The MoFo Top 100 Musicals Countdown

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I'm jazzed that Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory made the grade! I figured it would but as we're in the Top 5 you start to wonder a bit...

Anyway, I've seen only the Tim Burton film as far as other Wonka films and enjoyed as I do most all Burton films but I didn't even bother to compare it to this original. Gene Wilder is Wonka! I love every moment in the movie but Wilder's scenes are magic. From his sarcastic way of saying things to the kids like"Stop. Don't. Come back", to his "crazy" manner while going through the tunnel in the boat, to his rude then happy bait-and-switch near the end, he totally owns the movie. That said, I also love the scenes with Charlie at home, with both sets of grandparents crazily sharing the same bed, to Charlie getting the Wonka Bar with the Gold Ticket in it---such joy that both kids and adults can enjoy in a movie. It feels like a Christmas movie to me. I might just have to watch it again before the Big Day! I had it at #15 on my list.

#1. On the Town #93 (list proper)
#2. Holiday Inn #109 (NEAR MISS)
#5. The Blues Brothers #19 (list proper)
#6. Easter Parade #78 (list proper)
#7. Grease #9 (list proper)
#8. Meet Me in St. Louis #33 (list proper)
#9 Yankee Doodle Dandy #32 (list proper)
#10. Gigi #85 (list proper)
#12. Calamity Jane #84 (list proper)
#14. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers #71 (list proper)
#15. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory #5 (list proper)
#17. Mary Poppins #8 (list proper)
#18. The Muppet Movie #45 (list proper)
#25. Neptune's Daughter (one-pointer)
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I'm jazzed that Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory made the grade! I figured it would but as we're in the Top 5 you start to wonder a bit...
Same, I had Willy Wonka at number 18. I remember it was playing on TV one time when I was around six or seven and I was able to find a blank VHS tape and quickly begin recording it... oh yes, those were the days for anyone over 40. I probably played through that old janky VHS tape at least a dozen times or more in my youth. It's also one of those films that holds up so well and I can watch it any time in one whole setting, start to finish, it's just soooo good. Of course it was going to make my list... no way it couldn't.

Also I knew Willy Wonka was a fan favorite and a lot of people here like it, so I'm not surprised at all it showed up. What I really worried about as we neared the top 10 was My Fair Lady. That was a title I could have seen it going either way, so I was delighted it showed. Sadly though, my second Gene Kelly pick is not likely to show, while my first one surely will. My third place Gene Kelly film, An American in Paris, I had at number 11, so needless to say I'm a big Gene Kelly guy. Glad to also see On the Town show up, which I hadn't seen until just recently because of this countdown as well as Young Girls of Rochefort where he has a supporting role - not really a cameo, but certainly not a starring role.

Now with the Disney cat thing out of the way... I'm sure that the number one spot on our MoFo list will be battled out by a silent movie star transitioning into sound pictures, versus a con man pretending to be a wizard who likes to hide behind curtains. Who will win, hard to say.
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My #20 (and where the hell was it? Is it that unpopular?) was Sweet Charity - nearly every song in it a cultural touchstone.



Whether it's "Big Spender" in the club, watching Shirley MacLaine go nuts in a rich guy's pad singing "If My Friends Could See Me Now" or Sammy Davis Jr. getting down as a religious cult leader belting out "The Rhythm of Life", this is packed with memorable moments that are all in tune with each other. Directed by Bob Fosse and based on a play that in turn was based on Federico Fellini's Nights of Cabiria, it has talent and inspiration in spades. This really needs to develop a bit more of a cult following - critics have reversed course after it recieved unfavourable reviews when it came out, and now see it in a different light. Perhaps that initial mixed reception is what has it struggling to be remembered today, but those who haven't seen it should at least give it a go. I really like it a lot.
I've been watching the musical numbers for this in my downtime for months. No idea why it's just really amazingly entertaining, I love Fosse's choreography, it's really special.
Plus, "I'm the only person here I've never heard of."



Willy Wonka is my #7! I understand how polarizing it can be, since 4 of the songs are from the Oompa Loompas and no one likes Cheer Up Charlie.


