Disney film is named top musical movie in new study - it's wrong, and this is why I think Oscar-winning classic should be number 1
The study, researched by theatre tickets company SeatPlan, created an index ranking based on four different film rating measures.
The ratings came from Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer, Metacritic scores, Google user ratings, and IMDb ratings for musical movies. All were equally weighted, and these were then combined to give an overall rating out of 100.
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Hide AdAnd the 2017 Disney film Coco has taken the crown coming in first place with an index score of 91.2 out of 100.
Next in line, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton (2020) is the second best-rated according to fans, with an index score of 89.9. Presently, the IMDb score for the film sits at 8.3/10, whilst on Rotten Tomatoes critics have given the film a 98% rating.
The research places The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) as the third best-rated movie musical, with a score of 87.3 out of 100.
In fourth place is the classic The Wizard of Oz (1939), which received a score of 86.6 in the study.
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Hide AdThe top 10 is completed by Mary Poppins, Aladdin, La La Land, Dumbo, Pinocchio and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Everyone of those deserve to be in the top 10, but it’s very much in the wrong order in my opinion - and there are probably some glaring omissions.
La La Land is my favourite of all those musical movies - it really is a tribute to musicals old and new.
Ryan Gosling, who could have chemistry with a block of lard, and Emma Stone, who won an Oscar for this role, are a perfect pairing for this heart-breaking love story.
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Hide AdFrom the opening of Another Day of Sun, to the Oscar-winning City of Stars, Audition, the delightful A Lovely Night and the beautiful Mia and Senastian’s theme, every song brings a different emotion as you watch it.
And the ending (I’m just tearing up writing about it). The montage of what could have been and THAT final look between the protagonists. It’s almost as perfect as film-making can be - and that’s why it should be number one on this list.
I have nothing against Coco, that made me blub like a baby too, but the number of bangers in it does not compare.
Hamilton did not fully work for me as a ‘film’. It’s an astonishing show and Lin-Manuel Miranda is a genius, but it’s better seeing it on the stage.
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Hide AdAnd in the top 20, there are 13 Disney films - but the one with the best music is not there, and that’s Hercules - arguably the most underrated of all the films from the House of Mouse.
A Star is Born, Go the Distance, I Won’t Say (I’m In Love), The Gospel Truth - all bangers.
And then there’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and although not my favourite, The Lion King, which have not been included.
Give me those over Snow White, Bambi and Pinnochio any day.
And outside of Disney, other glaring omissions include Hairspray, Tick, Tick…Boom!, Grease and West Side Story, which all deserve multiple viewings. I know people who do not like musicals as a genre. They are wrong.
Here is the top 20 according to the SeatPlan’s study.
1 Coco (2017) score 91.2
2 Hamilton (2020) 89.9
3 The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) 87.3
4 The Wizard of Oz (1939) 86.6
5 Mary Poppins (1964) 86.0
6 Aladdin (1992) 85.1
7 La La Land (2016) 82.8
8 Dumbo (1941) 80.4
9 Pinocchio (1940) 79.8
10 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) 79.6
11 Fantasia (1940) 78.8
12 Mulan (1998) 77.5
13 Moana (2016) 77.1
14= Cinderella (1950) 77.0
14= Lady and the Tramp (1955) 77.0
15 School of Rock (2003) 75.9
16 The Sound of Music (1965) 75.7
17 Bambi (1942) 75.6
18 Cabaret (1972) 75.2
19 Sleeping Beauty (1959) 74.9
20 The Little Mermaid (1989) 73.9
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