BWW Blog: Quarantine Movie Musicals To Put You In A Good Mood

With the release of Hamilton on Disney+, the popularity of filmed theatre has skyrocketed. Naturally, I reverted to 2015 fangirl Maggie when Hamilton dropped. It seems that no matter how much I protest that my music tastes have evolved from strictly musicals to more mainstream tunes, I somehow still have all of Guns and Ships memorized. Hey, that's rap, right? I'm with it, kids. However, the drop of Hamilton reminded me that other movie musicals exist. So, the next time you go to rewatch Hamilton , consider these other fun films that will leave you feeling good!

Hello, Dolly!

This 1969 classic is also available on Disney+ and is guaranteed to A. Put a smile on your face and B. help you understand just how difficult it was to date in the 1890s. Poor Barbara Streisand had to wear the iconic floor-length-red-dress-feather-headband combo and sing an entire song to the wait staff of the Harmonia Gardens to impress Walter Matthau. I can sit and swipe on Tinder and have eliminated half a dozen suitors while finishing an entire bag of popcorn. Multitasking, people! At least Dolly Levi gets paid to matchmake. Tinder Gold is $30 a month. Sigh.

Mamma Mia!

If you opened a dictionary to the word "movie musical," there would be a picture of Mamma Mia! taking up the entire page. This movie has everything: Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski, and Julie Walters sing ABBA songs! Amanda Seyfreid, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgaard sing more ABBA songs! Pierce Brosnan... is there! With songs like "Dancing Queen," "Super Trouper," and "Take a Chance on Me," it's hard to find a bad one in the bunch. (That said, if "When All Is Said And Done" is your favorite song in Mamma Mia!, you're doing it wrong.)

Once Upon A Mattress

This movie may be unfamiliar for a lot of younger people- the last time the show ran on Broadway was in 1996. Once Upon A Mattress is your typical "Princess and the Pea"- style fairytale with a pretty stellar cast. Leading players include Carol Burnett, Bob Mackie gowns, and more sparkles than a normal person could stand. If that doesn't strike your fancy, you are reading the wrong article. Ms. Burnett is supported by a bevy of big names, including Tracey Ullman, Matthew Morrison, Zooey Deschanel, and Denis O'Hare. My personal favorite role is Edward Hibbert's, who plays a wizard with a flair for sarcasm and flowy pants. I like to think we have something in common.

Monty Python And The Holy Grail

Okay, so this isn't technically a movie musical, but it's got a song or two! They did also base the smash hit musical Spamalot off this movie- and it's so good that I couldn't not put it in here. If you like satire and comedy, then you're probably enjoying my BWW articles! However, you'd also really enjoy this film. It's straight up medieval madness. There's knights of the round table, the Knights who say Ni, the Black Knight, and one very nasty rabbit (that could easily take down a whole horde of knights). Do you like Camelot , or maybe Man of La Mancha? Then lower your expectations, because this is nothing like Camelot or Man of La Mancha.

In all sincerity, I hope you do actually go watch these movies and that they cheer you up if you're having a tough day. Once you've done that, though, feel free to go back to binging Hamilton for the seventeenth time today. Fun challenge: see if you can not cry during the second act. I've tried. I've used up seventeen boxes of tissues. Advice is welcome.