like a freight train. It doesn't need perfect singing or dancing to work, because the film's real power comes from the tension between what these characters want and what they're willing to sacrifice to get it.

2024 · 2 Seasons · Amazon Prime Video · Animation, Musical, Comedy

Hazbin Hotel is a show bursting with creative ambition and musical talent, brought down by a pacing problem it hasn't fully solved. The character designs are memorable, the songs range from catchy to flat-out impressive, and the premise of a rehabilitation hotel in Hell offers endless comedic and dramatic potential. But cramming major character arcs into single episodes leaves emotional beats feeling like plot checkboxes rather than earned moments. There's a great show in here fighting to get out, and when individual scenes click, the energy is undeniable. It just needs more room to breathe.