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Musicals interweave songs by the characters into the narrative to advance the plot or develop the film's characters. The most famous musicals today are the ones by Disney. Disney musicals have a long and successful history with some of the most iconic musical numbers ever to grace the silver screen, featuring both animated classics as well as live-action films and remakes of these classics.
Pinocchio is the latest addition to this vast list of Disney musicals. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the fantasy film is based on Italian author Carlo Collodi's classic 1883 children's book titled The Adventures of Pinocchio. The film is a live-action remake of the 1940 Disney animated film of the same name. It was released on Disney+ on September 8, 2022.
The story revolves around the titular Pinocchio (voiced by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth), a wooden puppet created by a childless woodcarver named Geppetto (played by Tom Hanks), who wishes for Pinocchio to become a real boy. His wish is heard by the Blue Fairy (played by Cynthia Erivo), who visits his shop and brings the puppet to life.
While Geppetto raises him like his own son, Pinocchio soon finds himself embarking on a coming-of-age journey to learn how to become selfless, brave and true.
Check out these other epic Disney musicals before you watch Pinocchio.
5 musicals that you should watch right now
1) Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins is hands down the most iconic Disney live-action musical ever. This 1964 fantasy film directed by Robert Stevenson is based on P. L. Travers' book series of the same name. The iconic Julie Andrews made her feature film debut with the film, starring as the titular character Mary Poppins, a sky-faring magical nanny who changes the life of the dysfunctional Banks family.
The critically-acclaimed as well as commercially successful film simultaneously combined live-action and animation to tell the story of the unforgettable characters and their endearing moments. The classic Disney film also produced a sequel in 2018 called Mary Poppins Returns, with Emily Blunt starring in the lead role.
The iconic music performances by Andrews and Dick Van Dyke are loved even today with many classic songs like Chim Chim Che-ree, Let's Go Fly a Kite, A Spoonful of Sugar, Step in Time, and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. The film's music and lyrics by Richard and Robert Sherman won two Academy Awards as well as two Grammy Awards.
2) Enchanted
Directed by Kevin Lima and written by Bill Kelly, this 2007 live-action/animated musical rom com is Disney's self-parody of its classic fairytale movies and their clichés. The film stars Amy Adams as the wide-eyed and optimistic Princess Giselle and James Marsden as her dashing Prince Charming, Edward. The sequel, titled Disenchanted, is set to be premiered on Disney+ on November 24 2022.
The film explores what would happen if these fairytale characters land in the chaos of the real world when Giselle is banished from her animated fairytale world by Edward's evil stepmother Queen Narissa (played by Susan Sarandon) to modern New York City where she ultimately meets and falls for Robert (played by Patrick Dempsey), a cynical divorce attorney and single father.
The film not only deconstructs Disney tropes, it is also filled with a number of iconic songs. The legendary composer Alan Menken wrote and composed the songs as well as the score of the film. Adams' quintessential Disney Princess Giselle frequently breaks out into song and dance numbers like That's How You Know and So Close.
3) The Muppets
Directed by James Bobin, this 2011 musical comedy was the perfect reboot for the Muppets franchise. Starring Amy Adams and Jason Segel, who also co-wrote the film, the film introduced a new Muppet in the form of Walter (performed by Peter Linz), a devoted Muppet superfan who discovered a rich businessman's ploy to demolish the old Muppet Theater to drill for oil.
The film follows Walter, his human brother Gary and Gary's girlfriend Mary as they help Kermit the Frog in reuniting the disbanded Muppets in order to raise money to save the studio.
Bret McKenzie served as the music supervisor with Christophe Beck composing the score for the film. It featured five original songs, including Life's A Happy Song, and Man or Muppet. The film also won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for the song Man or Muppet.
4) Beauty and the Beast
Directed by Bill Condon, this 2017 romantic musical was a live-action remake of Disney's 1991 animated film of the same name, based on French author Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's version of the tale as old as time. The film featured Emma Watson and Dan Stevens as the eponymous Belle and the Beast.
The remake contained the best elements from the original movie along with the addition of updated details about the town and townspeople and four new songs, including Celine Dion's How Does a Moment Last Forever and Josh Groban's Evermore.
5) Encanto
Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, this 2021 musical follows a young 15-year-old Mirabel Madrigal (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz) and her magical Colombian family who live in a rural community called the Encanto. Mirabel is the only member of her family without a magical gift and when she learns that her family is losing their magic, she sets out to save her family and their magical house.
Along with exploring generational trauma and family bonds, the film also features original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The film's score is composed by Germaine Franco, the co-composer of songs from Pixar's critically-acclaimed Coco (2017). We Don't Talk About Bruno and Surface Pressure are two of its most successful songs that instantly became classics.
Disney recently released a teaser trailer for The Little Mermaid, a live-action remake of the 1989 animated film of the same name based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale. Directed by Rob Marshall, the musical stars Halle Bailey as Ariel and is set to be released in the United States on May 26, 2023. Meanwhile, don't forget to watch Pinocchio only on Disney+.