But the rest of the songs are solid gold, and Gene Wilder masterfully balances genius, sensitivity, and madness.


And I actually liked both remakes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Wonka. Neither are list worthy, but they're all very enjoyable, each in their own way.
Didn’t like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory but I did like Wonka



Didn’t like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory but I did like Wonka
I enjoyed Charlie, but you certainly aren't alone. Moreso than the recent Wonka, it falls into the category of 'no one asked for this or needs this'.

I still enjoyed it because they turned up the strangeness, made the Oompa Loompa songs more interesting (in my opinion), and made Wonka himself more of a flawed antagonist.

But it still doesn't hold a candle to the original, and if there's no clear way to improve on the original, then what are we even doing here? A pre-quel is far more appropriate.



Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is one of the worst remakes I think I've ever seen. Did anyone else notice that the crowd that showed up for the start of the tour at the beginning of the movie are still standing there over an hour later?

Or how about that abominable ****ing line after Wonka flatout tells Charlie NO that he can't bring his parents to the factory, up and LEAVES, and then Grandma Georgina says "Things are going to get much bettah!"



Grandma, the only difference between now and the start of the movie,
is Wonka's left a GIANT HOLE IN OUR ROOF!
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The Lion King was my #4. One of Disney's absolut best... shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. Great film.

Willy Wonka I thought was okay, but honestly didn't really care that much for it.



Now here is the surprise of the countdown for me. I was sure you were disgusted by anything Disney for some reason.
Not really. I don't like almost all of what I've seen and the popularity of it baffles me. I don't like musicals (which many Disney films are/qualify as) but I don't hate anything Disney because it's Disney. I'm highly unlikely to like a film because it's Disney but, in the same way that I hate musicals (as a genre) but there are musicals I enjoy (and even love in a few cases) I wouldn't say I was disgusted by Disney films. The man himself and the parks, maybe?

Hate Paint Your Wagon too
That's how bad it is. Gideon hates it. The music is awful though.

Hopefully you feel different about Dirty Dancing because I had it #7. I'm guessing it didn't quite check all the boxes of a MoFo musical but it is a film I remember the family watching when I was a kid. The soundtrack is classic and Swayze dog manages to lip sync a few notes during the finale. If only we could have been treated to some notes while he was spin kicking drunks in Road House it would have a found another spot on my ballot.
Now that would've spoilt an otherwise brilliant film. Dirty Dancing is awful, whether it's a musical or not.


Willy Wonka is ok but I think that's mostly because I loved the book as a child (one of the few fictional books I liked as a kid) so that buys it a lot of patience. That said, some of the songs are good and once we get to the factory it's quite a fun time. I'm not a fan of Gene Wilder (I might like this more if I did?) but he's not so off putting enough to have me turn it off.
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West Side Story
Director

Robert Wise, 1961

Starring

Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno





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West Side Story was on the most ballots so far and was my #2. I fell in love with the soundtrack before I ever saw the film, but despite a few less than perfect casting choices, I think it's a brilliant film. The way that it is shot and the use of colour are excellent. It was a close fought battle between WSS and Cabaret for my #1 spot. Although it was on lots of ballots, only one person had it at #1.



I was a big fan of Dahl's novel, but the adaptation Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory never sat right with me. This time, it's Family Guy with the preferred version:


West Side Story has its flaws, but it was good enough to make my ballot at #19.



Obvious brown face is obvious.

I watched West Side Story for this countdown. It nearly usurped The Music Man's position of my least favorite movie ever. Had any of its songs been worse than "Shipoopi," it might've succeeded.



Now we're talking. My favourite musical of the classical era... So passionate, So red, So purple, So. Darn. Sexy.



"But Sir do you need a remake?"... yeah, me neither.
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I feel like my tween years was filled with West Side Story. My middle school seemed to like to show it, even if it was only once, it felt like a lot, because of it being a Shakespeare adaptation and was both in the category of, "appropriate for young children," and "Shakespeare updated to be relevant for today's youth." I feel like I both remember it well and don't remember it well. I don't have a strong urge to revisit. I prefer Robert Wise's gothic horror movies.